**** CNS Media Release
Province Seeking Input on Child Care Transformation
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The Province is creating a new engagement table on child care and inviting interested Nova Scotians to apply to be members.
The Early Learning and Child Care Engagement Table will provide input and advice to Nova Scotia’s Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development around implementing the Canada Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. The table will have 10 to 18 members and include people who work in the sector, operators, parents and others.
“We are on a five-year journey to transform the way child care is delivered in Nova Scotia,” said Becky Druhan, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. “We need to work together with the people who know the sector, deliver care on a day-to-day basis, and the families who access care. We need people who can help us build child care that cares for all Nova Scotians – children, families, early childhood educators, operators.”
Those interested in being a member of the engagement table are encouraged to submit an application by April 8, using the online form at: https://www.ednet.ns.ca/childcare
Table members will be announced in May. Other people who would like to be involved will still have opportunities to provide input, including through working groups on specific topics, focus groups and surveys.
As announced in January, through the Canada Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, families in Nova Scotia will see a 25 per cent reduction, on average, in child-care fees as of April 1, retroactive to January 1, 2022, for children in regulated child-care spaces. This reduction means a savings, on average, of $200 per month for parents with a toddler in child care. This is an initial step in reducing 2019 child-care fees for Nova Scotian families by 50 per cent, on average, by the end of 2022, and in achieving an average of $10-a-day care by March 31, 2026.
Work continues on Nova Scotia’s Excellence in Early Childhood Education workforce strategy, which will result in higher wages and benefits for early childhood educators by this fall.
Quotes:
“Every child deserves the best start in life. Today’s announcement in Nova Scotia is another meaningful step in working together to grow our Canada-wide early learning and child-care system, allowing more children and families to access high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care.”
– Karina Gould, federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Quick Facts:
— applications will be reviewed and table members chosen based on geographic representation; knowledge of and experience with child care and the child-care system; and representation from traditionally under-represented groups
— child-care providers are receiving additional financial supports this year, including funding to offset the 25 per cent fee reduction for parents and a one-time grant to support a freeze on parent fees that took effect in July 2021
— parents continue to pay their current child-care rate until April 1, when they will then pay the reduced rate and choose whether to receive a cheque from their centre reflecting the reduction from January to March, or a credit
— the Government of Canada is making a transformative investment to build a Canada-wide early learning and child-care system in partnership with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners; this includes a historic federal investment of almost $605 million for Nova Scotia from 2021-2022 to 2025-2026, in addition to $58 million over four years for the 2021-2022 to 2024-2025 Canada-Nova Scotia Early Learning and Child Care Extension Agreement and a one-time investment of about $10.9 million in 2021-2022 to support Nova Scotia’s early childhood workforce
— Nova Scotia invests $132.6 million in early learning and child care annually, including $54 million for pre-primary and over $75 million for the child care sector
Additional Resources:
More information about Nova Scotia’s early learning and child-care system and the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement is available at: https://www.ednet.ns.ca/childcare
