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Child Care Now submission on Building a Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System

The Department of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is seeking input on the development of the Canada-wide ELCC system and its commitment to provide child care for $10-a-day, on average. ESDC has provided a discussion guide (available in English and French) as a framework to guide submissions, available here. 

Child Care Now welcomes the opportunity to share our views and experiences in a submission about the key challenges, successes and ongoing supports required to build a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care System.

The Child Care Now submission focuses on the six core questions outlined in the Discussion Guide, as well as the questions focused on expanding a Canada-wide ELCC system. Through addressing these questions, we touch on the supplementary questions outlined in the discussion guide that are integral for the success of a universal ELCC system, namely a system that supports: 

  • A highly qualified and well-compensated ELCC workforce,
  • The rights of Indigenous peoples and organizations in urban and remote settings, and living on and off reserve to deliver high quality and culturally appropriate ELCC to their communities; 
  • Children and families that are part of official language minority communities, as well as the organizations that support them; 
  • The inclusion of all children and families by mitigating physical, systemic and cultural barriers to participation in high quality ELCC.

Our submission focuses on the high level challenges and recommendations to expand access to high quality public and not-for-profit ELCC for children and families, in line with the Government of Canada’s policy objective of building a primarily non-profit system of ELCC. 

We encourage other ELCC advocates and sector stakeholders to prepare submissions. Respondents are invited to respond to whichever questions most align with their priorities, challenges, and experiences. Feedback can be sent in the format you prefer to the Federal Secretariat on ELCC at ESDC.ELCCER-AGJERE.EDSC@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca, by September 16, 2024. 

Read Child Care Now’s submission here

View discussion guide here (available in English and French)