Address by Minister Duclos on Early Learning and Child Care

November 28, 2016 - Ottawa, Ontario

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Introduction

Good evening, everyone. Thank you for your kind welcome.

Let me start by sincerely thanking you for inviting me here today.

I would like to talk to you this evening about issues that are very important for the future of our society: early learning and child care.

Support for middle-class families

Just a little over a year ago, Canadians decided to elect a government that is committed to putting the interests of the middle class and those working hard to join it at the heart of its agenda.

And I am particularly proud to say today that we have kept our word, although there is still a lot of work to do.

The position of Minister of Families, Children and Social Development comes with many responsibilities, including finding new ways to assist families and children across the country.

By supporting middle-class families, we are helping parents, but we are especially helping millions of children.

Childhood is the basis of everything. The early years are the most crucial in the long process of a child’s physical, psychological and social development.

It is at a young age that children develop most of their knowledge, abilities and talents, without which they might have a difficult road to follow to reach a prosperous and happy future.

All children in Canada should be able to live the first years of their lives in a healthy environment with a decent standard of living and stimulating learning conditions.

The Lawson Foundation

The Lawson Foundation understands this well. The proof is that for 50 years now it has been actively involved in helping children, families and Canadian society as a whole.

Its work is remarkable. By actively promoting early learning, by improving children’s chances to live an active and healthy life and by encouraging them to protect the environment, the Foundation provides the necessary tools so they can achieve their potential.

The Government of Canada also acknowledges that Canadian families need support so that all children can have a fair opportunity to succeed.

And one of the best investments that governments can make to improve the country’s social and economic fabric is to provide solid support for children.

If families form the foundation of society, children are without a doubt its cornerstones.

This is why our government is strongly committed to offering Canadian families the necessary support to be able to better cope with the costs of raising their children.

Canada Child Benefit

For that purpose, we introduced the new Canada Child Benefit last July, the most significant social innovation in a generation.

This allowance, which replaces six other measures, is much simpler for parents.

It is also tax free, it better targets those who need it most, and it is much more generous for low- and middle-income families.

In fact, compared with the previous range of benefits for children, the new allowance is more advantageous for 90 percent of Canadian families.

All families with net income under $30,000 currently receive the maximum benefit of $6,400 per child under age 6 and $5,400 per child aged 6 to 17.

It is estimated that, in 2017, after a full year of implementation, the Canada Child Benefit will enable approximately 300,000 children to exit poverty. This will lower the rate of child poverty from 11.2 percent to 6.7 percent, the lowest rate in our country’s history.

Challenges

This measure alone will not be enough because a number of challenges still need to be faced.

For example, parents still face a lot of difficulties with regard to child care services.

Access to affordable child care, particularly for low- and middle-income families and those with one or more children who have a disability, is still difficult to find in many communities.

We are convinced that child care should be affordable, accessible, flexible, high-quality and truly inclusive.

Early learning and child care framework

This is why the federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for social services met in February to begin developing a new early education and child care framework.

A number of provinces and territories have already made significant investments in early learning and child care, using different approaches.

There are currently disparities between the different provinces and territories in terms of the accessibility, affordability and quality of child care.

As you can gather, it will not be easy to put in place a child care system that fully meets all the needs of children and families right across the country.

But we have the will and determination to make it a reality. And we greatly need the support of organizations such as yours, and all our other partners, to carry out our mission.

It is high time for us to put our efforts, energy and creativity together to find a long-term solution.

Indigenous people

We will also need to think about what the child care system for Indigenous children will look like under the framework, because the current options are deficient. In 2011, according to the Assembly of First Nations, 78 percent of First Nations children 0 to 5 years old did not have access to regulated child care services in their communities.

In addition, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami [IN-you-EET ta-PEER-it ka-na-TAH-mee] estimated in 2014 that, despite over 1,600 child care spaces being available across the north, over 1,400 children were on waitlists.

For Indigenous people, quality and affordable culturally appropriate early learning and care are critical. Not only do they help improve life-long outcomes, they also support parents in fully participating in educational and employment opportunities. Furthermore, culturally appropriate programs for children play an important part in the ongoing reconciliation process between Canada and Indigenous peoples.

On that score, my colleague Minister Bennett and I have already approached the First Nations to develop a framework for early learning and child care specifically designed to address the needs of Indigenous families. It will be developed in close cooperation with the First Nations, Métis and Inuit.

Quality of child care services

Child care services must provide children with a whole series of advantages that will last for the rest of their lives.

Indeed, the research shows that the affordability and quality of child care have an impact on the participation of parents in the labour market and on children’s development.

And that is especially true for vulnerable or excluded children, both socially and economically.

Children who have a physical or intellectual disability, for example, have to face special challenges that too often impede their learning and development.

It is crucial therefore that we find concrete ways of assisting them.

But that assistance will need to take into account the fact that each family is unique. Some families live in big cities, others live in rural areas, while others live in areas as remote as the Far North.

We need to take their specific and diverse circumstances into consideration in order to meet their needs appropriately.

We also have the collective responsibility to intervene early to promote child development, from the prenatal period right up to the age of six.

It has in fact been demonstrated that quality measures to support early learning and child care have the greatest impact on the lives of vulnerable children.

They also often reduce the need for and the costs associated with special education and health and social services, while boosting children’s readiness for school.

Long-term impact

Our proposed framework for early learning and child care will not simply offer “one-off” band-aid solutions.

We are striving for long-term federal participation that will have direct spin-offs for Canadian families.

The framework will allow us to work together with the provinces and territories to have a meaningful impact on the lives of parents. For example, affordable and accessible child care services would allow many women to return to the workforce.

Women will be much more interested in going back to work if they can count on child care services that meet these criteria.

Children, for their part, will be better prepared for school. They will have developed more skills essential to their success. They will stand a better chance of completing their high school education and moving on successfully to the post-secondary level. Similarly, a better education increases employment opportunities and reduces periods of inactivity in the labour market.

Importance of data

The framework will need to be based on reliable and verifiable data.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of tracking, accountability, research and scientific data.

Indeed, the Prime Minister is expecting our work to be based on both facts and evidence, as well as the opinions expressed by Canadians.

In that way, we will be able to work with the provinces and territories to ensure that the investments we are making to improve early learning and child care are judicious ones.

After all, quality baseline data and clearly defined performance measures can only make it easier to develop new policies to benefit low-income families.

Conclusion

Canada must turn towards the future and give families the confidence, tools and opportunities they need to succeed.

We are prepared to take responsibility and show strong leadership to fulfill our obligations and ensure a better future for our children and grandchildren.

We believe that a one-size-fits-all, country-wide-program approach would be unfair, counterproductive and unenforceable in a federation like Canada.

We need instead to work together, all of us, to create a framework for early learning and child care that is authentic and strong.

That is how we will be able to ensure that it is the first step towards child care services that are affordable, accessible, high-quality and truly inclusive.

Events like this one today are a perfect example of the strength of collaborative work. They allow us to share with each other about our methods that work, our success stories and our best practices.

It is very reassuring and exciting for the future.

I would like to thank the Lawson Foundation once again for welcoming me here today.

I will now take your questions.

Thank you.

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