The Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut announced additional support for quality early learning and child care across the territory

IQALUIT, NU, Sept. 28, 2020 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut are working closely together to ensure families have access to affordable, high-quality and safe early learning and child care opportunities and to address new challenges for child care and schools brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Ahmed Hussen, and Nunavut's Minister of Education, David Joanasie, announced additional support for early learning and child care through a one-year Canada-Nunavut Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. 

The agreement allocates nearly $2.4 million in 2020-21 to Nunavut for early learning and child care investments. Nunavut's priority areas of investment include supporting and maintaining access to affordable early learning and child care programs through operations funding, creating child care spaces in underserved communities, promoting training and professional development opportunities for early childhood educators, and developing teaching resources and programming materials in all of Nunavut's official languages.

This agreement builds on the shared commitments made in the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework and outlines Nunavut's unique child care needs and priorities. It will ensure funding continues to be available to support child care programs and services for Nunavut families in 2020-21.

The two Ministers also announced $2.6 million in federal support for the safe, effective, and sustainable operation of both childcare facilities and K-12 schools in Nunavut. This funding is part of a larger $625 million investment through the Safe Restart Agreement to address the key child care priorities agreed upon by Canada's First Ministers for the safe restart of Canada's economy over the next six to eight months. Along with the agreements under the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework, this investment means the Government of Canada will invest nearly $1.2 billion to support child care in 2020-2021.

Quotes

"Child care is not a convenience, it is a necessity. High-quality early learning experiences are essential to the development of our children, and the availability of affordable, flexible child care will be key to ensuring Canadian parents can return to work so our economy can recover from this crisis. The Government of Canada is pleased to continue working with the Government of Nunavut to ensure that all children and families in Nunavut have equal access to the safe, quality early learning and child care they need to succeed."

–Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Ahmed Hussen

"We must ensure that children and students across Nunavut are given every opportunity to learn and grow in safe, healthy and productive learning environments. This funding will certainly help our learning facilities provide the vital supports that Nunavut families expect and need."

– Minister of Education of Nunavut, David Joanasie

Quick Facts

• For Canadian families, high-quality, affordable child care is more than a convenience—it's a necessity. The Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut are ensuring that every child gets the best possible start in life.
• Nunavut will receive nearly $2.4 million through the Canada-Nunavut Early Learning and Child Care Agreement and an additional $2.6 million of the Government of Canada's $625 million child care Safe Restart Fund to support safe early learning and child care.
• The federal government entered into bilateral agreements with all provinces and territories to provide them with $1.2 billion over three years for early learning and child care programs, starting in 2017–18.
• These important investments in early learning and child care helped to create close to 40,000 more affordable child care spaces nationally prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The federal government is now working with each jurisdiction to negotiate bilateral agreements that will provide $400 million in 2020-21. This funding will continue to support the early learning and child care sector and will build on this success.
• The Government of Nunavut's action plan consists of four core activities to ensure access to affordable, high quality and inclusive early learning and childcare. These include supporting child care centres through operations and maintenance funding, creating more spaces in underserved communities, investing in training for early childhood educators and developing culturally appropriate educational programming resources.

Associated Links

Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework

Canada-Nunavut Early Learning and Child Care Agreement – 2020-2021

Priorities to safely restart Canada's economy

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada