Thanks very much, Mr. Chair, to you and the committee for the invitation to speak this afternoon on behalf of Canada's Child Care Advocacy Association.
Our organization serves as a national voice for a large, diverse and growing group of individuals and organizations who want high-quality, affordable, inclusive early learning and child care for all families and all children in Canada.
Last year, we drafted the affordable child care for all plan, which has been endorsed by a Canada-wide coalition of more than 100 groups representing parents, early childhood educators, advocates of children’s rights, anti-poverty groups, women’s organizations, and many others.
Three of the four national parties in the 2019 federal election made explicit commitments consistent with our plan. The majority of Canadian voters supported these parties. Now, we urge the House of Commons finance committee to recommend that child care be made a priority in the next budget.
An ambitious, evidence-based federal child care policy supported by proper levels of federal funding can advance reconciliation by supporting the implementation and expansion of indigenous early learning and child care; grow the economy by making it possible for parents with young children, especially mothers, to join the workforce or return to it after parental leave; help address the climate emergency through investments in local, green child care facilities and through the creation of green jobs in the early childhood education field; and redress inequality by ensuring that all children, women and families have equal access to high-quality, inclusive child care.
We were gratified that the Liberal government re-engaged in child care following the 2015 election. We welcomed the multi-year funding commitment for early learning and child care in the 2017 federal budget, and the negotiation of a multilateral agreement with the provinces and territories on early learning and child care.
However, the federal government must and can do more. First, we want the Government of Canada to increase its spending on child care by an additional $1 billion each year over 10 years to meet international benchmark standards. We recognize and applaud the Liberal promise to fund the creation of 250,000 new child care spaces for school-aged children. But we also need to see additional funds for the creation of more affordable infant, toddler and preschool child care in order to address the desperate shortage of supply.
Second, we want the federal government to negotiate new bilateral funding agreements with the provinces and territories, agreements that will simultaneously raise the quality of child care by lifting up the wages, working conditions and education of the child care workforce; increase access by substantially increasing the supply of high-quality, inclusive, flexible licensed child care for all age groups, using a publicly planned and managed approach; and make child care affordable for parents by providing direct operating funding to services.
Third, we want to see legislation that enshrines Canada’s commitment to child care with an entitlement for all children. The legislation should set out the principles, conditions and accountability mechanisms for federal transfer payments to the provinces and territories similar to the Canada Health Act.
Fourth, we ask the federal government to deliver on its election promise to establish and fund a federal child care secretariat to lead and coordinate the federal government’s child care work.
Fifth, we ask that the federal government continue to fund and support the implementation of the indigenous early learning and child care framework to ensure that all indigenous children have access to spiritually enriching, culturally relevant, high-quality child care.
Thank you very much.