Posted on 28 April 2009
Ottawa, April 28, 2009 – Today, the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs tabled its report, Early Childhood Education and Care: Next Steps, to the Senate. In November 2006, the Senate authorized the Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology to undertake two tasks. First, the committee was to examine the state of early learning and child care in Canada in view of the OECD report Starting Strong II, released in September 2006, which rated Canada last among 14 countries on spending on early learning and child care programs.
Second, the committee was to study and report on the OECD challenge that “… significant energies and funding will need to be invested in the field to create a universal system in tune with the needs of a full employment economy, with gender equity and the new understandings of how young children develop and learn.”
The committee has recognized Canada’s strengths but also its weaknesses. Senator Art Eggleton, Chair of the committee, said that: “We need to move foreword on early learning and child care because all our children deserve the best possible start in life. This report is a road map to put the necessary structures in place to give each child the best opportunity to reach his or her potential.”
At the release of this report, Senator Wilbert Keon, Deputy Chair, said that : “ Early child development is an important foundation for well-being in later life; co-ordinated support for families to encourage human development for the young is worthy of federal support and provincial action.”
With respect to this mandate, the committee heard from childcare providers and advocates from across Canada, officials from Human Resources and Social Development Canada and Canadian and international experts on human development in early years. As well, an in-depth analysis was undertaken of the OECD reports relative to Canada as well as for several countries with higher rankings and more developed programs for early childhood learning and childcare.
The Committee would like to thank former Senator Marilyn Trenholme Counsell for her leadership during this study.
The committee’s mandate, schedule meetings, most recent reports and minutes of proceedings can be seen at: www.senate-senat.ca/social.asp.
For more information, please contact:
Jean-Guy Desgagné
Media Relations
Tel: 944- 9162
desgaj@sen.parl.gc.ca
Keli Hogan
Committee Clerk
Tel: 613-993-9021
Hogank@sen.parl.gc.ca
The Committee’s recommendations are:
1. that the Prime Minister appoint a Minister of State for Children and Youth, under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development Canada, with responsibilities to include working with provincial and territorial government to advance quality early learning, parenting programs and child care, as well as research human development and early childhood development and learning;
2. that the Minister for Human Resources and Social Development appoint a National Advisory Council on Children, to advise the Minister of State for Children and Youth and through the Minister of State, other Ministers on how best to support parents and to advance quality early learning and child care. The Council membership is to include Parliamentarians, other stakeholders, community leaders and parents, with appropriate representation from Aboriginal communities;
3. that the Government of Canada call a series of meetings of federal, provincial, and territorial Ministers with responsibility for children and youth, beginning within one year of this report to:
a. establish a pan-Canadian framework to provide policies and programs to support children and their families; and
b. establish a federal/provincial/territorial Council of Ministers responsible for early learning and child care and parental supports, to meet annually, to review Canada’s progress with respect to other OECD countries, and to share best practices within Canada; and,
4. that the Government of Canada, in collaboration with provincial and territorial counterparts and researchers, create an adequately funded, robust system of data collection, evaluation and research, promoting all aspects of quality human development and in early childhood programming including the development of curricula, program evaluation and child outcome measures.