Early Years Study

August 17, 2022

Early Years Study Newsletter #23 - August 17, 2022

Early Years Study Newsletter #23 – August 17, 2022

March 28, 2022

Early Years Study Newsletter #22 – March 28, 2022

March 17, 2022

Early Years Study Newsletter #21 – March 17, 2022

February 22, 2022

Early Years Study Newsletter #20 – February 22, 2022

January 31, 2022

Early Years Study Newsletter #19 – January 31, 2022

January 14, 2022

Statement By The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain On Nova Scotia’s Early Learning And Child Care Announcement

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia was the second jurisdiction to sign an early learning and child care agreement with the federal government last July, but it is first to put in place the essentials for a quality system.

As Premier Huston stressed the province is embarking on an ‘historic transformation’. By converting its majority for-profit daycare services and incorporating them into a new publicly- managed system, Nova Scotia is creating the foundation needed to deliver affordable, accessible early learning and care, staffed by a qualified and well compensated workforce.

While officials are understandably motivated by child care’s ability to support the economy by growing the labour force, it was the parents at today’s announcement who reminded us that it is children who are the prime users of child care. Dr. Jessie-Lee McIsaac and other parents spoke of how they value educators and their ability to create wonderful spaces that foster children´s “kindness, curiosity and imagination”. These are the 21st century assets the new generation will need to tackle the challenging world bequeathed them.

Often overlooked among the front line heroines of the COVID pandemic, it was fitting that government officials recognized the indispensable role of early childhood educators to the success of the Canada-wide early learning and child care initiative and committed to real, sustainable improvements in their wages, benefits and training supports.

Families will applaud the retroactive reduction in their child care fees and the ambitious target of 1,500 new non-profit spaces by year end, the first installment on 9,500 new spaces by 2026.

For Canadians it was gratifying to see how intergovernmental cooperation can accelerate policy for the benefit of children, families, and the economy. Together they have created something very special for Nova Scotia. There is much in today’s historic announcement for others to emulate.

For more information on today’s release: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220114001

January 4, 2022

Early Years Study Newsletter #18 – January 4, 2022

October 4, 2021

Early Years Study Newsletter #17 – October 4, 2021

September 22, 2021

Early Years Study Newsletter #16 – September 22, 2021

August 12, 2021

Early Years Study Newsletter #15 – August 12, 2021

Early Years Study Newsletter #15 – August 12 2021

August 5, 2021

Letter: Childcare funding announcement is good news for Newfoundland

Saltwire

June 14, 2021

Early Years Study Newsletter #14 – June 14, 2021

April 22, 2021

Early Years Study Newsletter #13 - April 22, 2021

Early Years Study Newsletter #13 – April 22, 2021

April 12, 2021

Canada’s Leaders Sound the Alarm on the Childcare Crisis

“A diverse group of Canada’s leaders are saying the time has come to view the absence of early childhood education and care as a Canada-wide emergency and are asking the federal government to get on with the business of fixing it.

In an open letter to Minister Freeland, six other federal ministers and Opposition Leaders, signed by public policy and business leaders from across the country, The Prosperity Project is calling for the introduction of a Canada-wide early learning and childcare (ELCC) system to address the needs of working families, citing multiple research studies that show women are exiting the workforce due to the pressures of the pandemic. Joining the Prosperity Project to support this call are Business Council of Canada CEO Goldy Hyder, the Hon. Margaret McCain and Children First Canada Founder Sara Austin.

“We are mothers, white women, black women, women of colour and Indigenous women. As female leaders, we are taking action because the hardships of the crisis have been unevenly shared. In the world of work, we are witnessing significant negative consequences for women as they drop from the path to prosperity while it becomes apparent that others will never get the opportunity to participate in the first place,” said Pamela Jeffery, founder of The Prosperity Project, a not-for-profit organization created to ensure Canadian women are not left behind in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

The Prosperity Project is supporting a new ELCC platform for children and families across the country that is anchored by:

Shared guiding principles affirmed in all jurisdictions focused on issues of quality, accessibility and affordability;
Long-term, stable, national funding made available to “fund the services” including the training, recruitment and retention of well-paid and professional staff to help create attractive career prospects for early childhood educators-a predominantly female labour force;
Ongoing benchmarking, assessment and planning to monitor outcomes across ELCC programs and ensure adherence to the guiding principles; and
Equitable access to high quality and culturally appropriate ELCC for First Nations, Inuit and Métis children who often do not meet the minimum indices of social determinants of health.

Access the Open Letter:

April 7, 2021