Government of New Brunswick and Canada agree on three-year child care action plan
Government of New Brunswick and Canada agree on three-year child care action plan
The government of Canada and New Brunswick have announced a new action plan to advance implementation of the Canada-New Brunswick Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement in the province.
Reduction of not-for-profit expansion
Child Care Now is extremely disappointed that the Action Plan gives the New Brunswick government permission to decrease the targeted expansion of not-for-profit and public child care spaces, and to use federal funds to accelerate the expansion of the for-profit sector. Of the total 3,400 new spaces that were committed to in the original plan, 665 new designated spaces will be allocated to the for-profit sector—up from 1,000 in the original allocation. The number of not-for-profit spaces will be reduced from 2,400 to 1,745.
“The federal government should be holding New Brunswick to the original expansion targets and require that the province do much more to support the not-for-profit sector,” said Morna Ballantyne, Executive Director of Child Care Now. “The federal government’s promise in 2021 to build a primarily not-for-profit child care system won’t be realized if measures aren’t taken to curb the ongoing growth of profit-making.”
In April 2022, when the CWELCC Agreement was signed, more than two-thirds of spaces were in for-profit centres. The revised allocation of spaces shifts the proportion of new for-profit spaces from 29% to 49%.
The Action Plan states that New Brunswick is committed to creating new child care spaces in rural, Francophone, low-income, and newcomer communities, with some designated spaces offering extended hours to accommodate families’ needs.
In addition, New Brunswick will continue to fund 100 full-time ELCC spaces annually for four-year olds.
Support a qualified workforce
The action plan outlines commitments to support a qualified workforce, including multiple initiatives to help educators obtain their ECE certification. The province is committed to revising the ECE Wage Grid annually.
“We are glad to see that the provincial wage grid will be reviewed because currently the minimum and maximum wage rates set out in the grid are too low and we are concerned that the grid doesn’t not encourage or sufficiently reward ECEs who upgrade their qualifications,” said Ballantyne.
New Brunswick will also participate in the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) in 2024 as a way to gather data that will inform policies around educators’ working conditions.
New Brunswick will develop an Indigenous ELCC curriculum framework that honours Wabanaki culture, in collaboration with Indigenous communities. Professional learning will be provided to all educators to deepen their understanding of Indigenous culture in ELCC settings.
New Brunswick is the third province to reach an agreement with the Government of Canada on the action plan for the 2023-2026 period, ensuring that federal funding continues to support early learning and child care across the province. Average parent fees will be lowered to $10 per day by March 2026.
Read the full action plan here.