Excerpt: "The minister noted the proposed legislation outlines five basic principles that must be taken into consideration when making decisions under the act including that: early learning and child-care services should ensure the health, safety, development and well-being of children; access to early learning and child-care services should enhance the economic opportunities available to parents; early learning and child-care services should be available on a continuum that is responsive to the diverse needs of families; promoting inclusion and respect, and accommodating diversity should be inherent in early learning and child-care services; and public funding should promote fiscal responsibility and the sustainability of early learning and child-care services."