PREFACE

In September 2000, the Government of Canada and the provincial and territorial governments reached an historic agreement on Early Childhood Development (ECD). Under the ECD Agreement, the Government of Canada made an original commitment to provide $2.2 billion to the provinces and territories over five years, to support investments in early childhood development programs and services for children under six and their families. As part of the Agreement, governments also committed to report annually on their progress.

In 2003–2004, the federal contribution reached $500 million, which the Government of Canada committed in the 2003 Budget to provide annually after 2005–2006. Overall, federal contributions in support of the ECD Agreement will reach $3.2 billion over the period of 2001–2002 to 2007–2008.

In March 2003, governments took another important step to support children and their families, when federal, provincial and territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services reached agreement on a Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care.¹ The purpose of the framework is to improve access to affordable, quality, provincially and territorially regulated early learning and child care programs and services.

Originally, the Government of Canada agreed to provide $900 million over five years to support provincial and territorial investments in early learning and child care. The Government of Canada announced in the 2004 Budget further investments of $150 million over two years, bringing the total federal contribution under this initiative to $1.05 billion over five years.

As part of the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care, governments committed to transparent annual public reporting that would give Canadians a clear idea of the progress made to improve access to affordable, quality early learning and child care programs and services.

The two reports in this publication deliver on the Government of Canada's commitment to report to Canadians on activities and expenditures related to early childhood development and early learning and child care during 2003–2004.

While the progress is encouraging, more needs to be done to help families who are raising young children. Parents must have real choices, and children must have real opportunities to learn. As part of its commitment to children and families, the Government of Canada continues to work with provincial and territorial partners to support investments in early childhood development, and early learning and child care, to help give children the best possible start in life.

The Government of Canada's Support for Young Children

Direct Investments in Young Children

The Government of Canada is committed to advancing the well-being of children and families and is making significant direct investments in early childhood development. The activities supported by these investments include a wide range of programs and services, such as:

• targeted community-based programs for children and families at risk (e.g., Community Action Program for Children, Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program);
• social, health and economic programs to improve outcomes for First Nations and Inuit children and families (e.g., First Nations and Inuit Child Care Initiative, Aboriginal Head Start On Reserve);
• programs for at-risk Aboriginal children living off reserve (e.g., Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities); and
• research and information activities, including public education campaigns (e.g., child safety programs, literacy initiatives and research into the effects of family violence on health).

The Government of Canada also contributes to the health and well-being of children through various income support and tax measures that benefit families and children of all ages. For example, the government provides significant income support through the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB), including the National Child Benefit Supplement, which is paid to low-income families. In program year 2004, the CCTB will provide roughly $9.1 billion in assistance to 3.5 million families with children.

In addition, the Government of Canada provides support for non-governmental organizations that work to enhance child health and well-being. For example, the government works in partnership with non-governmental organizations to produce knowledge and information about healthy childhood development through Canada's Centres of Excellence for Children's Well-Being.

Another example is the government's Social Development Partnerships Program, which provides grants and contributions (totalling more than $5 million in 2003–2004) to non-profit organizations concerned with social development and inclusiveness for specific populations in Canada, including children and their families.

Federal Transfers Supporting Health and Social Programs

In addition to the many direct activities described in this report, the Government of Canada also makes significant contributions to the health and well-being of young children and families through transfers to provinces and territories including the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) and the Canada Social Transfer (CST).

As part of the Health Accord, First Ministers agreed to restructure the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) and to create separate transfers for health and other social programs, thereby enhancing the transparency and accountability of federal support for health while continuing to provide provinces and territories with the flexibility to allocate funds among social programs according to their respective priorities. The Canada Health Transfer (CHT) is the primary federal transfer to provinces and territories in support of health care. The Canada Social Transfer (CST) supports provincial and territorial government expenditures in the areas of post-secondary education, social assistance and social services, including early childhood development and early learning and child care.

Provinces and territories are able to use health care funding under the CHT according to their respective priorities, providing direct support and services to young children and their families, especially during pregnancy and infancy, which are periods of high health care need. In addition, young children and their families have access to a range of provincial and territorial social services funded through the CST.

New Measures Introduced in the Federal Budget, March 2004

In its 2004 Budget, the Government of Canada introduced new measures to support young children and their families. One measure increased cash transfers to the provinces and territories by $150 million over the next two years to accelerate implementation of the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care. Another provided additional federal funding for early learning and child care supports for First Nations children on reserve. Details about these measures are featured in Chapter 1 of Section II: Early Learning and Child Care Activities and Expenditures, Government of Canada Report for 2003–2004.

In addition, the 2004 Budget proposed an investment of $14 million over the next two years as part of a plan to expand the successful community research pilot project, Understanding the Early Years (UEY). This project, which began in 1999, strengthens the capacity of communities to make informed decisions about the best policies and most appropriate programs to support families with young children. UEY's positive impact on communities is profiled in Chapter 7, Research and Information, of Section I.

Also, the 2004 Budget created a new Canada Learning Bond (CLB) to "kick-start" education savings for children in low-income families. The CLB will provide up to $2,000 of education savings by age 16 for children in families that are entitled to the National Child Benefit Supplement.

• ¹ While the Government of Québec supports the general principles of the ECD Agreement and the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care, it did not participate in developing these initiatives because it intends to preserve its sole responsibility on social matters. However, Québec receives its share of federal funding and the Government of Québec is making major investments towards programs and services for families and children. All references to viewpoints shared by federal, provincial and territorial governments in this document do not include the views of Québec.