Canada – New Brunswick Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement – 2021 to 2026

2.1 Objectives

2.1.1 Canada and New Brunswick commit to the following provincial objectives:

• affordability:
  • New Brunswick commits to using federal funding to reduce out-of-pocket parent fees for licensed ELCC spaces within the New Brunswick Early Learning facility designation for children under age 6 by an average of 50% by the end of 2022
  • New Brunswick commits to using federal funding to reduce out-of-pocket parent fees for full-time licensed ELCC spaces within the New Brunswick early learning facility designation for children under age 6 to an average of $10 per day by the end of fiscal year 2025 to 2026
• access:
  • New Brunswick commits to using federal funding to create a total of 3,400 spaces within the New Brunswick Early Learning facility designation, according to the space creation laid out in the action plan under Annex 2
  • in creating these child care spaces, New Brunswick commits that:
    • federal funding will be used predominantly to support not-for-profit and family home child care spaces
    • federal funding will be exclusively used to support regulated child care delivery by licensed providers
• quality:
  • New Brunswick commits to use federal funds to demonstrate meaningful progress on improving quality, including:
    • fully implementing the New Brunswick curriculum frameworks that are evidence-based quality frameworks, and by ensuring standards of practice and tools for early learning and child care
    • developing a wage grid for early childhood educators (ECEs) and committing to its implementation
    • increasing the percentage of child care workers providing regulated child care in New Brunswick who fully meet the province’s training requirements to at least 60% by fiscal year 2025 to 2026
• inclusive:
  • New Brunswick commits to develop and fund a plan to ensure that new space creation ensures diverse and/or vulnerable children and families – including children with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports, Indigenous children, Black and other racialized children, children of newcomers, and official language minorities – have spaces equivalent to or greater than their share of the population in the province or territory
  • in supporting inclusive child care, New Brunswick commits:
    • to track the number of inclusive spaces with inclusive programming created or converted as well as the annual public expenditures on child care programming dedicated to children from diverse and/or vulnerable families
• data sharing and reporting:
  • New Brunswick commits to share financial and administrative data (including micro data as available) needed to monitor progress in establishing the Canada-wide system

2.1.2 New Brunswick’s policy and approach to achieving some of these objectives is set out in its fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 action plan attached as Annex 2.

2.2 Eligible areas of investment

2.2.1 New Brunswick agrees to use funds provided by Canada under this Agreement to support the expansion of licensed child care within the New Brunswick early learning facility designation, and prioritize not-for-profit (including family-based child care) early learning and child care programs and services, for children under the age of 6, where:

• regulated programs and services are defined as those that meet legislated standards that are established and/or monitored by provincial or territorial governments and Indigenous governments and authorities
• not-for-profit providers or operations, which includes publically delivered operations, are defined as those that provide child care services to a community for a purpose other than generating a profit, typically improving family and/or child well being and/or development. Providers may generate a profit, but the surplus earnings, or other resources, are directed towards improving child care services rather than distributed for the personal benefit of owners, members, investors or to enhance asset growth. Social purpose organizations consist of various organizations with a mission to advance social or environmental objectives and could include not-for-profit as well as for-profit organizations advancing a social mission. Early learning and child care programs and services are defined as those supporting direct care and early learning for children in settings including, but not limited to, regulated child care centres, regulated family child care homes, early learning centres, preschools and nursery schools

2.2.2 In developing and delivering its ELCC programs and services, New Brunswick agrees to take into account the needs of official language minority communities in its jurisdiction.

2.2.3 Acceptable investments under this Agreement may include, but are not limited to: capital and operating funding for regulated ELCC; fee subsidies; training, professional development and support for the early childhood workforce; quality assurance; parent information and referrals; and certain administration costs incurred by New Brunswick to support the growth and expansion of the early learning and child care system, and the implementation and administration of this Agreement.

2.2.4 Canada and New Brunswick also agree to promote, define, and deliver innovative approaches to enhance the quality, accessibility, affordability, flexibility, and inclusivity of ELCC systems, with consideration for those more in need.

2.2.5 Canada and New Brunswick agree that funding will be targeted toward regulated programs and activities, as described above, for children under age 6, that will have an impact on families, including families more in need such as lower-income families, Indigenous families, lone-parent families, and families in underserved communities, including Black and racialized families; families of children with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports; and families with caregivers who are working non-standard hours. Needs also include having limited or no access to ELCC programs and services in the children’s official language.

3.2 Canada-wide early learning and child care bilateral agreements

3.2.1 Extension of this Agreement beyond March 31, 2026 will provide New Brunswick and Canada the opportunity to review and course correct, if required, and realign new priorities in future agreements based on progress made to date.

3.2.2 In the event this Agreement is extended in accordance with the terms of section 3.2.1, New Brunswick may continue to use funding provided to cover the same eligible areas of investment as those covered through funding received for the period 2021 to 2026 subject to the terms and conditions of that extended Agreement.

4.2 Allocation to New Brunswick

4.2.1 Subject to Parliamentary approval of appropriations, Canada has designated the following maximum amounts to be transferred in total to all provinces and territories under this initiative with a fixed base rate of $2 million per year for each province and territory and the balance of the funding on a per child (0 to 12) basis for the period starting on April 1, 2021 and ending on March 31, 2026. This funding includes financial commitments made as part of the 2021 to 2026 Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreements.

• $2,948,082,433 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2021
• $4,489,349,839 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2022
• $5,538,345,183 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2023
• $6,492,201,954 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2024
• $7,718,943,823 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2025

4.2.2 Subject to annual adjustment based on the formula described in section 4.2.3, New Brunswick’s estimated projected share of the amounts described in section 4.2.1 will be as follows.

* The notional allocations for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 use Statistics Canada’s population estimates as at July 1st, 2020. Notional allocations for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 are calculated based on Statistics Canada’s longer-term population growth models using the Medium Growth M1 Population Growth Scenario from the previous fiscal year.

4.2.3 The final amount to be paid to New Brunswick for the fiscal year will be calculated using the formula F x K/L plus $2 million, where:

• F is the annual total funding amount transferred to provinces and territories for the fiscal year minus the base funding from all provinces and territories
• K is the total population of children aged 0 to 12 in New Brunswick on July 1 of that fiscal year, as determined using population estimates from Statistics Canada
• L is the total population of children aged 0 to 12 on July 1 of that fiscal year, as determined using population estimates from Statistics Canada

4.2.4 For the purposes of the formula in section 4.2.3, the population of children aged 0 to 12 for New Brunswick for each fiscal year and the total population of children aged 0 to 12 in all provinces and territories for that fiscal year are the respective populations as determined on the basis of the preliminary estimates of the respective populations on July 1 of that fiscal year. These estimates are released by Statistics Canada in September of each fiscal year.

4.3 In this Agreement, “fiscal year” means the period commencing on April 1 of any calendar year and terminating on March 31 of the immediately following calendar year.

4.4 Payment

4.4.1 Subject to Parliamentary approval of appropriations, Canada’s contribution will be paid in approximately equal semi-annual installments as follows:

• in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, the first installment will be paid within 60 days after the signatures from both Parties are affixed to this Agreement. The second installment will be paid within 30 days after the first installment has been paid
• beginning in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, the first installment will be paid on or about June 15 of each fiscal year. The second installment will be paid on or about November 15 of each fiscal year once conditions in section 5.2 are satisfied

4.4.2 The amount of the first installment will be an amount equal to 50% of the total amount of Canada’s maximum contribution to New Brunswick for the fiscal year, which will be calculated using Statistics Canada 0 to 12 population estimates from the previous year.

4.4.3 The amount of the second installment will be an amount equal to the balance of Canada’s contribution to New Brunswick for the fiscal year based on the actual amount of the contribution determined under sections 4.2.3 and 4.2.4 for the fiscal year.

4.4.4 Canada will notify New Brunswick at the beginning of the fiscal year of their notional amount. The actual amount will be based on the Statistics Canada preliminary children (0 to 12) population estimates on July 1 of the preceding fiscal year.

4.4.5 In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, Canada shall withhold payment of its first installment if Canada has not received from New Brunswick its planned action plan for fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026, in accordance with requirements outlined in section 5.1.

4.4.6 Starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, Canada shall withhold payment of its first installment for a fiscal year if Canada has not received from New Brunswick all information requested under section 4.4.8 for the payment of its second installment from the previous fiscal year.

4.4.7 Starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, Canada may withhold amounts payable in respect of fiscal year if New Brunswick is unable to meet the objectives of this Agreement in accordance with section 2. In such an event, Canada will provide New Brunswick with no less than 30 days’ written notice of its intention to withhold amounts payable, and procedures for dispute resolution will be followed in accordance with section 8.0.

4.4.8 Starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, Canada shall withhold payment of its second installment for that fiscal year until New Brunswick provides an annual progress report outlining data and results achieved from the previous fiscal year in accordance with section 5.2.2 a) and its annual audited financial statement of the previous fiscal year in accordance with section 5.2.2 c).

4.4.9 The sum of both semi-annual installments constitutes a final payment and is not subject to any further adjustment once the second installment of that fiscal year has been paid, unless there is a debt due to Canada, which requires repayment in accordance with section 4.7.

4.4.10 Payment of Canada’s funding for each fiscal year of this Agreement is subject to an annual appropriation by the Parliament of Canada for this purpose. Likewise, use of the funding by New Brunswick is subject to an annual appropriation by New Brunswick’s Legislature.

4.5 Maximum annual contribution in respect of administration costs

4.5.1 Canada’s contribution in respect of New Brunswick’s administration costs referred to in section 2.2.3 shall not exceed: in the fiscal years covered under this Agreement an amount up to 10% of the maximum amount payable for those fiscal years.

4.6 Carry forward

4.6.1 Starting in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, at the request of New Brunswick, and subject to approval of Canada’s Treasury Board, New Brunswick may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year any unexpended funds remaining from New Brunswick’s annual contribution payable under section 4.2, up to a maximum of 90% of the contribution payable. Any unexpended funds in excess of 90% of the contribution payable represents an overpayment subject to section 4.7.

4.6.2 In fiscal year 2022 to 2023, at the request of New Brunswick, and subject to approval of Canada’s Treasury Board, New Brunswick may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year any unexpended funds remaining from New Brunswick’s annual contribution payable under section 4.2, up to a maximum of 50% of the contribution payable. Any unexpended funds in excess of 50% of the contribution payable represents an overpayment subject to section 4.7.

4.6.3 Starting in fiscal year 2023 to 2024, at the request of New Brunswick, and subject to approval of Canada’s Treasury Board, New Brunswick may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year any unexpended funds remaining from New Brunswick’s annual contribution payable under section 4.2., up to a maximum of 10% of the contribution payable. Any unexpended funds in excess of 10% of the contribution payable represents an overpayment subject to section 4.7.

4.6.4 New Brunswick may only use the amount carried forward to the following fiscal year for expenditures on eligible areas of investment made under section 2.2 incurred that fiscal year.

4.6.5 For greater certainty, any amount carried forward under section 4.6.1 through 4.6.3 is supplementary to the maximum amount payable to New Brunswick under section 4.2 of this Agreement during the fiscal year in which the funding is carried forward.

4.6.6 All amounts carried forward to the next fiscal year, pursuant to section 4.6.1 through 4.6.3 must be spent by the end of that fiscal year. New Brunswick is not entitled to retain any such carried forward amounts that remain unexpended after the end of that fiscal year, nor is it entitled to retain any balance of Canada’s contribution payable pursuant to section 4.2 that remains unexpended at the end of that fiscal year and is not carried forward in accordance with section 4.6. Such amounts are considered debts due to Canada and shall be repaid in accordance with section 4.7.

4.7 Repayment of overpayment

4.7.1 In the event payments made to New Brunswick exceed the amount to which New Brunswick is entitled under this Agreement and/or unexpended funding is in excess of the carry forward allowance, the amount of the excess is a debt due to Canada and shall be repaid to Canada upon receipt of notice to do so and within the period specified in the notice.

4.7.2 Canada shall, in addition to any other remedies available, have the right to recover the debt by deducting or setting-off the amount of the debt from any future contribution payable to New Brunswick under this Agreement.

4.8 Use of funds

4.8.1 Canada and New Brunswick agree that funds provided under this Agreement will only be used by New Brunswick in accordance with the areas for investment outlined in section 2.2 of this Agreement.

4.8.2 Canada and New Brunswick agree that, within each fiscal year of the period of this Agreement, New Brunswick may move funding between the individual programming categories outlined in its action plan for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 in Annex 2 to ensure the maximum use of funding. New Brunswick agrees to notify Canada in writing of any such change in funding allocation, including the rationale for the change. The change will be implemented upon agreement between Canada and New Brunswick.

4.8.3 Canada and New Brunswick agree that funds provided under this Agreement will be used to ensure improvements in ELCC as outlined in section 2.1.1 and will not displace existing provincial or municipal spending in place on or before March 31, 2021.

5.1 Action plan

5.1.1 New Brunswick has completed and shared its action plan for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 (Annex 2). Subsequently, New Brunswick will provide an action plan for fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 by the beginning of fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to be added as an amendment to this Agreement, as Annex 3. New Brunswick will publicly release their action plans which:

1. outline an implementation plan towards achieving objectives set out in section 1, including priority areas for investment, and targets by indicator, within the Framework’s parameters
2. identifies specific targets for each indicator that will be reported on annually for tracking progress in relation to the objectives set out under section 2.1.1, and as outlined in its action plan for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 in Annex 2. The indicators below should be reported where data is available. For the indicators that New Brunswick is unable to report, it should indicate in its action plan for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 in Annex 2 how it plans to investigate the production of these indicators over the course of this Agreement:
   1. total number of ELCC spaces available during the fiscal year, broken down by age groups of child and type of setting (for example, for profit/not-for-profit/public regulated child care centres, regulated family child care homes, etc.)
   2. the number of net new spaces created during the fiscal year, broken down by age groups of child and type of setting (for example, for profit/not-for-profit/public regulated child care centres, regulated family child care homes, etc.)
   3. total number of inclusive (as defined in section 2.1.1) spaces created or converted, broken down by age group of child and type of setting
   4. average daily parental out-of-pocket fee for regulated child care spaces at the end of each fiscal year, including at the beginning of fiscal year 2021 to 2022 and at the end of 2022
   5. number of children under age 6 receiving fee subsidies, broken down by families receiving partial and full subsidies
   6. number and proportion of children under age 6 in flexible regulated ELCC arrangements and number and proportion of centers or providers that provide flexible arrangements (that is, non-traditional arrangements such as flexible or irregular hours, weekend and emergency services; and geographic distribution of spaces)
   7. number of children under age 6 with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports that are in regulated ELCC spaces
   8. number or proportion of child care service providers who provide services that are adapted to the needs of children with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports
   9. number of provincially licensed ELCC facilities and spaces in Indigenous communities
   10. number of racialized children, including Black children under age 6 in regulated ELCC spaces
   11. number and percentage of staff working in regulated child care programs in New Brunswick who fully meet New Brunswick’s certification or educational requirements
   12. annual public expenditure on training and professional development of the early childhood workforce
   13. wages of the early childhood workforce according to the categories of certification, including any wage enhancements, top-ups and/or supplements
3. identifies additional jurisdiction-specific indicators for tracking progress in relation to the objectives of this Agreement
4. describes how New Brunswick plans to address the ELCC needs of its children or families more in need, as described in section 2.2.5
   1. if available, number and proportion of children under age 6 from families more in need that are in regulated ELCC spaces
5. outline any additional available information to be reported annually that would be useful to assess progress, including:
   1. information about waiting lists to access regulated ELCC spaces
   2. total child care subsidies provided by parents’ income level
   3. average child-to-staff ratio among licensed child care service providers
   4. total annual investment in ELCC
6. a description of consultation processes referred to in section 5.1.2, the type of groups consulted and annual priorities related to stakeholder feedback

5.1.2 New Brunswick will consult with parents, child care providers, experts, Indigenous governments and communities, official language minority communities and other interested parties as an important step in developing and revising its action plans. New Brunswick will outline the results of consultations in its action plan for fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 as well as through its annual reporting.

5.1.3 By the beginning of fiscal year 2023 to 2024, New Brunswick commits to share with Canada its fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 action plan. The action plan shall include the elements described in section 5.1.1 a) to f). Once the parties agree that the annual action plan is final, the action plan may be published by one or both of the parties and Canada will be able to provide New Brunswick with its first payment for the fiscal year 2023 to 2024 according to section 4.4.

5.2 Reporting

5.2.1 In the first fiscal year, New Brunswick agrees to provide baseline data on indicators set out in its action plan for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 as soon as possible after the parties sign this Agreement.

5.2.2 Starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, by no later than October 1 of each fiscal year during the period of this Agreement, New Brunswick agrees to:

1. provide to Canada an annual report in the format and manner decided jointly by Canada and New Brunswick. The report shall show separately the results attributable to the funding provided by Canada under this Agreement and shall include:
   1. description of the activities, expenditures and results of the Agreement as set out in Annex 2
   2. results achieved in working towards the vision for Canada-wide ELCC set out in this Agreement, including average child care fees and progress toward the average 50% reduction in fees by the end of 2022 and reaching an average fee of $10 per day by fiscal year 2025 to 2026
   3. results achieved according to the indicators and targets referred to in Annex 2
   4. the impact on families more in need, as described in section 2.2.5, including progress toward specific New Brunswick targets as described in Annex 2, such as the numbers of inclusive spaces supported by federal funding and by category
   5. additional available information to be reported annually that would be useful to assess progress
   6. description of any relevant consultation processes, the type of groups consulted and annual priorities related to stakeholder feedback referred to in Annex 2
   7. any additional results of an annual child care census as per section 5.2 f) and any evaluation activities undertaken in the fiscal year, as available
2. continue to provide to Canada additional data required for the publication of the annual National Progress Report
3. provide to Canada an audited financial statement of revenues received from Canada under this agreement during each fiscal year, indicating:
   1. the revenue section of the statement shall show the amount received from Canada under this Agreement during the fiscal year
   2. the total amount of funding used for ELCC programs and services under section 2.2
   3. the administration costs incurred by New Brunswick in developing and administering ELCC programs under section 2.2.3
   4. if applicable, the amount of any amount carried forward by New Brunswick under section 4.6
   5. if applicable, the amount of any surplus funds that are to be repaid to Canada under section 4.7

   The financial statement shall be prepared in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and the audit shall be performed by the New Brunswick Auditor General or his/her delegate, or by an independent public accounting firm registered under the laws of New Brunswick and shall be conducted in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Auditing Standards.

4. provide financial and administrative information, as required, to demonstrate progress in meeting the requirements in this Agreement
5. Canada and New Brunswick recognize the importance of reporting to the public on results achieved under this Agreement. Within 365 days of the end of each fiscal year during the period of this Agreement, New Brunswick agrees to report to the people of New Brunswick and Canada on the results and expenditures of ELCC programs and services. The report shall show separately the results attributable to the funding provided by Canada under this Agreement and be consistent with the annual report outlined under section 5.2.2 a)
6. to inform reporting on results related to New Brunswick’s action plan for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023, New Brunswick agrees to undertake, and share results with Canada from an annual census of child care providers and other participants in the sector in New Brunswick to collect information, including: number of children enrolled; capacity (number of spaces); number of ECEs; ECE wages and qualifications; fee charged to parents; subsidies; number of First Nations, Inuit or Metis child care spaces supported; etc. Costs of undertaking such a census would be eligible expenses under this Agreement, to the maximum set out in section 4.5.1

5.2.3 Canada, with prior notice to New Brunswick, may incorporate all or any part or parts of the annual report described under section 5.2.2 a) into any public report that Canada may prepare for its own purposes, including any reports to the Parliament of Canada or reports that may be made public.

5.3 Audit

5.3.1 New Brunswick will ensure that expenditure information presented in the annual report is, in accordance with New Brunswick’s standard accounting practices, complete and accurate.

5.4 Evaluation

5.4.1 As per established policies and processes with respect to program effectiveness, New Brunswick will evaluate programs and services receiving funds provided under this Agreement and make public the results of any such evaluations.

5.4.2 New Brunswick may be asked to participate in the evaluation by Canada of the initiatives under this Agreement and agrees to provide information as requested by Canada during and following the Agreement in order for Canada to evaluate relevant initiatives under this Agreement. Evaluation results will be made available to the public.

9.2 Waiver

9.2.1 Failure by any party to exercise any of its rights, powers, or remedies under this Agreement or its delay to do so does not constitute a waiver of those rights, powers, or remedies. Any waiver by either party of any of its rights, powers, or remedies under this Agreement must be in writing; and, such a waiver does not constitute a continuing waiver unless it is so explicitly stated.

Introduction

New Brunswick is a leader in Canada in the early learning and childcare sector, having been ranked third nationally in the 2020 Early Childhood Education Report.^{Footnote 1} This report links research to practice in public policy to improve outcomes for children and family and assesses the overall frameworks for early childhood care and services in Canada. It contains 21 benchmarks that evaluate governance structures, funding levels, access, quality, and rigour of accountability. The report highlights that New Brunswick waives costs for low income families and sets a fee ceiling for its designated early learning centres. New Brunswick is also the only province that meets all governance benchmarks. The governance benchmarks include early childhood education and care (ECEC) under a common department/ministry, ECEC supervisory unit, common ECEC policy framework and common local authority for ECEC administration and delivery.

Over the last 3 years, the transformation of New Brunswick’s early learning and childcare system has been a resounding success. The key to this success resides in the comprehensive approach in addressing access, affordability, and quality by creating a new model for service delivery with the designation program through a comprehensive public policy framework. New Brunswick has streamlined its legislative and policy frameworks to establish its system of early learning and childcare services, therefore reducing the fragmentation of services for children and their families with an increased accountability.

Notwithstanding national challenges within the for-profit provision of early learning and childcare, New Brunswick has successfully transformed its early learning and childcare system, moving from a market driven system toward a more social entrepreneurial mindset. The success of the designation program was evident throughout the pandemic. New Brunswick’s for-profit (designated) facilities were instrumental in keeping parents working during the early days of the pandemic where 70 of the 93 facilities serving essential workers were for-profit facilities.

New Brunswick has made considerable improvements over the last 4 years in ensuring its early learning and childcare system is higher in quality and more affordable and accessible for families. As noted earlier, New Brunswick’s early learning and childcare system ranks above most other provinces and territories, despite challenges unique to New Brunswick. The high rurality of the province and the specific constitutional obligation to ensure equality of services for both official languages increase the cost of delivering this high-quality programming.

New Brunswick has one of the highest proportions of its population living in rural communities in the country. According to the 2016 census, 48% of New Brunswick’s population resides in rural areas.^{Footnote 2} Due to the challenges associated with service provision in rural communities, it is not surprising that there is limited access to childcare spaces in rural communities in the province.

As well as being Canada’s only official bilingual province, New Brunswick’s public education system is delivered by 2 independent sectors: francophone and anglophone. These sectors have 2 different governance structures and 2 different curricula. New Brunswick’s early learning and childcare system mirrors the linguistic duality of its education systems. As such, the early learning and childcare facilities are aligned with the education sectors and must choose 1 of the 2 curricula (French or English) to offer in their facility. In addition, each linguistic community is responsible for the development of their pedagogical materials, tools and training to appropriately reflect their culture and language. As the New Brunswick population becomes more multicultural, diversity is continually being built into the educational programming.

Staffing services with early childhood educators is a challenge in the early learning and childcare sector in New Brunswick. New Brunswick is exploring strategies to address the recruitment and retention challenges including establishing a mechanism for recognition of qualification for early childhood educators who completed their training outside of Canada to help support the recruitment and retention of early childhood educators.

New Brunswick will collaborate with First Nations organizations and communities to better understand their needs and establish a plan for early learning and childcare services for Indigenous children.

New Brunswick is committed to working with the Government of Canada to increase access to high quality, affordable and inclusive early learning and childcare for New Brunswick families. The funding allocations reflect the diverse needs of New Brunswick families and communities and will support all types of high-quality facilities. Investments outlined in the fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023 action plan include increasing affordability, increasing access to early learning and childcare spaces, supporting inclusion, strengthening the workforce and investments in data and reporting.

Federal vision

The Government of New Brunswick will collaborate with the Government of Canada to achieve the shared vision of providing greater access to high quality, affordable and inclusive early learning and childcare. The dual mission of the early learning and childcare system is to support both the workforce and children’s early education and the system plays critical roles in the economy both in the immediate and long-term. The childcare plan increases workforce participation by ensuring children are in safe, secure, and healthy environments while parents work, and it further provides quality learning environments to support children’s healthy development and growth.

The Government of Canada key funding objectives include:

• providing a 50% reduction in average parent fees for regulated and designated early learning and child care by the end of 2022 and reaching an average of $10 a day by fiscal year 2025 to 2026 for all regulated designated ELCC spaces
• creating more high-quality, affordable regulated childcare spaces
• addressing barriers to provide inclusive and flexible childcare
• valuing the early learning and childhood workforce and providing them with training and development opportunities
• building a strong baseline of common, publicly available data on which to measure progress, report to Canadians, and help continuously improve the system

Early learning and childcare in New Brunswick

In 2016, the government of New Brunswick received Valuing Families, Children and Childcare, the Childcare Task Force Review final report. The report provided recommendations for a path forward for creating the right conditions for quality childcare for the province that is accessible, affordable and inclusive and supports parents’ workforce participation.

Around the same time, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development released its 10-year education plans: Everyone at their best and Donnons à nos enfants une longueur d’avance. For the first time in the province’s history, the education plans included early childhood learning and development.

The results of the Childcare Task Force Review’s final report as well as the 10-year education plans were the basis for the transformation of the childcare sector in the province which began in 2017. The Everyone at their best…from the start and the Donnons à nos enfants une longueur d’avance…dès le départ launched the comprehensive plans to transform New Brunswick’s early learning and childcare system to offer higher quality services that are universally accessible and affordable to all families and children through a robust public policy framework. The idea was to remove the barriers for families in accessing the childcare services to meet their families needs with a particular focus on families more in need.

The creation of the designation of New Brunswick Early Learning Centres and Homes (Designation Program) was a resounding success. To this day, 92% of spaces for children aged 5 years and under, prior to school entry, are in designated facilities and the occupancy rate as of July 2021 sits at 73%. The Designation Program is available to all licensed facilities and the designation process is initiated by the operators. As of September 2021, less than 4% of occupied licensed spaces for children aged 5 years and under, prior to school entry, were in non-designated facilities. A small number of facilities choose not to become designated because of the type of service they offer and the low enrollment of preschool aged children. Some facilities, for example, offer part-time preschool programs and those families don’t qualify for subsidies while other facilities may only have 1 child in attendance. Other facilities choose not to become designated so they can control their fees.

New Brunswick will build on the success of its Designation Program to expand and continue to advance the access to affordable high-quality early learning and childcare system as part of its Canada-wide ELCC efforts.

New Brunswick’s early learning and childcare funding model

New Brunswick offers operational funding in 4 main envelopes: subsidies for parents, wage enhancements for educators, the Inclusion Support Worker Program, and the designated facilities operational grants. New Brunswick only provides these funding to licensed facilities.

1. The Parent Subsidy Program provides financial relief to eligible parents on an income tested sliding scale. It has 2 components. The first is the Daycare Assistance Program (DAP) for children birth to age 12 who are registered in a non-designated facility. The Daycare Assistance Program is available for families with a net annual family income of $55,000 or less in licensed, undesignated early learning and childcare centre. The second component is the Designated Facilities Parent Subsidy Program for children birth to age 5 who are enrolled in a designated facility. The Parent Subsidy Program is available for families are either working, in a training or education program or have a special circumstance with a gross annual household income of $80,000 or less or whose expenses for childcare services are more than 20% of their gross annual household income
2. The Wage Enhancement Program provides funding to operators to help offset the salaries of early childhood educators. It currently provides a top up of $3.15 per hour for an educator without recognized formal training and $7.25 per hour for an educator with college or university training. This program is offered to all licensed facilities who must provide this wage top up over and above the minimum wage which is currently at $11.75 per hour
3. The Inclusion Support Program funds the salary of a support worker to an operator for children with a disability or complex needs who require one-on-one supervision to fully participate in the early learning and childcare program. The child’s abilities and autonomy level along with pertinent medical details help to determine the eligibility for this funding. A preschool aged child accepted the program has an Inclusion Support Worker for 35 hours per week. This support worker is not included in the adult to child ratio in the program
4. The Designated Facilities Operational Grants help to offset the costs of quality and affordable childcare. The details are described in the following section

Management of the early learning and childcare system in New Brunswick

Over the last 4 years, New Brunswick has moved toward a more publicly managed and privately delivered early learning and childcare system through the New Brunswick Early Learning facility Designation Program and the Child Care Registry.

Summary of the designation of New Brunswick early learning centres and homes

The New Brunswick Early Learning Centre or New Brunswick Early Learning Home is a designation that is given to licensed early learning and childcare facilities that offer services to children aged 5 and under, prior to school entry through a voluntary application process. The designated New Brunswick Early Learning Centres and Early Learning Homes commit to work in collaboration with government to offer equitable and affordable access to higher quality early learning and child care services by removing barriers linked to family income, children’s ability and needs, language, and minority settings. This is accompanied by on-going operational funding for preschool services and improved parent subsidies.

The New Brunswick Early Learning Centres Program focuses on the 4 goals of the action plan, which are to improve quality, accessibility, affordability and inclusion. 518 of 598 facilities are currently designated. The provincial goal is having all eligible centres and homes designated by December 2022.

In creating a quality system as opposed to multiple programs, New Brunswick’s Designation Program ensures that children, parents and operators all benefit. Children benefit from overall improved quality services, including inclusive practices for children with additional needs and social inclusion of cultural minority groups. Parents benefit from a low-fee policy that makes childcare more affordable and accessible. The Designation Program further includes a Market Fee Threshold which controls the fees that an operator can charge parents. The New Brunswick early learning centres benefit from greater support for educators in delivering higher quality programming.

The designated New Brunswick early learning facilities are obligated to follow the low-fee-policy to ensure affordable services for all New Brunswick families accessing these centres. This is established through a subsidized fee grid, with particular attention to families with an annual family income of less than $80,000. Families with an annual family income of less than $37,500 receive free childcare.

The subsidy levels above this are based on a sliding scale (between $37,501 and $80,000 gross family income), which considers childcare fees, number of children aged 5 and under, prior to school entry and annual gross family income. Families do not pay more than 20% of gross annual family income for all childcare costs.

In order to be eligible to become designated, a New Brunswick early learning centre or home, licensed facility must meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. be in compliance with legislation and program policy of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development that are conditions of their licensing
2. offer services for preschool children prior to school entry
3. choose and implement one of the curriculum frameworks: the New Brunswick Curriculum Framework for Early Learning and Child Care (English) or Curriculum éducatif - Services de garde francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick (French). Facilities are required to deliver services in the language of the chosen curriculum framework and ensure that their staff is trained in that curriculum framework

The designated New Brunswick early learning centres and homes must commit to work in collaboration with government to offer equitable and affordable access to higher quality early learning and childcare services by removing barriers linked to family income, children’s ability and needs, language, and minority settings. In return, on-going monthly operational funding is provided for each occupied preschool space. In addition, low- and middle-income parents who have enrolled their child in a designated facility have access to an improved parent subsidy program.

New Brunswick has successfully increased its public management of early learning and childcare with policy levers to limit profit making and increase quality learning investment.

Note: The image in the original action plan was modified and formatted as a table for accessibility reasons.

Table 5: Public policy profit control levers

Policy instrument	Control levers
Legislation	Limit of 60 spaces per license Adult to child ratios Regular inspections for compliance
Quality Controls	Annual quality assessments Annual quality improvement plans Parent committees Professional learning targets
Operational Cost Controls	Low fee policy through the Market Fee Threshold Wage grid

The New Brunswick early learning facilities are required to meet the following quality criteria:

• commit to implementing the low-fee policy through a subsidized fee grid, with particular attention to low- and middle-income families
• agree to operate within the Market Fee Threshold policy
• work with the department to investigate ways to provide more infant and toddler spaces
• improve their capacity to serve all children including those with disabilities and diverse needs through the implementation of inclusive policy and practices
• create annual quality improvement plans and assessments
• actively participate in communities of practice and engage in on-going professional learning, while homes engage in an approved network model
• work with government on data sharing to inform public policy

Figure 1 – Text version

The designation program for New Brunswick Early Learning Centres and Homes is made up of the following criteria:

• low-fee policy which includes parent subsidies, a market fee threshold and grants (infant and quality)
• parent committees
• inclusion policy
• professional learning
• guidelines for language acquisition and cultural identity learning environments (Francophones)
• early childhood services portals
• annual quality improvement plans
• quality assessments

New Brunswick’s priorities and investments for Canada-Wide Early Learning And Childcare Agreement in fiscal year 2021 to 2022 and fiscal year 2022 to 2023 ^{Footnote 5}

This action plan outlines New Brunswick’s commitments and targets. Its implementation will require consultations across the province with parents, partners, and stakeholders. The outcomes of the consultations may result in required adjustments to the action plan to ensure it meets the needs of New Brunswick families. Discussions with the Government of Canada Implementation Committee will be held if the implementation needs to be adjusted to reflect the realities of the system over the course of the 2021 to 2026 Canada-wide ELCC Agreement.

All designated facilities are eligible for funding under the Canada-wide Agreement. The Designation Program is voluntary, and operator driven. Existing facilities that are not designated can choose to become designated. Only designated facilities are eligible for the funding for reduction in parent fees and for new space creation. Funding for professional development will be prioritized for educators in designated facilities. New Brunswick will support all licensed facilities in the development of their inclusion policies, but support will be prioritized for designated facilities.

Funding

Appendix A: Summary of indicators and targets for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2022 to 2023

Appendix B: Inclusion and diversity in early learning and childcare in New Brunswick

New Brunswick is a leader when it comes to inclusive practices in its public-school systems and has received national recognition and international accolades. The New Brunswick school system values inclusion through a philosophy and set of educational practices that enable each student to feel valued, confident, and secure so that they can reach their full potential. This is achieved in school communities that support diversity and ensure the well-being and quality of learning of each of their members for their best interest. The implementation of inclusion with trained teachers, educational aids, and other interveners to meet the unique needs of children whether it be physical, psychological, language, cultural, etc. is crucial. Collaborative practices between parents, community and school are those that have been successful and allow the system to foster a quality education for every child regardless of ability, race, gender, religion, socio-economic status.

In the spirit of this movement, there has been a long-standing collaboration between government and the New Brunswick Association for Community Living (NBACL) in supporting inclusion practices in childcare. Over the last 10 years, NBACL was contracted to deliver professional learning on inclusion with early childhood educators. More recently, NBACL was retained to support all designated facilities in creating their inclusion policy.

In 2021, New Brunswick began the course to moving inclusion and diversity from policy to practice. To that end, the Early Childhood Services Act was amended to include inclusion and diversity in legislation (section 18.1). Legislated requirements ensure all early learning and childcare facilities provide all children and families with an inclusive environment that is respectful of diversity in regard to race, colour, religion, national origin, ancestry, place of origin, age, disability, real or perceived sexual orientation and/or gender identity, sex, social condition or political belief or activity. In addition, the legislation requires that operators develop and implement an inclusion policy. The policy must indicate how the operator will create an environment at the facility that supports, reflects, and promotes equitable and inclusive practices to ensure that services are responsive to the needs, values and cultural beliefs of the families using the services. Inclusion policy are required in the parent manual and the personnel manual in other to obtain the designation status. These same facilities also access monthly operational funding for their preschool spaces to help offset the cost associated with the increase quality requirement of designation.

The intent of inclusion and diversity in early learning and childcare facilities is embedded within the 2 early learning and childcare curriculum frameworks as described in the following paragraphs.

In 2009, New Brunswick launched its world class early learning and childcare curriculum frameworks anchored in the vision that “all children will grow to their fullest potential with dignity, a sense of self-worth, and a zest for living and learning.” The holistic vision of diversity embedded in the anglophone curriculum honours the right of every child to participate fully regardless of language, culture, race, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, or ability. It is a natural step to expand inclusion to our youngest citizen so that it becomes inherent on how they see the world and building a stronger, more inclusive province, for all our children to live in.

The francophone curriculum framework promotes the holistic, dynamic, and harmonious development of children from birth to 5 years of age, taking into account both their needs as unique beings and as social beings. The use of an eclectic pedagogical approach is designed to meet the needs of all children from birth to age 5, including children with different abilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports. This approach includes 5 main components: an environment that is conducive to the holistic, dynamic, and harmonious development of young children, the role of the educator, supportive strategies, cultural and linguistic identity building, and respect and diversity.

In addition, the province continues to shepherd inclusion for children with disabilities through its Inclusion Support Program which provides funding to operators for the salary of an aid who works one-on-one with children. The eligibility of children is determined based on an assessment of the child’s abilities, complex needs, and mobility challenges.

Appendix C: Data collected through the Registry