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NEW REPORT
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 >> Early childhood education and care in Canada 2004
The 6th edition of this CRRU publication provides
a national snapshot of early childhood education
and care across Canada in 2003/04
http://www.childcarecanada.org/ECEC2004/index.html

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Media Release

Thursday, June 16, 2005 – New child care study points to ‘policy deficit’
Despite new federal funding for children’s services, factors affecting
quality
and access in Canadian child care programs continue to fluctuate largely
due to
provincial policy directions, says a new study by the University of
Toronto’s
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU).

Using data provided by provincial, territorial and federal governments and
other
sources, authors Martha Friendly, CRRU coordinator, and researcher Jane
Beach
provide a snapshot of early learning and child care programs in 2004 and
track
spending and service trends back to 1992.

Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada 2004, the sixth Canada-wide
update
by the CRRU, arrives just as a new national child care program is under
development. Provincial/territorial governments are preparing action plans
that
will make them eligible for $5-billion in federal child care funding. These
plans are intended to reflect four principles: Quality, Universality,
Affordability and Developmental programming – the “QUAD”.

The study shows that Canada’s newest social program is being developed
against a
changing family demographic:

·The young child population is in decline.  There were 2 billion children
under
six years in Canada in 2003, compared to 2.3 billion in 1992.
·The trend towards mothers in the labour force continues.  In 1995, 68% of
mothers with children 3-5 years of age worked outside the home; by 2003 it
rose
to 75%. Participation rates for mothers of children under 3 years and
school age
children also grew.
·New mothers are taking advantage of improved maternity leave benefits.
Federal
spending on maternity leave more than doubled from $1.3 billion in 2000 to
$2.7
billion in 2003.  Take up varies by region with only 25% of new moms in
Nunavut
taking the benefit compared to 70% in PEI.

Child care service trends show stark regional variations:

·Overall public spending on regulated child care improved.  Total
provincial/territorial spending rose from $762 million in 1992 to $2.4
billion
in 2004. Quebec now accounts for 65% of all spending on child care. Bucking
the
national trend are Alberta and British Columbia where spending has declined
since 2001.
·There are many more regulated child care spaces; 745,254 spaces in 2004,
compared to 373,741 in 1992.
·2001-2004 marked the first significant increase in spaces outside Quebec
following years of stagnation.  However, Quebec still accounts for more
than
half the new spaces created in this period - 87,000 spaces contrasted to
64,997
spaces in the rest of Canada.
·Access remains a serious problem. Across Canada 15.5% of children 0-12
could be
accommodated in regulated programs in 2004, up from 12.1% in 2001.  Quebec
leads
providing coverage for almost 30% of its children whereas Saskatchewan
serves 4.9%.
·The supply of child care is unstable; in 2003/4, more centres closed than
opened in three provinces.
·Financial support to low income parents has stagnated. A number of
provinces
have not improved their subsidy levels since 1995. BC has decreased its
income
eligibility levels.
·Public funding per space – associated with quality and access – has fallen
since 2001 in six jurisdictions and ranges from $816 in Alberta to $4,849
in
Quebec.
·The market share of privately owned child care programs has dropped from
30% to
20% since 1992.  However, between 2001 and 2004, the number of for-profit
operations increased in four provinces -- Ontario, Newfoundland, Nova
Scotia and
PEI.

A line can be drawn from each of these statistics to one or more of the
promised
QUAD principles says Ms.Beach.  “A high quality “space” cannot be
maintained
without adequate funding.  Access is not only measured in the number of
spaces;
parents must also be able to afford the fees. Developmental care is not
sustainable when centres close as fast as they open.”

Overall the figures point to a significant “policy deficit”, says Ms.
  Friendly.
  “The federal government has made new funding available for child care and
substantial new investments are pending.  Needed is a strong policy
framework to
ensure that public money produces the system of high quality, developmental
programs that parents can afford to which governments have committed”.

Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada 2004 (232 pages) and Trends
and
Analysis (12 pages) are available on line at www.childcarecanada.org or in
print
from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit.

For more information or to arrange interviews call Kerry McCuaig - 647 295
2808.