Advocacy in action!

Ontario’s Renewed Early Years and Child Care Policy Framework & Five Year Action Plan 

The AECEO is encouraged by the Ontario government’s ambitious plan to transform the early years and child care system so that more children and families can access the services they need. Transformative change is no easy feat for any sector and the strategic plans laid out in the Renewed Framework set Ontario on a path towards universally accessible early years and child care.

For many years the AECEO has called for the government to develop a workforce strategy and we are gratified to see this as a centerpiece of the Renewed Framework. Our submission to the Ministry of Education’s consultation process on the Early Years and Child Care was very clear on the pressing need for a workforce strategy, not only to support the planned expansion of 100,000 new spaces, but also to mitigate the serious recruitment and retention difficulties now being experienced in the licensed child care sector.  In January 2017 the AECEO established a Task Force of RECE members, experts and researchers to advise government on the development of workforce policies and we are very enthusiastic to work cooperatively with the government of Ontario to advance the early childhood profession. We are pleased by the commitment, as called for in our submission, to continue to fund the wage enhancement grant while workforce policies and funding methods are being developed.  We also call for RECEs and other staff who work outside of licensed child care to receive this grant while the government works on a more comprehensive strategy.

The AECEO is also very pleased that the government will support ongoing professional learning for educators by funding two provincial events each year and that educators will be able to apply for release time to be able to attend. This is an excellent opportunity for RECEs and staff in the sector to come together to share pedagogies, strategies and ideas.

The plan to direct fund licensed home child care agencies rather than require child care providers to pay fees will not only enhance quality by bringing more into the licensed system, it will also have a positive effect on compensation for all licensed providers, many of whom are RECEs. Additionally, the opportunity to receive support and professional learning opportunities from an agency is a very valuable component of improved working conditions and decent work.

It is our hope that through this process we can develop a comprehensive workforce strategy to better support RECEs and early years staff no matter where they work in the sector. In addition to developing policy direction on compensation, recruitment and retention, professional learning and education and training it is imperative to explore policy directives that would ensure decent working conditions that support staff to provide high quality programs.

RECEs in Ontario play a valuable and important role in keeping the province moving. We shape future generations and are excited to help shape this groundbreaking transformation of Ontario’s early years and child care sector. 

Ontario's Renewed Early Learning and Child Care Policy Framework (2017)

Seven Key Areas of Action - Ontario’s Renewed Early Years & Child Care Policy Framework includes seven areas of action that overlap and reinforce one another.

News Release

Related

Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs
$15 Minimum Wage and Equal Pay for Part-Time and Full-Time Workers Part of Plan to Help People Get Ahead in a Changing Economy
News Release - Office of the Premier

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced yesterday that the minimum wage will be increased over the next 2 years from $11.40 to $15.00/hr by June 2019 along with other measures to ensure decent work for everyone.  

Read full news release here

AECEO’s response

When we raise the floor, everyone benefits - this is good news for children and families in Ontario. RECEs and staff can see how precarious and low paid work negatively impacts the families that we serve and the young children that we care for and educate. A raise in the minimum wage to $15/hour and further changes to the Employment Standards Act means healthier families across the province.

What does a $15 min wage mean for RECEs in Ontario?

• A $15 min wage takes us one step closer to Professional Pay for RECEs!
• Taken together with wage enhancement grants the min wage for RECEs working in licensed child care will reach $17/ hour when the new $15 min wage is implemented.
• 24% of RECEs working in licensed child care currently earn less than $15 an hour.  This means a wage increase for a whole quarter of RECE professionals working in licensed child care!
• RECEs and staff working in family resource and early years centres who currently make less than $15 an hour and do not receive any wage enhancements will finally get a raise. 
• Wages for RECEs cannot continue to be paid through the market (i.e. parent fees) the AECEO will continue to support our RECE professionals through our Professional Pay and Decent Work campaign and to campaign for direct funding to early years and child care programs to pay all RECEs across the sector a professional wage that commensurate with practitioners’ education, experience and responsibilities.

Higher wages and better working conditions will improve our workplaces, our communities and our lives, including the lives of our families.

Get the facts: http://15andfairness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/It-is-Possible-15-Fact-Sheet.pdf

Urgent Action!! Once in a generation opportunity to improve Ontario Labour Laws!

What we do today is absolutely critical. Our Members of Provincial Parliament are set to meet tomorrow (Wednesday) to decide how far to go on labour law reform. We want to tell them to take it all the way. Unfortunately, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce is already pushing back -- but we have the majority of Ontarians on our side! In fact, more and more employers are with us in speaking out for decent work. Let's make sure our elected officials do the right thing. 

The AECEO is calling on all Registered Early Childhood Educators and Early Years Staff in Ontario to help push for a once in a generation update to Ontario’s labour laws. The demands from the $15 and Fairness campaign would improve work life for ECEs and all workers in the province of Ontario.

Please take 15 minutes today to call or email your MPP and Cabinet Ministers Michael Coteau, Minister of Children and Youth Services, 
Tracy MacCharles, Minister responsible for Women's Issues; and Minister Indira Naidoo-Harris, Minister responsible for Early Years and Child Care. 

You can find our letter template to Cabinet Ministers here

You can find your MPP’s contact information here 

Toronto Star: Ontario plans big boost to minimum wage, update of labour laws 

“Cabinet will soon decide on the biggest overhaul of Ontario’s labour law in a generation – raising minimum wage up to $15 an hour, boosting private sector unionization and targeting companies that rely unfairly on part-time or contract work.”

Message from $15 and Fairness campaign:

Take 15 minutes right now to call and email your MPP and ask them to support a $15 minimum wage, 7 paid sick days and all other aspects of $15 and Fairness. Please call your MPP and ask them to:

• Legislate at least seven (7) paid sick days, extend job-protection to all workplaces for 10 days of unpaid emergency leave and provide three weeks of paid vacation to all workers.
• End exemptions or exceptions in the Employment Standards Act (ESA) and Labour Relations Act (LRA) - the rules apply to everyone and protect everyone.
• Expand the definition of employer in both the ESA and LRA, including joint and several liabilities as well as related and joint employers.
• Legislate equal pay and benefits for equal work (including temporary agency, part-time, casual and contract workers) and eliminate sub-minimum wage rates established in the ESA.
• Provide at least two weeks of advanced scheduling notice.
• Expand the definition of employee to stop the misclassification of workers.
• Invest in stronger enforcement of the ESA and LRA and prosecute employers who flout the law.
• Extend just cause protection within the LRA and to ESA.
• Enshrine the right to free association through protection for concerted activity.
• Restore card-check certification; provide early disclosure of workplace information (neutral, online or telephone voting); remedial certification; and expedited and extended power to reinstate workers before the first agreement.
• Provide access to first contract arbitration.
• Extend successor rights to protect workers in the case of contract flipping.
• Consolidate bargaining units in the case of the same certified bargaining agent.
• Provide a framework for broader-based bargaining.
• Guarantee the right to strike - including prohibiting the use of replacement workers, safeguarding the rights of workers who have been involved in a labour dispute (including reinstatement after six months and prohibiting employers from unilaterally deciding to "clean house" after a strike).
• Mandate paid leave for domestic and sexual violence survivors.
• Increase the minimum wage to $15.00 immediately.

Already called your MPP? Help spread the word:
- Forward this email to 3 friends and co-workers, ask them to make a call
- Share this photo on social media; click here for Facebook, click here for Twitter
- Make this image your profile picture (just like we did) and tag other friends to invite them to do the same

While parent fees are high, many Registered Early Childhood Educators are putting off starting their own families or leaving the field because wages in the sector are too low.

This Mother’s Day weekend, parents and Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) are holding a Stroller Brigade at Toronto City Hall on May 13^th 2017 from 10 am – 12 pm to call for an early years and child care system that provides professional pay and decent work, supported by the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) and the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC).

With the Ontario government’s recent promise to create 100,000 child care spaces over five years, parents and educators are expecting Kathleen Wynne to deliver big things for child care. But with 24% of RECEs and 67% of other staff working in licensed child care making $15/hour or less, decent work can’t wait five years or until the next election.

Educators and parents are sending a message to Premier Kathleen Wynne that RECEs and early years staff are valuable partners who support communities. 

“As a parent with a son in child care, I see the vital work that educators do every day. They deserve professional pay and decent work now.” said Toronto mother Munizah Salman.

With the government’s proposed expansion of child care spaces comes the promise of 20,000 new jobs in child care. But to attract and retain the best educators and staff the Ontario government must ensure a child care system with professional pay and decent work.

“I know that too many educators can’t afford to stay working in a profession that they love. As an ECE student looking to the future, I want to contribute my professional skills and knowledge, but it’s only fair to expect decent wages and working conditions.” said Sophia Mohamed, a George Brown College Early Childhood Leadership student.

“RECEs are the key to quality child care, so it is critical that the workforce is considered when funding and planning to build new quality child care spaces. Child care is more than places and spaces – it’s time to value every educator.” said Lyndsay Macdonald, Coordinator of the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario. 

Stroller Brigade route:

10 am – meet in front of Hester How playground (West side of City Hall)

March West on Queen St W to University Ave

March North on University Ave to Dundas St W

March East on Dundas St W and finish at Dundas Square

AECEO response to 2017 Ontario budget

The AECEO welcomes the Ontario government’s $200 million in operating funding and injection into the child care subsidy system, however we are still waiting for a commitment to address the chronic undervaluing of the Early Childhood (EC) workforce.

Building on the government’s promise for 100,000 new child care spaces announced in September 2016, the budget devotes funds to the creation of 24,000 more child care spaces this year and subsidies for up to 60% of these spaces.

“We were hoping that the budget would outline the government’s funding plan for the full expansion over five years,” said Lyndsay Macdonald, Provincial Coordinator at the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario. “Early Childhood Educators and Early Years staff in Ontario need to know that affordability for families won’t come at the expense of decent wages – we really can’t talk about affordability for parents without also talking about good wages and working conditions for educators.”

While we know from previous announcements that the Wage Enhancement Grant will continue this year, Early Childhood Educators and Early Years staff need to know that a more systemic solution to improve wages and working conditions will be featured prominently as part of the government’s renewed child care framework.

It is critical to point out that 100,000 new, high quality child care spaces are dependent on at least 20,000 new jobs for ECEs and staff. To attract and retain the best educators in our sector we need a comprehensive plan to address the current recruitment and retention strains. Without addressing decent work for the EC workforce, it will be impossible to sustain the quality child care spaces that exist, let alone expand the availability of quality child care options for parents. As it stands, the EC workforce remains in a position where they can seldom afford the very services they provide.

We are heartened that Minister Naidoo-Harris has announced, “an important pillar in our upcoming framework includes new ways to support the workforce, our early childhood educators and provide opportunities for our world class ECEs”. We wait optimistically for the renewed framework.

OCBCC Budget Response: Child care can't wait: Ontario budget makes a start on child care expansion but leaves major policy planks for another day

Read the 2017 Ontario Budget

Ontario budget puts focus on children’s well-being
Toronto Star - March 27, 2017

Finance Minister Charles Sousa and Indira Naidoo-Harris, Minister responsible for early years and child care, today announced the investment of $200 million in operating funding to allow the creation 24,000 new child care spaces in the province as well as additional funding for 13,000 subsidies in 2017-18 to address immediate needs of families. These measures are part of the government's renewed framework for the early years and child care in Ontario which will be presented in the next few weeks.

The AECEO commends the government for its significant commitment to improving life for children and families in Ontario by creating 100,000 new child care spaces over the next five years and allocations in its 2017 budget of funding to begin to address the access and affordability crisis in the province.

Our pre-budget submission strongly recommended that funds in the 2017 budget be directed to the Ministry of Education to support systemic solutions that address affordability for parents and compensation for Early Childhood Educators and early years staff. Our recommendation was for base funding of operational costs for non-profit and community programs coupled with a sliding fee scale as a funding structure to ensure professional pay and decent work for all ECEs and early years staff.

Yesterday at our pre-budget press conference we reminded Kathleen Wynne that Ontario's Early Childhood Educators, parents, families and children are expecting big things for child care in this year's provincial budget including how the government plans to address decent work for the Early Childhood workforce as part of a comprehensive workforce strategy. We were heartened to hear Minister Naidoo-Harris say at today's press conference that “...an important pillar in our upcoming framework includes new ways to support the workforce, our early childhood educators and provide opportunities for our world class ECEs.” because we can't talk about affordability without also talking about good wages and jobs for the workforce.

The AECEO and the OCBCC have convened an expert task force to make policy recommendations to the Ontario government on its strategy for the early childhood workforce. The the Minister's words today are a step in the right direction and we look forward to working together to address our recommendations in legislation this fall.

Helping Ontario Families Access Affordable Child Care
Ontario news release - April 26, 2017

Watch recorded video coverage of announcement here 

Ontario budget to pump millions into child care subsidies
Toronto Star, April 26, 2017

AECEO submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs’ Pre-budget consultation process

In This Issue:

• AECEO Submission to the Ministry of Education Consultations
• Spring into Action for Decent Work! (Featured article available to the public)
• Canadian University and College Early Learning Lab Schools: What are they about?
• AECEO Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
• Annual AECEO Member meeting notice
• and more....

We would like to thank the following advertisers for helping to support this issue of the eceLINK

 (Member Access)

In This Issue:

• AECEO Submission to the Ministry of Education Consultations
• Spring into Action for Decent Work! (Featured article available to the public)
• Canadian University and College Early Learning Lab Schools: What are they about?
• AECEO Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
• Annual AECEO Member meeting notice
• and more....

Shellie Bird/Shani Halfon 

"Over the past 30 years there have been a number of initiatives in Ontario aimed at increasing wages for the early childhood education and child care (ECEC) workforce working in regulated child care centres and regulated home child care. In this article we will look back at what has been done to improve wages for the ECEC workforce in Ontario and examine how e ective these initiatives have been for achieving professional wages. Recent changes to the provincial child care funding formula and the $1 per hour wage increase for some staff working in the regulated child care sector will also be analyzed. A concluding discussion about where we are now and how we might begin to move forward will identify some critical points for addressing the chronic issue of the regulated child care workforce’s low wages." 

Read full article

By Dr. Rachel Langford, RECE, AECEO President (2012-2014)

The AECEO’s success in establishing a regulatory college for Ontario early childhood educators and creating a legislated professional credential for ECEs was a fundamental achievement in our mission to improve compensation and career opportunities for all early childhood educators in the province. Now, with the Ministry of Education’s focus on modernizing Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Ontario, the time is right to initiate the next steps in resolving these long-standing issues.

The recent “You Bet We Still Care” report substantiated the need for better wages for ECE professionals if we are ever to tackle the issue of recruitment and retention. Yet there are many challenges ahead and varying opinions on what, and how, the issue of professional pay for ECEs should be addressed.

When the AECEO board decided to focus its advocacy work on Professional Pay for Professional Work, we knew that we would face many challenges. Some of these challenges might be called distractions.

In the case of claims for Professional Pay for Professional Work and a drive towards realizing this goal we will be challenged by both distractions and possibly driven to distraction by some roadblocks. 

We have identified three distractions that many of us have been vulnerable to and some of which AECEO board members have discussed. Some of these distractions may be hard to hear but it is important to put them on the table for discussion.

Read full article here

October 2016

In 2016 we completed eight mobilization forums across Ontario, stopping in Sault Ste. Marie, Scarborough, Whitby, Mississauga, Waterloo, Brantford, Kingston and Sudbury and met with over 200 ECEs and early years staff. The forums aimed to increase dialogue and broaden understandings of decent work in the early childhood sector while also documenting the unique HR needs and challenges of the early childhood workforce in Ontario.  

Last September during our Provincial conference in Ottawa, our coordinator Lyndsay Macdonald talks about how we can strengthen our collective voice to call for professional pay and decent work!

We are partnering with long-time child and family advocate Olivia Chow and the Institute for Change Leaders to offer province-wide training sessions with the aim of connecting ECEs and early years staff with parents and engaged community members to strengthen our campaign for Professional Pay & Decent Work in early years and child care.  

This 2 day training session is an excellent opportunity for those working or studying in the early years and child care sector who are interested in taking up an active role in their communities and in our Professional Pay campaign. Participants will gain the skills and confidence to engage others, to become leaders in their work or school environments and to champion positive change in our sector.

The curriculum teaches emerging leaders how to:

• Gain self confidence to tell your story/speak your mind to motivate others  
• Recruit and retain members of your community/program to work towards a common goal
• Build strong Communities of Practice (CoP) that foster leadership among ECEs, staff and parents
• Strategize in a CoP setting and utilize tactics that build power and move decision makers
• Have a strong social media presence

Participants will take away skills and knowledge that can be used to organize Communities of Practice (CoP) and promote leadership among teams in a variety of early years settings.

A very limited amount of free registrations are available to students currently enrolled in an ECE diploma or degree program.  Please go to the registration page for more information.

For more information and to register for our session in Ottawa, ON - April 8th-9th

Lunch & refreshments will be provided for the 2 day session.  

Professional Learning certificates will also be provided to participants.