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Early childhood care and education in Canada: Provinces and territories 1998
Aboriginal early childhood care and education in Canada
 ISSUES   |    GOVERNMENT POLICY   |   INITIATIVES IN THE 1990s |   FURTHER READINGS 
Aboriginal early child care and education ABOR

Refer to the Aboriginal child care section of each region for details.

Canada’s Aboriginal populations include First Nations and non-status native people (on- and off-reserve), Métis and Inuit. Although many Aboriginal people live in remote and/or northern areas, there are large southern, urban populations as well.

Children 0-14 years identifying with an aboriginal group, Canada (1996)
  North American Indian Métis Inuit
0-4 yrs 106,370 25,800 7,325
5-9 yrs 101,415 24,220 7,025
10-14 yrs 91,880 22,605 5,560

 
Issues  
   

Flexibility/accessibility    All Aboriginal groups have child populations which are larger than the national average, making child care an especially important issue. However, Aboriginal children are under-represented in current child care services. There is a particular need for a wide range of flexible services that will accommodate the diverse needs of the Aboriginal community.

Cultural integrity    The maintenance of indigenous culture is a major concern for all Aboriginal peoples. Aboriginal organizations point out that general standards for child care centres are sometimes too rigid for northern and/or remote com-munities and that they may not reflect traditional cultural norms and practices. Culturally sensitive early childhood education, as it pertains to training and service delivery, is of special concern. There is a strong interest among aboriginal groups in developing child care that is operated and controlled by the communities themselves.

 
Government Policy  
Generally, on-reserve social programs depend upon the federal government for funding. Canadian government policy pertaining to child care/early childhood education for Aboriginal people is, like Canadian early childhood policy generally, fragmented and poorly developed. However, there have been some significant advances in Aboriginal early childhood services in the 1990s.

Although regulation of on-reserve Aboriginal child care is, in some provinces, carried out by provincial governments, other on-reserve provincial governments have not regulated it. In some provinces, First Nations communities do not recognize provincial jurisdiction on reserves. In the past, child care funding was limited to First Nations in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, in Ontario and Alberta where the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) covered costs in accordance with provincial funding policies, and Québec where child care programs for First Nations children received federal funding through the James Bay Northern Québec Agreement. Until 1995, when the First Nations Inuit Child Care Initiative was announced, there was relatively little spending for Aboriginal child care in much of Canada.

In 1996 the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples recommended that

"federal, provincial, and territorial governments co-operate to support an integrated early childhood funding strategy that a) extends early childhood education to all Aboriginal children regardless of residence; b) encourages programs that foster the physical, social, intellectual and spiritual development of children, reducing distinctions between child care, prevention and education; c) maximizes Aboriginal control over service design and administration; d) offers one-stop accessible funding; and e) promotes parental involvement and choice in early childhood education options. "

 
Initiatives in the 1990s  
 

 

Aboriginal child care through Indian Affairs and Northern Development    Spending over the 1990s on Aboriginal child care through the Indian and Northern Development department is
estimated at: $15 million in 1994-95; $17 million in 1995-96; $18 million in 1996-9; and $18 million in 1997-98.

In addition, there have been two new federal initiatives relevant to Aboriginal early childhood development services.

Aboriginal Head Start    Aboriginal Head Start, a Health Canada program, is a federally-funded early intervention strategy to “provide comprehensive experiences for Indian, Métis and Inuit children and their families…based on caring, creativity and pride flowing from the knowledge of their traditional beliefs within a holistic and safe environment". Originally, it focused on Aboriginal children in urban centres and northern communities but it was extended to on-reserve communities in 1998. Its goal is to support early childhood development strategies designed and controlled by Aboriginal people. An estimated $62 million is to be spent on Aboriginal Head Start between 1994 and 1998. In 1998 there were more than 90 Aboriginal Head Start projects across the country.

Funding for the on-reserve Aboriginal Head Start program has been set at $100 million over four years beginning with $15 million in 1998/99. When off-reserve Aboriginal Head Start was announced in 1995, funding for a 4 year period totaled $83.7 million: $25.7 million for 1995-96; $23 million for 1996-97; $22.5 million in each of 1997-98 and 1998-99.


First Nations/Inuit Child Care Initiative    The First Nations/Inuit Child Care Initiative, a Human Resources Development Canada program, was announced in 1995. It is intended to achieve levels of quality and quantity of child care in First Nations and Inuit communities that are comparable to those available to the general population. The 3 year initiative, 100% federally funded, was to develop and upgrade child care spaces with a target of 6,000 spaces intended to meet the accessibility level of the general population.

First Nations and Inuit organizations have assumed the responsibility for administration of funds and for developing regulated child care services and related support programs like family resource centres. Funding for the First Nations/Inuit Child Care Initiative is not intended to replace existing funding programs under DIAND.

The First Nations/Inuit Child Care Initiative funding was part of the $720 committed to child care in the 1993 election campaign but, except for the First Nations/Inuit Initiative, not spent. The First Nations/Inuit Child Care Initiative had a financial commitment of $6 million for 1995-96; $26 million for 1996/97; and $40 million for 1997-98. On-going funding of $36 million annually will be available after this 3 year period.

 
 ABORIGINAL CHILD CARE IN CANADA    FURTHER READINGS   Further readings in Aboriginal child care
INTRODUCTION | FEDERAL ROLE  | THE BIG PICTURE | THE LONG VIEW  | NOTES AND REFERENCES
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