Securing Canada’s success: Liberal Party of Canada Platform
SOURCE Liberal Party of Canada, 11 Jan 06
Excerpt from early learning and child care section:

The practical need for a publicly supported early learning and child care program is clear:

- 1.3 million of the two million children under the age of six in this country have a mother in the paid labour force.

- A majority of parents – whether they are employed in the workforce, in school, or at home want to expose their young children to positive learning and socialization experiences.

- Parents in the paid labour force, or attending school, want assurances that their young children are in safe, nurturing and high quality early learning and care environments.

Together, we will move the vision of a national early learning and child care system from being an ideal into being a permanent and tangible component of our national social fabric.

- A permanent commitment: With agreements covering 10 provinces now in place, a Liberal government will make permanent its commitment to early learning and child care. This will allow provinces, territories and stakeholder groups to make long-term plans.

- Currently budgeted funding is $5 billion through 2009–10.Over the subsequent five years through 2015, federal support will total at least $6 billion. It is anticipated that this amount of $1.2 billion per year will be increased, with the amount and profile of the increase to be determined in light of the scheduled evaluation of the program in 2009.

- To provide further assistance for the capital cost of early learning and child care facilities, a Liberal government will make “not-for-profit” facilities eligible for the next funding phase of the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund and the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund.

– A National Quality Framework will be developed as the basis for guidelines and evidence-based benchmarks for future programming.

 

Liberal child care commitment will be made permanent
SOURCE Liberal Party of Canada, 06 Dec 05
Excerpts:

This is about making affordable child care a permanent addition to our social foundation. It’s about making clear that this program is here to stay – because it’s right for Canadian families, and it’s what’s right for our children..

To this end, a Liberal government will invest at least an additional $6-billion to finance the program through to 2015, providing provinces and territories with the certainty they need to expand their investments. This means that, after the initial five-year funding agreement concludes, ongoing funding of $1.2 billion per year will be provided to provinces and territories.

Furthermore, child care spaces will be made an eligible area of investment when the government renews pertinent infrastructure programs, such as the strategic infrastructure fund and the municipal rural infrastructure fund. This will provide the capital required to ensure our children have the child care they need.

This builds on the commitment we made as part of our 2004 election platform to invest $5 billion over five years to establish a national early learning and child care system. All 10 provinces have now signed on to the Liberal government’s plan, which is backed by a five-year, $5-billion funding commitment announced in Budget 2005.

The Liberal child care plan will mean that Canadian children will benefit from safe, secure regulated facilities, licensed instructors, and an emphasis on learning and development.

Other related documents

Prime Minister Paul Martin makes early learning and child care commitment permanent
SOURCE Liberal Party of Canada, 06 Dec 05

Backgrounder: The Liberal early learning and child care plan
SOURCE Liberal Party of Canada, 06 Dec 05

Harper would end national child care
SOURCE Liberal Party of Canada, 06 Dec 05

Rona Ambrose wrong on child care plan
SOURCE Liberal Party of Canada, 06 Dec 05

Issues: Caring for our Families – Real childcare Choices
SOURCE: Liberal Party of Canada, 2005

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This list in not intended to be an exhaustive examination of this topic; for a more comprehensive list, search the Childcare Resource and Research Unit resource library catalogue Childcare Information Resource Collection (CIRC).