Canada-Ontario Early Childhood Workforce Funding Agreement – 2021 to 2022

4.1 Action plan

4.1.1 Ontario has completed and shared its early childhood workforce action plan for fiscal year 2021 to 2022, as set out in Annex 1. Upon signature of this Agreement by both parties, Ontario will publicly release its action plan which sets out:

1. specific priority areas for investment and objectives in supporting the recruitment and retention of the early childhood workforce in Ontario
2. demonstrates that federal investments will be incremental, and will not displace existing Ontario spending in support of the early childhood workforce
3. indicators that will be reported on according to Ontario’s planned investments in the workforce, and
4. specific targets for each indicator that will be reported on according to Ontario’s planned investments

4.2 Reporting

4.2.1 In addition to the requirements outlined in the Extension Agreement under section 5.2, for fiscal year 2021 to 2022, by no later than October 1, 2022 and subsequently no later than October 1, 2023 to account for carry forward funding into fiscal year 2022 to 2023, Ontario agrees to:

1. report to the people of Ontario and to Canada on the results and expenditures to support the recruitment and retention of the early childhood workforce. The report shall show separately the results attributable to the funding provided by Canada under Annex 1
2. provide to Canada additional information in the annual report for that year that shall show separately the results attributable to the funding provided by Canada under this Agreement and shall include:
   1. a description of the activities, expenditures and results as set out in Annex 1
   2. results achieved according to the indicators and targets referred to in Annex 1
   3. the number of early childhood workforce staff (current and/or planned) supported by federal funding provided under Annex 1 including a description of how they were supported
   4. a description of the increase in recruitment and/or retention of the early childhood workforce in fiscal year 2021 to 2022
3. provide to Canada an audited financial statement of revenues received from Canada under Annex 1 in fiscal year 2021 to 2022:
   1. the revenue section of the statement shall show the amount received from Canada under this Agreement in fiscal year 2021 to 2022
   2. the total expenditures under this Agreement in fiscal year 2021 to 2022
   3. if applicable, the amount of any surplus funds that are to be repaid to Canada under section 4.7 of the Extension Agreement
4. if any funding received under section 3 of this Agreement is carried forward to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 in accordance with the carry forward provisions of that section, the reporting obligations set out in this Agreement that apply to funds provided under section 3 shall continue to apply in respect of that fiscal year in relation to the funds carried forward
5. the financial statement shall be prepared in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and the audit shall be performed by the Ontario Auditor General or his/her delegate, or by an independent public accounting firm registered under the laws of Ontario and shall be conducted in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Auditing Standards

Ontario is receiving $149,930,336 in one-time early childhood workforce funding.

Ontario plans to utilize this funding to support the retention and recruitment of a high-quality child care and early years workforce.

Ontario will utilize the investment to build on the success of existing programs that support the child care and early years workforce, funded by the provincial and federal governments and implemented by Consolidated Municipal Service Managers/District Social Services Administration Boards (CMSMs/DSSABs), First Nation, Francophone, and other child care and early years partners.

A) Specific priority areas for investment and objectives in supporting the recruitment and retention of the early childhood workforce in Ontario

Ontario’s proposed action plan is consistent with the parameters established under the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Framework that recognizes the importance of qualifications and training for the early childhood workforce as part of a high quality ELCC system with consideration of those more in need. The action plan is also reflective of diversity and is respectful of language and culture.

The action plan aligns with Ontario’s current early years and child care priorities and vision that children and families are well supported by a system of responsive, high quality, accessible, affordable and increasingly integrated early years programs and services that contribute to healthy child development today and a stronger future tomorrow.

In Ontario, licensed child care is provided in centres and homes, and is delivered by a mix of not-for-profit and for-profit organizations as well as municipalities, school boards, and First Nations. As of March 31, 2020, there were 5,565 licensed child care centres offering 462,802 spaces for children in Ontario.

In 2019, there were 31,083 full-time program staff employed by licensed child care centres of which 18,315 (59%) were Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs).

The Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 is the law governing child care in Ontario. Ontario Regulation 137/15 under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 sets out the proportion of employees that must be qualified employees in licensed child care centres and qualification requirements.

In addition to their role in licensed child care, RECEs have specialized knowledge and expertise related to child development, play, and inquiry-based learning that is essential to delivering high quality early years programs and services in EarlyON Child and Family Centres.

The College of Early Childhood Educators (“the College”) is the regulatory body for Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) in Ontario. The College of ECEs was established under the Early Childhood Educators Act, 2007 in February 2009 and is the first regulatory body for ECEs in Canada. The College of ECEs regulates and governs Ontario's RECEs in the public interest. It regulates the profession by establishing and enforcing:

• registration requirements
• ethical and professional standards
• requirements for continuous professional learning, and
• complaints and discipline processes for professional misconduct, incompetence, and incapacity

The initiatives funded through this Early Childhood Workforce Agreement (Workforce Agreement) build on existing provincial investments in early years and child care and are focused on programs that are regulated and/or monitored by the provincial government. The action plan supports the workforce in both regulated centre and home based child care as well as in early years programs.

Ontario’s objectives through this investment are to:

• sustain the existing child care and early years workforce to ensure a more stable and high-quality early years and child care system
• enhance access to opportunities for the workforce that promote retention and recruitment, including professional development, training and qualification upgrade programs
• grow the number of qualified staff in the early years and child care workforce to increase access to licensed child care for families, and
• attract and support the development of an increasingly diverse workforce to reflect the children and families accessing early years and child care programs more effectively

Ontario will invest $149.9 million in the following initiatives to achieve these objectives.

B) Demonstrate that federal investments will be incremental and will not displace existing Ontario spending in support of the early childhood workforce

In fiscal year 2021 to 2022, Ontario is maintaining its investment of more than $2 billion in early learning and child care.

Initiatives funded under the Workforce Agreement will complement and build on existing programs and funding for activities that support the workforce (for example, capacity funding provided to First Nations and service system managers), which will be maintained at current levels.

In addition to the Early Childhood Educator Qualifications Upgrade Program and Indigenous and Francophone Professional Learning Strategies, Ontario also supports:

• the Wage Enhancement and Home Child Care Enhancement Grants, which help close the wage gap between RECEs working in publicly funded schools and RECEs, child care program staff, and providers working in licensed child care settings, by providing eligible program staff working in a licensed child care program with a wage enhancement of up to $2 an hour plus 17.5% in benefits, and up to $20 a day for eligible home child care providers contracted with a licensed child care agency, and
• capacity building funding to support professional learning and developmental opportunities that build the capacity of licensees, supervisors, program staff and caregivers, home child care providers and others, intended to result in the provision of high-quality inclusive programs and services

C) Indicators that will be reported on according to Ontario’s planned investments in the workforce and specific targets for each indicator that will be reported on according to Ontario’s planned investments

• *Target date is beyond the one-year period of this Agreement as Ontario will carry forward up to 50% of its Workforce Agreement allocation from fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023.
• **This indicator will be tracked across the three initiatives of Professional Learning and Development Strategy, Ontario Workforce Capacity and Innovation Fund, and ECE Qualifications Upgrade Program. The target will be the result of a combined effort across all 3 initiatives.

Carry forward of funding from fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023

Ontario’s action plan provides for flexible, multi-faceted approaches recognizing the importance of not only recruiting new individuals into the profession, but also approaches to retain and recognize the existing workforce.

Flexible funding that can be spent over multiple years provides for more meaningful recruitment and retention strategies and allows Ontario to provide immediate workforce supports while planning for and implementing more medium-term strategies aligned with provincial and local need.

Ontario is requesting to retain and carry forward to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 any unexpended funds remaining from the annual contribution payable to Ontario under section 3 of the Workforce Agreement, up to a maximum of 50% of the contribution payable.

The ability for Ontario to carry forward funding to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 will allow the Ministry to work through the planning and implementation steps needed to achieve meaningful results in continuing to strengthen the child care and early years workforce. The rationale for additional carry forward includes:

• planning, engagement and implementation take time. The Ministry will engage with municipal and First Nation partners to develop local plans aligned with Ontario’s objectives. These plans often require local approvals by municipal and Band councils prior to communities beginning to expend the funding, which can take approximately 8 to 12 weeks. The Ministry anticipates that plans will be finalized in late Fall 2021
• actions taken under these initiatives, which likely will be deployed in early 2022, may be interdependent and the translation of action into results will take multiple years. For example, in Ontario, for an individual to become a RECE, they must complete a 2-year diploma from an Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology
• data collection will take place on an ongoing basis as required under Ministry transfer payment agreements with partners; however, achieving targets by the end of March 31, 2022 will be difficult recognizing that implementation takes time. The targets outlined in the action plan are based on the approval of carry forward flexibility of up to 50% of the contributable payable and a target date of March 31, 2023