StarBuzz Weekly, Toronto-WINNIPEG – A Liberal government will strengthen families through a new Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund to give our kids the head start they need, while creating new, affordable child care spaces to give working families choice, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced today.
“Families don’t have choice in child care when there’s a shortage of high-quality, affordable child care spaces,” said Mr. Ignatieff at a visit to Lord Roberts Preschool. “Every child deserves the best possible start in life. With the Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund, the Liberal Party is putting equal opportunity back at the centre of Canadian life.”
The Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund will start with a $500-million investment in the first year, rising to $1 billion annually by the fourth year. Provinces and territories will be able to apply to this new social infrastructure fund for cost-sharing of early childhood learning and care plans that create and operate new, affordable, high-quality early childhood learning and care spaces across Canada with qualified professional staff.
“Our long-term goal is a high-quality, affordable early childhood learning and care space for every Canadian family that wants one,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “A federal government cannot do this on its own. That’s why we will work in close collaboration with all governments to achieve this.
“Too often, working families are stuck on waiting lists for years before a child care space opens up – and this fund could make all the difference for them,” he added. “Giving our kids the strongest possible start boosts their development throughout childhood and increases their chance of a healthy and successful life.”
The Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund will be part of a Liberal government’s Canadian Learning Strategy. The Canadian Learning Strategy aims to build the best-educated, most highly-skilled workforce in the world, including investments like the Canadian Learning Passport for higher education, support for Aboriginal learning and expanded language training for new Canadians.
“We can strengthen families – without raising your taxes – if we stop corporate giveaways, control wasteful spending, and focus on what really matters: giving every Canadian the tools to succeed.”
BACKGROUNDER
Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund
Every Canadian child deserves the best possible start in life and a comprehensive approach to learning in Canada begins with early childhood learning and care.
We’ve already seen leadership on early childhood learning and care from provinces such as Quebec. But due to a lack of federal leadership from the Conservatives, Canada receives failing grades from international bodies, including the OECD and UNICEF, for having no coordinated national early childhood learning and care policy. Growth of child care spaces has declined sharply under the Harper Conservatives.
Working parents, amidst all their other pressures, often struggle with waiting lists for the limited number of existing spaces. That wait can often last years. In fact, Canada ranks last among industrialized nations in providing access to affordable, high-quality child care spaces.
Investing in our children not only eases pressures on families – it also boosts the economy. A recent study funded by the Government of Canada found that every dollar invested in early childhood learning and care increases economic output nearly two and a half times that amount.
For these reasons, a Liberal government will establish a new Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund that will invest $500 million in the first year of our plan, rising to an annual commitment of $1 billion by the fourth year.
Administered as a new social infrastructure fund, provinces, territories and First Nations will be able to apply to the Fund for cost-sharing of early childhood learning and care plans that create and operate new, affordable, high-quality early childhood learning and care spaces across Canada, with qualified professional staff.
The long-term goal is a high-quality, affordable early childhood learning and care space for every Canadian family that wants one. But the federal government cannot do this on its own. It will require sustained collaboration among all governments. As implementation of the Fund ramps up joint investment, a Liberal government will work collaboratively with other governments on the research, policy development and sharing of best practices for the system to meet its long-term goal. This plan will support innovation and different approaches at the provincial and community levels.
Our commitment will place Canada on a path of step-by-step, year-by-year progress to improve access to early childhood learning and care. The result will be higher quality care for Canadian families, less waiting for spaces, and a country with a renewed commitment to the learning and development of our youngest citizens.
Questions & Answers
Q: How is this plan different from the Child Care Agreements signed by the previous Liberal government?
A: Since Stephen Harper scrapped those earlier agreements, we have devised a new plan to move us toward a universally accessible system as fast as possible. Rather than wait for formal agreements to be signed between every province, territory and the federal government, a new Liberal government will get started immediately with a social infrastructure fund that provinces can apply to for funding of plans in order to create new high-quality, affordable child care spaces.
Q: What will this plan mean in practical terms?
A: The approach that we have taken is all about results and creating more affordable, high-quality early learning and child care spaces for Canadian families. Across the country, there is a patchwork of need in terms of improving access to good child care. In some parts of the country, there are not enough early childhood education workers, in other parts the real need is for new child care facilities. We will support plans that are innovative and respond to local needs, and may take different approaches at the provincial and community levels.
Q: Will you maintain the $100-a-month Universal Child Care Benefit?
A: Yes. A Liberal government will maintain the $100-a-month Universal Child Care Benefit.
Q: How will this affect Quebec, given that the province already has an advanced early learning system in place?
A: Quebec has shown leadership on ensuring citizens have access to high-quality, affordable child care, and has made significant allocations of provincial resources to do so. Quebec will be able to apply to the fund, and we believe that this fund will allow the province to further build upon the success of their system.
“Families don’t have choice in child care when there’s a shortage of high-quality, affordable child care spaces,” said Mr. Ignatieff at a visit to Lord Roberts Preschool. “Every child deserves the best possible start in life. With the Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund, the Liberal Party is putting equal opportunity back at the centre of Canadian life.”
The Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund will start with a $500-million investment in the first year, rising to $1 billion annually by the fourth year. Provinces and territories will be able to apply to this new social infrastructure fund for cost-sharing of early childhood learning and care plans that create and operate new, affordable, high-quality early childhood learning and care spaces across Canada with qualified professional staff.
“Our long-term goal is a high-quality, affordable early childhood learning and care space for every Canadian family that wants one,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “A federal government cannot do this on its own. That’s why we will work in close collaboration with all governments to achieve this.
“Too often, working families are stuck on waiting lists for years before a child care space opens up – and this fund could make all the difference for them,” he added. “Giving our kids the strongest possible start boosts their development throughout childhood and increases their chance of a healthy and successful life.”
The Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund will be part of a Liberal government’s Canadian Learning Strategy. The Canadian Learning Strategy aims to build the best-educated, most highly-skilled workforce in the world, including investments like the Canadian Learning Passport for higher education, support for Aboriginal learning and expanded language training for new Canadians.
“We can strengthen families – without raising your taxes – if we stop corporate giveaways, control wasteful spending, and focus on what really matters: giving every Canadian the tools to succeed.”
BACKGROUNDER
Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund
Every Canadian child deserves the best possible start in life and a comprehensive approach to learning in Canada begins with early childhood learning and care.
We’ve already seen leadership on early childhood learning and care from provinces such as Quebec. But due to a lack of federal leadership from the Conservatives, Canada receives failing grades from international bodies, including the OECD and UNICEF, for having no coordinated national early childhood learning and care policy. Growth of child care spaces has declined sharply under the Harper Conservatives.
Working parents, amidst all their other pressures, often struggle with waiting lists for the limited number of existing spaces. That wait can often last years. In fact, Canada ranks last among industrialized nations in providing access to affordable, high-quality child care spaces.
Investing in our children not only eases pressures on families – it also boosts the economy. A recent study funded by the Government of Canada found that every dollar invested in early childhood learning and care increases economic output nearly two and a half times that amount.
For these reasons, a Liberal government will establish a new Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund that will invest $500 million in the first year of our plan, rising to an annual commitment of $1 billion by the fourth year.
Administered as a new social infrastructure fund, provinces, territories and First Nations will be able to apply to the Fund for cost-sharing of early childhood learning and care plans that create and operate new, affordable, high-quality early childhood learning and care spaces across Canada, with qualified professional staff.
The long-term goal is a high-quality, affordable early childhood learning and care space for every Canadian family that wants one. But the federal government cannot do this on its own. It will require sustained collaboration among all governments. As implementation of the Fund ramps up joint investment, a Liberal government will work collaboratively with other governments on the research, policy development and sharing of best practices for the system to meet its long-term goal. This plan will support innovation and different approaches at the provincial and community levels.
Our commitment will place Canada on a path of step-by-step, year-by-year progress to improve access to early childhood learning and care. The result will be higher quality care for Canadian families, less waiting for spaces, and a country with a renewed commitment to the learning and development of our youngest citizens.
Questions & Answers
Q: How is this plan different from the Child Care Agreements signed by the previous Liberal government?
A: Since Stephen Harper scrapped those earlier agreements, we have devised a new plan to move us toward a universally accessible system as fast as possible. Rather than wait for formal agreements to be signed between every province, territory and the federal government, a new Liberal government will get started immediately with a social infrastructure fund that provinces can apply to for funding of plans in order to create new high-quality, affordable child care spaces.
Q: What will this plan mean in practical terms?
A: The approach that we have taken is all about results and creating more affordable, high-quality early learning and child care spaces for Canadian families. Across the country, there is a patchwork of need in terms of improving access to good child care. In some parts of the country, there are not enough early childhood education workers, in other parts the real need is for new child care facilities. We will support plans that are innovative and respond to local needs, and may take different approaches at the provincial and community levels.
Q: Will you maintain the $100-a-month Universal Child Care Benefit?
A: Yes. A Liberal government will maintain the $100-a-month Universal Child Care Benefit.
Q: How will this affect Quebec, given that the province already has an advanced early learning system in place?
A: Quebec has shown leadership on ensuring citizens have access to high-quality, affordable child care, and has made significant allocations of provincial resources to do so. Quebec will be able to apply to the fund, and we believe that this fund will allow the province to further build upon the success of their system.
No comments :
Post a Comment
Your comments are welcome.