In the midst of an election, the governing Liberal Party has announced
regulated/licenced childcare for all.

But they also pledged this in 1993 and produced NOTHING upon their
election.

-----------------------------------------------------------
MOVING CANADA FORWARD

FOUNDATIONS: A NATIONAL EARLY LEARNING
AND CHILD CARE PROGRAM
----------------------------------------------------------
By the Liberal Party of Canada
Released: June 3, 2004

BACKGROUND

High-quality early learning and child care programs contribute immensely to
the
healthy growth of children.  A multitude of studies show investments in
early
learning and child care give kids the best start in life.

The modern reality is clear: both parents often want or are required to
participate in the paid labour force while needing to have confidence their
children are thriving in a caring, stimulating environment.  Investments in
child care and early learning can also help level the playing field for
those
disadvantaged by birth or background.

These programs set our youngest on a path to lifelong achievement, and a
Canada-wide commitment to early learning and child care is the single best
investment we can make in our future.

There are approximately 2.1 million children under the age of six in
Canada,
with 1.3 million children whose mothers are in the paid labour force.  In
2001,
there were an estimated 315,000 regulated child care spaces in Canada
(outside
of regulated family day-care spaces for which information is incomplete).
Quebec's program is the most advanced in Canada, as the province aims to
have
200,000 spaces available by 2006.

Traditional day care, however, can be expensive and does not always include
an
educational element.  We believe every child should benefit from learning
at an
early age, and that no child should be denied access to such benefits by
reason
of cost.

Progressive systems are commonplace throughout Europe.  Most Western
European
countries have a comprehensive, largely publicly-funded system for all
children.
   Systems in Canada and the United States are nowhere near as advanced,
but we
have started to make progress.

In March 2003, federal, provincial, territorial ministers responsible for
social
services reached agreement on a framework for improving access to
affordable,
quality, regulated early learning and child care programs and services.

The federal government committed, in 2003 a total of $900 million over five
years to support provincial and territorial government investments in early
learning and child care. Funds started to flow in April 2003.  The 2004
Budget
increased funding by $75 million annually for both 2004-05 and 2005-06.
This
brought total support over five years to $1.05 billion.

The agreement provided for further investment in regulated early learning
and
child care programs for children under six.  Regulated programs are defined
as
programs that meet quality standards that are established and monitored by
provincial/territorial governments.

Quebec is the North American leader in early learning and care and provides
an
example of well-designed, high-quality early learning and child care
programs.
As Saskatchewan led the way with Medicare, Quebec can lead the country in
the
development of a Canada-wide system of early learning and child care.

Previous efforts to reach an agreement with the provinces were not
successful
because, in the early 1990s, all governments in Canada were facing
unsustainable
fiscal pressures, and there was no agreed-upon process to align federal
investments with the provinces' social policy priorities.

Since then, the two levels of government cooperated successfully on the
introduction of the National Child Benefit in 1997, and those efforts have
provided significant support for Canadian children.  Indeed, federal
commitments
to the National Child Benefit have steadily increased and will reach more
than
$10 billion annually by 2007.

The 1999 Social Union Framework Agreement outlined principles for the
creation
of joint initiatives.  Agreements negotiated through this framework have
been
reached on early learning and child care, including the Early Childhood
Development Agreement in 2000 and the Multilateral Framework on Early
Learning
and Child Care in 2003.  Our proposed initiative builds on and
significantly
extends these.

THE PLAN

The Liberal government will contribute $5 billion over the next five years,
beyond funds already committed, to accelerate the building of a Canada-wide
system of early learning and child care.  The Foundations program will
ensure
children have access to high-quality, government-regulated spaces at
affordable
costs to parents.

The Liberal government will enshrine in legislation the four principles for
Foundations ? the "QUAD":

 > QUALITY ? each facility must be provincially or territorially regulated
to
ensure safety and an appropriate complement of qualified child development
staff.

 > UNIVERSALITY ? the program will be open, without discrimination, to
preschool
children, including children with special needs.

 > ACCESSIBILITY ? the program will be affordable for parents.

 > DEVELOPMENTAL ? the program must include a component of
development/learning
integrated with the care component.

It is estimated the average annual cost of a full-time place in an early
learning and child care program (based on our QUAD principles) will be in
the
range of $8,000 to $9,000.  The cost of supporting 100,000 spaces across
Canada,
therefore, would be in the range of $800 to $900 million per year.

Federal funding will be provided to provinces that put in place early
learning
and child care programs based on the QUAD principles.  It is hoped that
provinces and territories will also contribute additional funds beyond
those
they are already spending on early learning and child care. Even if they do
not,
the federal government will provide a per capita share of funds to support
new
and existing provincial or territorial programs that embody the QUAD
principles.


**** An analysis will follow ? see our ISSUE FILE
http://www.childcarecanada.org/res/issues/04fedelection.html



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This message was forwarded through the Childcare Resource
and Research Unit e-mail news notifier. For information on the
CRRU e-mail notifier, including instructions for (un)subscribing,
see http://www.childcarecanada.org

The Childcare Resource and Research Unit
University of Toronto, Canada
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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