Human Resources committee  We support the asymmetrical nature of the agreement that was reached with the Province of Quebec. We see nothing in this bill that would prevent another asymmetrical agreement from being negotiated in the future.

Human Resources committee  On this question, the only thing I would add is that it would be very helpful to have a national workforce strategy with respect to early learning and child care—of course, it would be important for every province and every territory to have a strategy, but it would be one supported through federal funding—and also to ensure that best practices in one province can be applied to another, where appropriate.

Human Resources committee  I'll just go back to what I said before. There is a provision in the bill that requires the minister to report and make a public report on an annual basis. I think it's really important that the minister tables such a report with the Houses of Parliament. It's a democratic thing.

Human Resources committee  No, our position is that if there's an existing for-profit provider, that provider should receive federal support for the best-quality program possible. We also think that wherever you live in Canada, you should have access to high- quality care. The evidence tells us that that means a not-for-profit or a public provider.

Human Resources committee  I absolutely think that parents need choice, and the best way to give parents choice is to increase the supply of high-quality early learning and chid care.

Human Resources committee  The evidence suggests that it's really about working conditions. I would say a lot of what you're talking about speaks to working conditions and learning conditions. It's a very difficult sector to really do your best and to have personal safety and mental wellness, for sure. The only way to address that is to actually increase public funding and to make sure that the workforce is supported in every way, not just in wages, not just in compensation but also in ensuring good-quality working conditions.

Human Resources committee  Absolutely. There are volumes of it, but I will.

Human Resources committee  First of all, we're talking about both public and not-for-profit systems being better. A public system of early learning and child care.... A public provider is a government. In most countries with fully developed early child care systems, local government plays a key part—either municipalities or what we know in Canada as school boards.

Human Resources committee  There are a number of risks. One of the things I would say is that putting a lot of emphasis on expanding for-profit care is a real lost opportunity. The other thing I'd say around risk is that what we know from the for-profit providers and what they have said publicly with respect to the Canada-wide system of early learning and child care is that they're concerned, for example, about the constraints that are put on them by holding down parent fees.

Human Resources committee  We've set out some very specific recommendations in our written submission. I can't do it in 10 seconds. Essentially, we want to strengthen the guiding principles that would guide federal investments because that's what this bill is about. We want to make sure, for example, that federal funds explicitly go to addressing the workforce crisis, the retention crisis, the recruitment crisis.

Human Resources committee  What we have is first and foremost a crisis of retention. We're unable to retain qualified early childhood educators. They leave, most often, after three years in the workforce. They do so because the working conditions are so difficult and because the pay is so low. We also have an impossible job trying to recruit educators who are qualified to replace those who are leaving.

Human Resources committee  Well, the for-profit private sector has put at the top of their list the need to survive as a business entity, which means making a profit, so it will inevitably go into neighbourhoods and communities where that's possible.

Human Resources committee  I would say that the not-for-profit and public sector is ideally positioned to give very high-quality care, because every dollar of public funding will go to ensuring that high-quality services are provided.

Human Resources committee  This is my opportunity to reinforce that we need a lot more data. The research we have suggests that in fact wages on average are poorer in the for-profit sector, and I would also let you know that parent fees are higher.

Human Resources committee  I don't know if I'm allowed to do this, but I would really encourage Madame Gosselin to also answer this question.