Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, July 28, 2021
Excerpt: "The plan features targets to achieve several shared priorities between the Federal and Provincial Governments. These include:
Access
- Working with not-for-profit groups, municipalities and family home child care operators to create approximately 5,800 additional regulated child care spaces by 2025-26.
- Introducing a new Pre-Kindergarten program starting in 2023. This optional early learning and child care program will be available full-time to all four year-olds in the province, and will be fully implemented by 2025-26.
Affordability
- Further reducing the cost of regulated child care to $15 per day on January 1, 2022 and to $10 per day in 2023.
Quality
- Working with a consultant to conduct labour force adjustment analysis specific to Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) in order to develop a wage-grid for ECEs by the end of 2022, with full implementation by 2023.
- Creating an Early Learning and Child Care Advisory Committee by March 31, 2023, which will advise the Minister of Education on a wide range of early learning and childcare issues.
- Increasing the percentage of fully certified ECEs working in the sector by 15 per cent by the end of 2023 and to at least 60 per cent by the end of 2025.
- Increasing bursary funding for ECEs through the ECE Graduate Bursary Program, the ECE Trainee Bursary Program and the ECE On-Campus Field Placement Bursary.
Inclusivity
- Enhancing the existing Child Care Capacity Initiative, with a focus on creating additional spaces in rural communities, linguistic minority communities and Indigenous communities.
- Making specific allowances for space creation, bursaries and ECE training for groups from diverse populations including Indigenous, black and other racialized people, 2SLGBTQ+, newcomers to Canada, individuals with exceptionalities and official language minorities."
Access the full news release HERE
