News & Stories: Policy Monitor

Excerpt: "Students in every public school will have access to healthy, affordable lunches when the final phase of the Nova Scotia School Lunch Program launches in high schools this September. For the 2026-27 school year, lunches will be available in all 372 public schools across the province, offering more than 133,000 students access to nutritious food during the school day."

Excerpt: "The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is providing funding for a new child care centre at Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook that will help increase access to affordable child care for families in western Newfoundland. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is providing approximately $665,000 as part of its Operating Grant Program to ensure the new centre can provide $10-a-day child care for up to 30 children. An additional $92,000 is also being provided by the Provincial Government for equipment and supplies at the centre. The new child care centre, located in the Marina Redmond Centre, is anticipated to open by later this year."

Excerpt: "Today, I informed my provincial and territorial counterparts that the Government of Canada will invest up to $5.4 billion over two years (2026–27 and 2027–28), in addition to the more than $58 billion in funding through early learning and child care agreements with provinces and territories since 2021. This additional investment will help keep child care affordable for families and support the early childhood educators who make the system possible. It will also provide stability while federal, provincial, and territorial governments work together to strengthen the program for the future. Our focus is to ensure families across Canada continue to have access to affordable, high-quality, and inclusive early learning and child care programs."

Excerpt: "The Provincial Government has issued an expression of interest for membership on a new child care advisory panel that will help the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development improve the child care system. The panel will consist of child care operators who will help identify challenges and offer recommendations to the Minister and department on feasible solutions to benefit all children and families. The child care advisory panel will inform the development, implementation and oversight of child care initiatives within the province."

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is investing $50,000 through the From the Ground Up – Safe Healthy Communities for ALL program to support The Pas Community Renewal Corporation, in developing and delivering after-school programming, including hiring staff, purchasing equipment, supplies and bundle boxes, Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard announced today."

Excerpt: "The National School Food Program is providing meals to up to 400,000 more kids every year. With these plans, total federal funding for provinces and territories has doubled from the 2024-25 fiscal year to $140 million, marking a major step forward in ensuring that more children have access to nutritious food at school, and that local farmers and local economies contribute to this. With support from the National School Food Program and provincial and territorial (PT) investments, more than 10,000 schools—approximately 80% of PT-operated schools in Canada—are offering school food programs this school year."

Excerpt: "The government and the New Brunswick Teachers’ Federation, which represents more than 7,800 teachers, have signed a new collective agreement. “This agreement is about recognizing the incredible work teachers do every day in classrooms across New Brunswick and ensuring teaching remains an attractive and rewarding profession for years to come,” said Premier Susan Holt. “Teachers play a vital role in shaping the future of our province, and I am pleased that both sides were able to work together to reach a fair agreement so quickly. By investing in our teachers and supporting recruitment and retention, we are strengthening our schools and helping ensure students across New Brunswick have the opportunities they need to succeed.” The agreement is retroactive to March 1, 2026, and includes a general economic increase of 14.5 per cent over five years."

Excerpt: "The proposed legislation will make online services more accountable and transparent by introducing new safety requirements for social media services and AI chatbot services. It will include an age restriction preventing children under the age of 16 from having accounts on social media services, with a pathway for social media services to seek an exemption if they can demonstrate that they have put in place sufficient safeguards for children. The new requirements will also put children’s safety first when products and features are designed, including measures to reduce children’s exposure to certain content and high-risk interactions. Regulated services will be required to identify, mitigate and address the risks on their platforms."

Excerpt: "Construction has begun on a new kindergarten to Grade 8 school in southwest Winnipeg’s Prairie Pointe neighbourhood that will also include a child care centre, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt announced today. “Breaking ground on this new school means Prairie Pointe families will have access to quality learning spaces close to home,” said Schmidt. “As this community continues to grow, it’s important we are building the infrastructure needed to support students and families now and into the future.” The new dual-track French and English kindergarten to Grade 8 school will be located on Skyline Drive and will open with a capacity for 800 students and 134 child-care spaces for infants, preschool and school-aged children, supporting access to early learning for families in the area."

Excerpt: "The inaugural Anti-Racism Action Plan sets out measurable, practical actions government will take from 2026 until 2028 to remove barriers and improve access to services for Indigenous and racialized people in B.C. It covers government sectors, such as health care, public safety, education and climate response. The plan is partly informed by data collected under 2022’s Anti-Racism Data Act (ARDA) and addresses the Anti-Racism Act’s (2024) direction for government to take action to address systemic racism and improve equity in public services."

Excerpt: "The new kindergarten to Grade 8 school will be located at 35 Private Davy Dr. and will have a core capacity of 800 students. The school will also include an integrated child-care centre with up to 134 spaces for infants, preschoolers and school-aged children, giving families access to education and care in the same building. “Child-care spaces on school grounds will help children grow, help families and the wider community get ahead,” said federal Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand, minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. “Families will have access to high-quality child care close to home and to their workplace, helping them save time and money.”"

Excerpt: "The government has unveiled a new education plan for the francophone sector to address the current needs of a population that has changed since the last plan was released in 2016. The new plan sets progressive objectives to ensure continuous improvement, helping children and youth achieve lasting success while taking into account the realities and needs of the francophone sector. The plan’s publication stems from the government’s commitment to develop a new education plan in collaboration with educators, support staff, education experts and partners, and parents to define a shared vision of education over the next 12 years."