CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care

On March 13, 2003, federal, provincial and territorial First Ministers Responsible for Social Services agreed on a framework for improving access to affordable, quality, provincially and territorially regulated early learning and child care services.

The agreement recognizes that quality early learning and child care programs play an important role in promoting the social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of young children. The Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care, which builds on the commitments made by governments in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Agreement (reported in Section I), has two main objectives:

• to promote early childhood development; and
• to support the participation of parents in employment or training by improving access to affordable, quality early learning and child care programs and services.

The full text of the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care, March 2003 is featured in Annex C of this report.

As part of the Multilateral Framework, the Government of Canada agreed in 2003 to transfer $900 million to the provinces and territories over five years, to support their investments in early learning and child care. (The March 2004 Federal Budget subsequently increased the amount of these cash transfers. Details are explained later in this introduction).

For their part, the provinces and territories agreed to further invest in provincially and territorially regulated early learning and child care programs for children under six. In the context of the framework, regulated programs are defined as programs that meet quality standards established and monitored by provincial and territorial governments.

The early learning and child care programs funded through this initiative generally provide direct care and early learning for children in such settings as child care centres, family child care homes, preschools and nursery schools.

The types of investments being made under the framework include capital and operating funding, fee subsidies, wage enhancements, training, professional development and support, quality assurance, and parent information and referral.

Public Reporting

As part of the Multilateral Framework, governments agreed to report to Canadians on their progress in improving access to affordable, quality early learning and child care programs. Specifically, they agreed to report annually on all early learning and child care programs that provide direct care to children, beginning with a baseline report for 2002–2003. In addition, they agreed that such reports would include:

• descriptive and expenditure information on all early learning and child care programs and services;
• indicators of availability, such as the number of spaces in early learning and child care settings broken down by the age of the children and type of setting;
• indicators of affordability, such as the number of children receiving subsidies, income and social eligibility for fee subsidies, and maximum subsidy by the age of the child; and
• indicators of quality, such as training requirements, caregiver-to-child ratios and group size.

This 2003–2004 report on activities and expenditures fulfils the Government of Canada's commitment to report annually on all early learning and child care programs and services, as defined in the Multilateral Framework.

The Government of Canada's Role in Early Learning and Child Care

The Government of Canada has a long-term commitment to children and families. Although the provincial and territorial governments have the primary responsibility for managing and delivering early learning and child care programs and services, the Government of Canada plays a leading role in ensuring that children have the best possible start in life. This role involves a comprehensive approach to investments in income and service supports, including a number of programs and services directly related to early learning and child care.

Direct Investments in Early Learning and Child Care

The Government of Canada supports the delivery of early learning and child care services in First Nations and Inuit communities. The government also delivers a number of innovative programs for children and families, including early learning programs and child care services for Aboriginal children and for families of Canadian Forces members. These programs and services are the primary subjects of the report.

Federal Transfers to Support Provincial and Territorial Early Learning and Child Care Programs and Services

As noted earlier, the Government of Canada agreed under the Multilateral Framework to transfer $900 million to the provinces and territories over five years, to support their investments in early learning and child care programs and services. Since April 1, 2004, funding is transferred under the Canada Social Transfer (CST). Prior to that, funding was transferred under the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST). In 2003–2004, the amount transferred to the provinces and territories was $25 million.

The Government of Canada committed in the 2004 Budget to provide an additional $150 million over the next two years in support of provincial and territorial investments in early learning and child care. This brings the total federal contribution under this initiative to $1.05 billion over five years.

The additional funding supports provincial and territorial government efforts to act more quickly to address the early learning and child care needs of their communities. As a result, families will have better access to quality child care sooner.

Table 1.1 provides details on federal transfers to the provinces and territories in support of early learning and child care programs.

Table 1.1: Cash Transfers in Support of the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care ($ millions)

	2003–2004	2004–2005	2005–2006	2006–2007	2007–2008	TOTAL
Newfoundland and Labrador	0.4	2.4	3.6	4.8	5.5	16.7
Prince Edward Island	0.1	0.6	1.0	1.3	1.5	4.5
Nova Scotia	0.7	4.4	6.6	8.7	10.0	30.4
New Brunswick	0.6	3.5	5.3	6.9	8.0	24.4
Quebec	5.9	35.4	53.0	70.5	82.1	247.0
Ontario	9.7	58.2	87.4	116.8	136.6	408.8
Manitoba	0.9	5.5	8.2	11.0	12.8	38.3
Saskatchewan	0.8	4.7	7.0	9.2	10.6	32.3
Alberta	2.5	15.0	22.6	30.3	35.6	106.1
British Columbia	3.3	19.7	29.6	39.5	46.2	138.2
Nunavut	0.02	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.3	1.0
Northwest Territories	0.03	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.5	1.4
Yukon	0.02	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.4	1.0
TOTAL	25.0	150.0	225.0	300.0	350.0	1,050.0

Notes:
Totals may not add due to rounding.

Payments for 2003–2004 flow through the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST). Payments for 2004–2005 onwards will flow through the Canada Social Transfer (CST), which came into effect on April 1, 2004 when the CHST was restructured into two transfers (Canada Health Transfer and CST).

Figures are based on Statistics Canada population estimates for 2003–2004 and 2004–2005 and Finance Canada population projections for 2005–2006 to 2007–2008. All figures are subject to revision upon periodic release of Statistics Canada official population estimates.

Additional Support for First Nations Children On Reserve

To complement the Multilateral Framework, the Government of Canada committed an additional $35 million over five years for early learning and child care services for First Nations children living on reserve. The March 2004 Budget made a commitment to add a further $10 million to this funding over four years, bringing the total investment to $45 million. The new funding complements investments being made by provincial and territorial governments under the Multilateral Framework. It also builds on investments under the 2002 Federal Strategy on Early Childhood Development for First Nations and Other Aboriginal Children.

Early Childhood Development Agreement

Early childhood development, learning and care is one of the four key areas for action identified in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Agreement of 2000. Federal funding provided under the ECD Agreement can be used by provinces and territories for investments in early learning and child care. As outlined in Section I of this publication, in 2003–2004, the government provided $500 million to provinces and territories in support of the ECD Agreement.

Other Government of Canada Investments in Early Learning and Child Care

The Government of Canada makes a number of other significant investments in early learning and child care programs and services, as described in greater detail in Section I: Early Childhood Development Activities and Expenditures, Government of Canada Report 2003–2004. Examples of other investments include:

• the Canada Child Tax Benefit supplement and the Child Care Expense Deduction (Section I, Chapter 4);
• the First Nations National Child Benefit Reinvestment Initiative (Section I, Chapter 6); and
• a variety of research and information initiatives, including the Social Development Partnerships Program, the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, and Understanding the Early Years pilot project (Section I, Chapter 7).

In addition, the government has made significant investments in the National Child Benefit Initiative and the Child Care Human Resources Sector Council.

Provincial and Territorial Areas of Investment under the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care (2003–2004)

As indicated in the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care, each government determines its own priorities within this initiative. Examples of broad provincial and territorial priorities for investments in early learning and child care are outlined below.

Provincial and territorial governments also publish progress reports describing their investments in early learning and child care.

Federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for Social Services agreed to launch, on November 3, 2004, a new joint Web portal on early childhood development and early learning and child care (www.ecd-elcc.ca). This site is intended as an access point to federal, provincial and territorial Web sites containing information about early childhood development, and early learning and child care initiatives, including their reports under the Early Childhood Development Agreement and Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care.

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Alberta

• Child Care Accreditation Initiative–model and standards development
• Staff Support Grant Funding for day-care staff and family day home providers –used to address issue of recruitment and retention
• Quality Grant Funding for day-care centres–to assist the programs in maintaining quality programming in preparation for accreditation

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British Columbia

• Supported Child Care Program–child care for children with special needs in Aboriginal communities

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Manitoba

• Support for Manitoba's Five-Year Plan for Child Care including:
  • > increased operating grants to improve the wages and incomes of service providers;
  • > new spaces;
  • > more fee subsidies;
  • > more training options; and
  • > continued public education and student recruitment campaign

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New Brunswick

• Policy and procedures manual for licensing and monitoring
• Management of illness guidelines
• Review of child day-care operator standards
• Implementation of quality assessment tool
• Inclusive child care for children with special needs

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Newfoundland and Labrador

• Improvements to child care subsidy program
• Quality enhancement initiative
• Supports for inclusive child care

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Northwest Territories

• Regulated child care board development
• Early childhood education training

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Nova Scotia

• Inclusion programs for children with special needs in child care
• Supported child care funding
• Part-day child care centre resource and equipment grant to promote increased physical activity in child care

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Nunavut

• Subsidized day-care

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Ontario

• Investments in regulated non-profit child care centres including:
  • Health and safety
  • Furnishings and equipment
  • Operating minor capital improvements

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Prince Edward Island

• Special needs grants
• Revision of child care legislation and regulations

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Québec

• Since Québec does not participate in the Multilateral Framework, its priorities are not reflected here.

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Saskatchewan

• Approved 500 new child care spaces
• Capital funding for development of these 500 spaces
• Early childhood services funding to 250 more spaces
• Increase to the early childhood services grant
• Increase to child care subsidies

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Yukon

• Support for licensed child care programs

The Government of Canada's Baseline Report on Early Learning and Child Care Activities and Expenditures (2002–2003)

The Baseline Report on Early Learning and Child Care presented information about Government of Canada activities that provide direct support to children through access to early learning and child care programs and services.

Specifically, the Baseline Report described information about the six early learning and child care programs and services the government directly supports in Aboriginal communities, and one program on Canadian Forces bases. The report provided information about the objectives, target population, mandate, design and delivery of these programs and services. It also provided detailed information about the expenditures, licensing and regulation, availability, affordability and quality of these programs and services.

This information is available online at www.socialunion.ca/ecd/2003/report1_e/c8e.html#1cat8.

Scope and Format of Section II

This report does not reiterate details from the Baseline Report regarding the mandate, design and delivery, and licensing and regulation of the early learning and child care programs and services. Rather, it focuses on major changes that have taken place during 2003–2004, especially those related to the indicators agreed upon in the Multilateral Framework–namely, availability, affordability and quality.

Please note that all programs and services in this report on Early Learning and Child Care are featured as well in Section I: Early Childhood Development Activities and Expenditures, Government of Canada Report 2003–2004. In particular, the six early learning and child care programs and services for Aboriginal communities are described in Section I, Chapter 6, while the program on Canadian Forces bases is featured in Section I, Chapter 4.

It is also important to note that the expenditure information for programs and services described in this report mirrors the expenditure information for these activities presented in Section I and does not represent additional expenditures for these programs and services in 2003–2004.

Please note as well that Chapters 4 and 6 of Section I provide links, where possible, to Web sites with additional information about the early learning and child care programs featured in this report. For the sake of brevity, the references to Web sites are not repeated here.

The early learning and child care activities in this report are organized by federal department. For each activity, there is a capsule description outlining the main focus of the program or service. This is followed by information, where available, about major changes that have taken place during 2003–2004.

The report concludes with tables summarizing the Government of Canada's direct investments in early learning and child care programs and services. These tables are organized according to federal department or agency. All program expenditures and information on program availability are for children up to age six, unless otherwise indicated. Some programs and services are not able to confirm precise figures for this age group. In some cases, an estimated expenditure for children under six is provided. Expenditures represent actual amounts unless otherwise indicated.

The expenditures listed are direct investments. Capital investments, such as technology and infrastructure, are not included. Expenditures include one or more of the following three elements:

• salaries;
• operations and management costs; and
• grants and contributions.

Information on availability includes the number of regulated child spaces. Consistent with the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care, for the purposes of this report, a regulated program is defined as a program that meets established and monitored standards of quality.

The full text of the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care, March 2003 is featured in Annex C. Contact information for the federal departments responsible for the activities outlined in this report can be found in Annex D.