Early childhood care and education in Canada: Provinces and Territories 1998 - QUÉBEC

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	History		PQ
		1887 Montréal Day Nursery, an anglophone child care centre, was established by charitable organizations. 1942 Québec signed the Dominion-Provincial War Time Agreement with the federal government. This enabled cost-sharing for child care centres attended by children whose mothers were employed in industries essential to the war effort. Six centres were established in Montréal. 1945 Government financing for child care centres ended and centres closed. 1950s Growth of for-profit child care centres. 1969 The provincial government began to license existing child care centres and financed selected child care centres located in low-income districts of Montréal. 1972 A system of tax credits for mothers using child care was established. 1974 The provincial government adopted the Bacon Plan, a policy paper on child care issues which recognized the existing network of child care centres and recommenced financial aid to low income parents. 1979 An Act Respecting Child Day Care created l’office des services de garde à l’enfance to coordinate and promote development of child care services. Operating grants were introduced. 1980 L’office took on full responsibility for regulated child care services. 1983 Regulations for the Act were adopted. 1988 L’office issued a policy statement on child care services which announced a 5-year expansion plan to double the number of licensed child care spaces by 1994. The paper also identified target programs, such as infant child care and workplace child care, and extended some grants to for-profit centres. 1989 The child care community organized a 1 day walkout in protest against some aspects of the 1988 policy statement. The government announced enhanced parent fee subsidies, the provision of assistance for child care training and staff development, and increased assistance to facilitate the integration of children with handicaps. 1992 A regulation was adopted which fixed the number of spaces eligible for funding on an annual basis. Unionized child care staff took part in a 1 day walkout protesting poor wages. 1993 New regulations were adopted relating to parent fee subsidies. Summer child care programs which are not operated as regulated centres or regulated family day care became eligible to receive funding from l’office. Concertaction inter-régionale des garderies du Québec organized a province-wide demonstration. The demands were for a freeze on parent fees and $1.5 million for wage enhancement for the non-profit sector in the short term. 1994 A new regulation concerning agencies and family day care was issued. This regulation addresses: permits, staff qualifications of the agency, qualification for the person responsible for family care, security, hygiene, heating and minimal standards. Public consultation was held to consider solutions for financing child care. The new formula takes account of program size, expenses, and occupancy rates, and grants which are paid on a monthly basis. 1995 An extensive public consultation process on the education system included proposals to change the jurisdiction, delivery and funding of early childhood education. It considered introduction of full-day kindergarten for 4- and 5-year-olds through an integrated early childhood system. 1996 A moratorium on new permits for child care services was in force for a year from April, 1995. In May, the government announced that for-profit centres would no longer receive any funding in Québec. (This was later modified somewhat when the new family policy was introduced in 1997).
	Recent developments		PQ
		In October 1996, the Québec government announced its intention to implement a new family policy, and to develop a comprehensive early childhood policy for children from 0 to 12 years old to give concrete expression to the new educational dimension of early childhood services. In January 1997, a White Paper, Nouvelles dispositions de la politique familiale: Les enfants au coeur de nos choix, which outlined the details of the plan, was released. It contained three main components: • an integrated child allowance for young children and newborns, designed to gradually replace the existing family allowance; • enhanced maternity and parental leave provisions through a new parental insurance plan; and • the development of early childhood education and child care services, to provide accessible programs which foster child development, and gradually introduce skills children need to succeed at school. The family policy was founded on the following fundamental principle: "Parents are primarily responsible for their children, while the state has a supportive role to play." Three stated objectives guide the implementation of the policy: • to ensure fairness through universal support of families and increased assistance for low-income families; • to facilitate the reconciliation of work and family life; • to foster child development and equal opportunity. Early childhood education and child care services The new early childhood care and education program began in September 1997 and is being implemented over a 5 year period. In the first year of the program, kindergarten for all 5-year-olds was extended to the full school day; the few existing half-day kindergarten programs for 4-year-olds continued and were supplemented by a half day out-of-school child care program at no cost to the parent. At the same time, space for 4-year-olds in either regulated centre-based programs or family day care became available at a fee of $5/day. This was extended to 3-year-olds in September 1998, and will continue to be extended incrementally until the year 2001, when all age groups will be covered. Child care at $5/day is available to all children whether or not the parent is employed; individual centres may implement policies which give priority to employed parents, single parents, or some other target group. Families on social assistance and not in the workforce may access up to 23.5 hours/week of care at no cost. Low income working families may also qualify for an additional fee reduction by accessing the APPORT program (Ministry of Solidarity). If they are eligible, they can get an additional $3 a day to reduce their $5/day fee to $2. Subsidies and operating grants continue for the age groups not presently covered by the $5/day spaces, until such time as they are covered. Effective September 1998, 3-year-olds became eligible for $5/day spaces. In 1997, the Government of Québec created the Ministry of Families and Children, which became responsible for early childhood care and education services for children 0-4. Child care centres and family child care agencies are being replaced by Centres de la petite enfance (early childhood agencies). Over the next 5 years, each agency shall offer at least two services - typically a centre component and a family child care component. Centres may also develop part-time spaces if there is a need for parents who are not in the paid labour force and who do not wish to access a full-time space. It is expected that, according to demand from the community, the early childhood agencies will offer flexible, evening and weekend care if needed. Nursery schools are not currently included in this new program, in part because they are not licensed in Québec, and because they are usually commercial or run by community centres, thus not satisfying the requirements for board structure. A major expansion of regulated child care is underway to meet the demand. An additional 85,000 child care spaces for children 0-4 is planned by the year 2001. Currently, an existing regional structure, les conseils régionaux de développement, comprising representatives from municipalities, the social services sector and child care organizations is charged with ensuring that the allocated increase in spaces occurs. Capital funding is available to non-profit groups for expansion and start-up: up to 50% of costs to a maximum of approximately $183,000 for owned premises and $110,000 for rented. An early childhood agency permit will limit total enrolment to 240 in centre-based services, with a maximum of 80 in each separate facility, and no more than a total of 250 in family day care. There is also a limit of a total of 350 spaces that can be coordinated by one permit holder. The government anticipates that much of the expansion will occur in family child care, and that many unregulated caregivers will join the regulated system. Early childhood agencies are to be non-profit with a board of directors having a minimum of seven persons, at least two-thirds of whom must be users of the program, but are neither staff nor family day care providers. Since the current demand for regulated spaces for 3- and 4-year-olds outstrips the supply, the Ministry currently "rents" space from existing for-profit operations with funding at a lesser rate than non-profit centres. Agreements with for-profit centres will be renegotiated annually until such time as they are no longer needed. The required number of staff trained in early childhood education in centre-based programs has been increased from one-third of staff in a centre to two-thirds. In addition, a common curriculum, an adaptation of the American High Scope curriculum, will be required in all centres. The child:staff ratios for 4 -year-olds has increased from 8:1 to 10:1 but remains at 8:1 for 3-year-olds. Administration To administer the family policy, the Ministry of Families and Children/Ministère de la famille et de l'enfance (MFE) was created in 1997. Human resources Following 2 days of strikes by child care workers, an agreement among the government, union representatives, and representatives of child care boards of directors was struck. Through direct government funding, child care staff in non-profit centres and family day care will be paid according to a province-wide scale based on education and experience. It is anticipated that an average wage increase will be 35-40% over 4 years, with an additional $44 million allocated in 1999-2000. A provincial task force has recommended that child care staff be included in The Pay Equity Act.
	Key provincial child care organizations		PQ
		Concertaction inter-régionale des centres de la petite enfance du Québec 14, av Victoria St. Lambert, Québec J4P 2J4 Telephone: (450) 672-2799 Facsimile: (450) 672-9648 Association des services de garde en milieu scolaire du Québec 13, rue Saint-Laurent est Longeuil, Québec J4H 4B7 Telephone: (450) 646-2753 Facsimile: (450) 646-1807 Fédération des centres de la petite enfance du Québec 4875, rue de la Promenade-des-Soeurs Cap-Rouge, Québec G1Y 2W2 Telephone: (418) 659-3059 Facsimile: (418) 659-7957

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INTRODUCTION | FEDERAL ROLE | THE BIG PICTURE | THE LONG VIEW | NOTES AND REFERENCES


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