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Description: "This report analyzes the Ministry of Education’s spending plan as set out in the 2022 Ontario Budget and the 2022-23 Expenditure Estimates. The report discusses the FAO’s spending projection by program area and identifies key assumptions, issues and risks. The final chapter of the report compares planned spending for the 2022-23 fiscal year against actual spending in 2021-22."

Excerpt: "Total investments from the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada in the child care and early years program will total more than $3.9B in 2023. Funding will support the implementation of fee reductions, workforce supports, and other measures. This investment represents an increase of $1.28B, or 44%, over the 2022 calendar year. This investment also includes an additional $24M from the renewed Canada-Ontario Early Learning and Child Care Agreement to support child care and early years program delivery. A one-time transitional grant of $85.5M is also included to help offset and assist with the impact of administrative funding changes and provide stability to the sector as the ministry continues its work on the development of the new child care funding formula."

Excerpt: "To date, 92 per cent of Ontario’s licensed child care sites have enrolled in the CWELCC system. Families across the province with children in these centres are already seeing fee reductions of up to 25 per cent, retroactive to April 1, 2022. By the end of this year, families with children under the age of six in participating licensed child care programs will see a further fee reduction of up to 50 per cent relative to 2020 levels."

Excerpt: "Updated: Workforce compensation funding will be provided to offset wage increases for non-RECE staff associated with the increased minimum wage that came into effect October 1, 2022; Clarified: Funding will be provided to support a $1/hour annual increase for RECE staff whose hourly wage, including the wage enhancement grant (WEG), is at or above the wage floor for the year, to a cap of $25/hour; Added: Examples to illustrate the calculation of workforce compensation for the 2023 wage floor and the annual $1 increase, including accounting for those whose wages that fall between $24.01-$24.99/hour; who will receive a top up to their wages to reach the $25/hour cap; Clarified: Licensees may increase wages beyond the $1/hour annual increase; however, CWELCC workforce compensation funding may only be used to fund the incremental amount required to bring RECE staff wages to the wage floor and for up to $1/hour wage increase."

Excerpt: "Ontario continues to work with municipalities and other partners to create 86,000 new, high‐quality child care spaces by December 2026. To support this, the government launched a $213 million grant program for new and existing operators to help offset the costs of expanding or creating spaces such as purchasing equipment or renovating facilities. By providing startup grants, the government is helping to create new child care spaces for communities that need them the most."

Excerpt: "For licensed child care sites enrolled in the Canada-wide early learning and child care system, the Canada-Ontario agreement initially reduced licensed child care fees for children under the age of six by 25%, retroactive to April 1,2022. By the end of 2022, fees in participating licensed child care programs were further lowered, resulting in a total reduction of 50% on average compared to 2020 levels. This could save Ontario families an average of $6,000 to $10,000 per child per year moving forward, based on provincial savings scenarios."

Excerpt: "The purpose of this discussion paper is to provide further information for service system managers and child care licensees, and to invite feedback as the Ministry of Education continues to design and develop the 2024 Canada-wide Early Learning Child Care (CWELCC) funding formula. Your feedback on this discussion paper will be vital to help the Ministry of Education refine the CWELCC funding formula which will support the child care sector and in turn help Ontario’s families access affordable child care. Additional details will be provided later about elements such as special needs resourcing. The discussion paper includes an overview of the proposed grant allocations, formulas (where they have been developed) and other criteria and parameters to calculate Consolidated Municipal Service Manager (CMSM) and District Social Services Administration Board (DSSAB) calendar year funding allocations for the CWELCC system."

Excerpt: "We know the integral role that the early years and child care system plays in supporting families and giving every child the best possible start in life. That is why the provincial government is committed to building a system that is high quality, inclusive and affordable. To enable a better understanding of Ontario’s early years and child care system, this report provides an annual snapshot and year-over-year trends in the sector. In addition, the report supports Ontario's commitments to publishing the progress under the federal-provincial early learning and child care agreements. Most of the data presented in this report was collected between March 2021 and March 2022."

Excerpt: "While it is less clear if subsidized child care will improve the short-term earnings profile of mothers following childbirth, it is likely to improve female labour participation based on experiences observed elsewhere. Assuming the objectives set out in this bilateral agreement between Ontario and the federal government are met, the FAO estimates that subsidized child care fees in Ontario could increase the core-age female labour force participation rate from 84 per cent in 2022 to between 85.6 and 87.1 per cent by 2027. This would add 50,900 to 98,600 more women to Ontario’s labour force. However, several key challenges to the $10 a day child care program in Ontario could limit the positive potential impacts on women’s labour market participation, including inadequate funding, a lack of child care spaces, a shortage of qualified early childhood educators and any future changes to parental leave benefits."

Excerpt: "Quebec's Liberal government has introduced a new bill of law to crack down on illegal daycares mushrooming across the province."

Educational Childcare Services-Audit objectives: Obtain the assurance that the Ministère de la Famille et des Aînés: Had taken measures to set up a quality network of educational childcare services, in accordance with the Educational Childcare Act and sound management rules and practices; Evaluates its performance and makes adequate accountability reports on the quality of educational childcare services.

Excerpt: "Quebec government launches a new logo for licensed child care programs to distinguish legally-recognized child care from illegal ones."