SECTION I
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AND EXPENDITURES: GOVERNMENT OF CANADA REPORT 2004-2005 and 2005-2006
1. INTRODUCTION
Federal/Provincial/Territorial Early Childhood Development Agreement
The September 2000 Federal/Provincial/Territorial Early Childhood Development (ECD) Agreement is focused on children under six and their families, and has two clear objectives:
- to promote early childhood development so that, to their full potential, children will be physically and emotionally healthy, safe and secure, ready to learn, and socially engaged and responsible; and
- to help children reach their potential and to help families support their children within strong communities.
To meet these objectives, governments identified four key areas for action, and agreed to invest in any or all of these areas, according to their own priorities:
- promoting healthy pregnancy, birth and infancy;
- improving parenting and family supports;
- strengthening early childhood development, learning and care; and
- strengthening community supports.
Additional details about the ECD Agreement are featured in Annex A of this report, which contains the full text of the First Ministers' Meeting Communiqué, September 11, 2000.
Public Reporting
As part of the ECD Agreement, First Ministers committed to report annually on their investments and progress in enhancing early childhood development programs and services. They also made a commitment that governments would continue to improve the quality of reporting over time and agreed to develop a Shared Framework for Reporting on Progress in Improving and Expanding Early Childhood Development Programs and Services. The full text of this shared framework for reporting is featured in Annex B.
This report on activities and expenditures in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 fulfills the Government of Canada's commitment to report annually on its investments and progress in enhancing early childhood development programs and services.
Previous reports can be found at www.ecd-elcc.ca .
Federal Transfers in Support of Provincial and Territorial Government Investments in Early Childhood Development
Under the ECD Agreement, the Government of Canada transfers $500 million per year to provinces and territories to support their investments in early childhood development programs and services. Budget 2007 sets out funding levels for the CST, including ongoing funding for ECD, through 2013-2014 and proposes the introduction of an annual 3% escalator beginning in 2009-2010.
Table 1.1 provides details on the Government of Canada's cash transfers in support of the ECD Agreement.
Table 1.1: Cash Transfers in Support of the Early Childhood Development Agreement ($ millions)
| 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
Total | |||
Newfoundland and Labrador |
5.1 | 6.6 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 51.5 | ||
| Prince Edward Island | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 13.8 | ||
Nova Scotia |
9.0 | 11.9 | 14.8 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 14.2 | 93.5 | ||
New Brunswick |
7.3 | 9.6 | 11.9 | 11.8 | 11.6 | 11.5 | 11.4 | 75.0 | ||
Quebec |
71.6 | 95.0 | 118.3 | 118.0 | 117.7 | 117.3 | 117.0 | 754.9 | ||
Ontario |
115.0 | 154.2 | 193.5 | 194.0 | 194.4 | 194.4 | 194.9 | 1,240.4 | ||
Manitoba |
11.1 | 14.7 | 18.3 | 18.3 | 18.2 | 18.1 | 18.0 | 116.8 | ||
Saskatchewan |
9.7 | 12.7 | 15.7 | 15.6 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 15.0 | 99.1 | ||
Alberta |
29.6 | 39.7 | 49.9 | 50.1 | 50.7 | 51.6 | 51.8 | 323.4 | ||
British Columbia |
39.4 | 52.5 | 65.6 | 65.7 | 65.9 | 66.1 | 66.2 | 421.4 | ||
Yukon |
0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 3.1 | ||
Northwest Territories |
0.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 4.2 | ||
Nunavut |
0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 3.0 | ||
TOTAL |
300.0 | 400.0 | 500.0 | 500.0 | 500.0 | 500.0 | 500.0 | 3,200.0 | ||
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Note: Payments are notionally provided under the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) up to 2003-04 and under the Canada Social Transfer (CST) for 2004-05 and beyond. |
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Structure of Section I
The Text
As in previous years, the report is organized into four key areas for action:
- promoting healthy pregnancy, birth and infancy (Chapter 2);
- improving parenting and family supports (Chapter 3);
- strengthening early childhood development, learning and care (Chapter 4); and
- strengthening community supports (Chapter 5).
There are also separate chapters on dedicated services and programs for Aboriginal children and families (Chapter 6), and on research and information (Chapter 7). Some activities in the report are relevant to two or more key areas for action; however, these are only reported once.
Each report on a specific activity begins with a short description, which is followed by an activities and expenditures table. Activities are organized alphabetically by the responsible government departments or agencies. Where possible and applicable, descriptive information is based on the program indicators outlined in the shared framework for reporting.
In a change from previous editions of the report, some programs and services formerly presented as Health Canada activities are now listed under the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The PHAC was created on September 24, 2004, and assumed responsibility for programs, initiatives and services previously administered by the Population and Public Health Branch of Health Canada.
Similarly, on February 6, 2006 the Government of Canada made changes to its structure and departmental organization. The former departments of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Social Development Canada, and Service Canada were consolidated into one department named Human Resources and Social Development Canada. The information presented in this report has been organized accordingly, to reflect the creation of the new department.
To assist readers in finding information about specific activities, Annex C includes an index of all programs and services described in the report. A list of inactive programs that were featured in previous reports is included as Annex D.
The Tables
All information on program expenditures and availability are for children under six and their families, unless otherwise indicated.
All activity and expenditure data have been brought forward from previous Government of Canada reports on early childhood development activities and expenditures for ease of tracking. If new information has become available on expenditures in previous years (e.g., an estimate has been changed to an actual amount), those expenditures have been re-reported. As well, some previously reported expenditures have been changed as a result of corrections.
Consistent with a commitment to improve the quality of reporting over time, significant effort has been made to obtain Comptroller or Senior Financial Advisor approval of expenditures in this report. This level of approval was obtained for the majority of program expenditures. In the future we will strive to ensure that all program expenditures receive this level of approval.