Canada's Child Care Workforce
Shani Halfon, October 2014
This brief summarizes what is known about the childcare workforce in Canada, the implications of this for regulated childcare, and identifies some considerations and strategies to address the ongoing issues and improve the overall state of ECEC. A summary of the relevant research and data leads to the conclusion that a coordinated and comprehensive strategy is needed to address the multiple and interconnected variables that impact the working conditions of those in the childcare workforce.
Read moreThe woman pushing for better care for Ontario children
By: Laurie Monsebraaten Toronto Star - Dec 28 2014
Imagine a big city daycare with a goat, a sheep and a flock of chickens. Real ones.
When Carolyn Ferns happened upon the children and their child-care teacher taking the goat for a walk, she knew anything was possible.
“I thought, what is this? This is fantastic,” recalls Ferns of the extraordinary scene in the Swedish city of Lund, where she was taking a university gap year in the early 2000s.
Ferns thinks about that daycare often in her new role as head of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, the voice of non-profit, affordable child care in the province.
Child Care in Canada by 2020: A vision and a way forward
A discussion paper for Canada’s 4th national child care policy conference, ChildCare2020
Fa m i l i e s i n C a n a d a desperately need access to early childhood education and child care services that only a comprehensive system can provide. The key to building this system is the same today as it has been for many years: The federal government must step up to the plate. Provincial/territorial programs on their own will continue to evolve in painful, slow steps leaving many parents unable to find or afford quality programs for their children. As this discussion document shows, it doesn’t—and shouldn’t—have to be this way.
Read on to see what federal leadership and dedicated, accountable investment in a child care system could accomplish by 2020.
Stephen Harper announces $3B of tax breaks for families with children
OTTAWA—With an election on the horizon, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is moving to put more money in the pockets of Canadians through a $3-billion boost in family tax breaks.
The overhaul of family taxation, announced by Harper in a mini-budget at a campaign-style event in Vaughan, includes a limited form of income-splitting, increased monthly baby bonus payments and an expansion of the tax deduction parents can claim for child care expenses.
Income splitting won’t help parents who really need a tax break
The Harper government’s parental income splitting plan is designed in such a way that guarantees it will only make a difference to the richest Canadians. By design, it cannot help those who need assistance with child care the most.
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AECEO responds to NDP National Childcare program announcement
Early Childhood Educators are the backbone of a national childcare program.
October 16. 2014
The Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) welcomes the announcement made yesterday by Thomas Mulcair and the Federal NDP regarding their plan to implement a national high quality and affordable childcare program if elected.
We join our colleagues in the childcare community in applauding the NDP for establishing the foundation for a national conversation around early childhood education and childcare (ECEC) leading up to the 2015 election and for their commitment to making childcare affordable for families.
Read moreCanadian families desperately need a national child-care program
Canadian families are doing their share for a prosperous future – they’re having more babies – but governments are letting them down.
Public spending on licensed child care remains grossly inadequate, and so is the supply of space. Meanwhile hard-pressed parents face crushing costs as a “baby boomlet” puts new strain on Canada’s over-stretched child care resources.
That’s the finding of a new report by the Toronto-based Childcare Resource and Research Unit and analysts at the universities of Guelph and Manitoba.
Toronto Star June 22, 2014
Schools in affluent areas more likely to offer after-hours child care, study finds
A survey by People for Education has found major gaps in the delivery of before- and after-school programs for young students — despite this being a key part of the province’s full-day kindergarten plan. Toronto Star June 23, 2014
More than just a child care waitlist registry
valued family support, assessment service should stay with Andrew Fleck
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 27, 2014) - Despite a $4 million provincial funding infusion for Ottawa child care services, parents and child care staff throughout the city are flummoxed as to why the City of Ottawa is ending community provision of a valued assessment and referral service that fielded over 11,500 calls from parents in 2013.
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