²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½

News & Stories: Policy Monitor

March 14, 2019

Early Learning and Child Care Centre Pilot

Excerpt: "As of March 2018, the availability of ELCC Centres supported an estimated 328 Albertans to enter or re-enter the workforce. 92% of parents said their children’s enrolment at a child care centre enabled them to return to work or school."
February 27, 2020

Excerpt: "In 2020-21, $123.0 million is allocated to provide funding for the certification of child care staff based on educational qualifications; support the recruitment and retention of qualified and educated staff through professional development and tiered wage top ups; and the licensing, support and monitoring of child care programs under the Child Care Licensing Act. "
March 2, 2020

Excerpt: "Effective April 1, the Government of Alberta will no longer administer a child care accreditation system parallel to licensing. No other province in the country duplicates licensing and accreditation.

Eliminating accreditation lets child care providers spend more time with kids and families. Child care centre operators and workers have been clear that the accreditation process added unnecessary red tape, causing workers to spend hundreds of hours on paperwork rather than focusing on care for children."
July 23, 2020

Excerpt: "The agreement allocates more than $45 million in 2020–21 to Alberta for early learning and child care investments. In particular, Alberta will create new licensed child care spaces through capital and program grants, provide child care subsidies to more families, support evidence-based training for child care staff and offset costs for child care centres associated with COVID-19 closures and reopening."
July 28, 2020

Excerpt: "Canada and Alberta agree that the investment of funds provided under this Agreement will be consistent with the vision, principles and objectives for early learning and child care, which are set out in the Framework."
July 28, 2020

Excerpt: "Canada and Alberta agree that the investment of funds provided under this Agreement will be consistent with the vision, principles and objectives for early learning and child care, which are set out in the Framework."
September 22, 2020

Excerpt: "Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development announced that the Government of Alberta will receive $72 million of the $625 million in federal support for Canada’s child care sector to help ensure that safe and sufficient child care is available to support parents’ gradual return to work. This funding is in addition to the $45 million Alberta is receiving through the 2020-21 Canada-Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Bilateral Agreement to support child care programs and services for Alberta families."
December 9, 2020

Excerpt: "HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta enacts as follows: Amends SA 2007 cC-10.5 (1) The Child Care Licensing Act is amended by this Act."
July 23, 2021

Excerpt: "Through the agreement, the Government of Canada is providing over $290 million in funding over 4 years to Alberta to improve access to high quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive early learning and child care programs and services."
September 28, 2021

Excerpt: "This document is a reference guide for the official grant agreement between licensed child care programs in Alberta and the Alberta government. This document outlines the process, eligibility, conditions and accountability requirements for eligible licensed facility-based programs and licensed family day home agencies to access grant funding from the Alberta government for wage top-ups and professional development."
November 8, 2021

Excerpt: "Funding to support the sector includes: $20.57 million for a child care staff recovery and retention program to help attract and retain qualified and certified educators to the sector, and to acknowledge long-term staff who have worked throughout the pandemic; Approximately $15 million in unspent (due to lower than expected enrolment and expenditures) bilateral funding from the federal government for COVID-19 relief to further support operators as quickly as possible."
November 15, 2021

Excerpt: "The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Premier of Alberta, Jason Kenney, today announced that both governments have reached an agreement that will support an average of $10 a day care in the province, significantly reducing the price of child care for families. The agreement includes creating 42,500 new regulated early learning and child care spaces by the end of March 2026. With federal funding of almost $3.8 billion over the next five years, Alberta will also see a 50 per cent reduction in average parent fees for children under the age of six in regulated child care by the end of 2022."