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Posted on The Conversation.

Excerpt: "COVID-19 underscored what women knew all along. Faced with few viable options, mothers ended up exiting the workforce. Small wonder that the recent federal budget focused on reducing fees when describing its early learning and child care plans. Ottawa’s plan to cut costs in half by next year, with the promise of $10-a-day child care fees within five years, throws a lifeline to thousands of households."

Posted on Early Childhood Education Report.

In 2021, the Government of Canada committed to providing sustained funding to provinces and territories to expand access to more affordable child care. The ultimate goal is to create a Canada-wide early learning and child care plan to drive economic growth, support women’s workforce participation, and give every Canadian child a head start. Achieving these objectives requires a qualified early childhood education workforce.

The early childhood education workforce is large, with 300,000 plus members representing more than1% of the working population. Workforce members can be found in many sectors, including licensed 1 child care, health, education, family support, and settlement services. Every Canadian jurisdiction has legislation governing the provision of regulated, or licensed,1 child care services. This report focuses on those working in child care centres or group care. It provides a status report on today’s child care workforce and the challenges it faces, along with promising practices. It concludes with a series of recommendations. The intent is to draw attention to the centrality of educators in creating Canada’s newest social program and the policies and resources they require to make it a success.

Information was compiled using data from Statistics Canada; extensive discussions with early childhood educators, program leaders, and government officials; and reviews of recent workforce surveys and provincial/territorial reports.

Posted on The Conversation.

Excerpt: "Half the child-care workforce barely earn above the minimum wage. Almost 70 per cent report that their salary does not adequately reflect the skill and knowledge their work requires. Enrolment challenges in programs brought on by the pandemic resulted in layoffs and unpredictable hours, leading to ECEs leaving the sector to work elsewhere where they earn more. Evaluating educators’ work using pay equity tied to comparable jobs in the public sector would place child care workers on par with their public counterparts. Recruitment and retention challenges aren’t seen in publicly operated child-care centres where educators are paid substantially more, are unionized and have access to professional development and career opportunities."

Posted on The Conversation.

Excerpt: "On Oct. 8 last year, the United Nations Human Rights Council recognized that a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right. Further to this, a historical ruling by the United Nations Child Rights Committee decided a country can be held accountable for the negative impacts of its carbon emissions on children both within and beyond its territory. Canada is investing $27 billion in early learning and child care. All 13 provinces and territories signed onto the agreement with a promise of reducing parent fees and increasing access for children zero to five years of age. Canada’s federal early learning and child-care investment is an opportunity to think green within the early learning and child-care sector and re-evaluate the status quo. It’s a chance to ensure sustainability and climate goals are incorporated both in short- and long-term policies, and in current programs and classrooms."

Posted on The Conversation.

Excerpt: "Child care delivered by schools has many advantages. Schools are publicly owned, eliminating the need for costly land and facility acquisition. Operating and oversight mechanisms are already in place. Consolidating learning and care for children of all ages in one neighbourhood location reduces its carbon footprint. Parents are spared the hassle of multiple trips between school and child care. Additionally, research finds publicly funded early childhood programs delivered by schools score high in quality."

Annual ECE wage compared to Market Basket Measure (MBM) thresholds for 2 adults/2 children by region.