Public funding must come with conditions

All child care operators who are part of the new publicly funded child care system must accept the need for public accountability through conditions designed to ensure the best evidence-based and publicly accountable uses of public funds.

Public funding requires public accountability

As part of the transformed child care system, all existing regulated early learning and child care (ELCC) programs for children 0 to 5 years – public, non-profit, and for-profit – have been invited to be part of the new funded Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system, known as the $10/day plan, which is substantially publicly funded.

But public funding requires public accountability. Mechanisms covering all child care programs receiving CWELCC funds must ensure that public funds are used – based on the best evidence – to move all services towards the stated goals: affordable, accessible, high quality, inclusive ELCC for all.

Conditions for receiving public funds

Thus, the conditions for receiving public funds must include the following:

Paying staff according to a competitive provincial/territorial salary grid determined through negotiation with representatives working in the sector;
Respecting the province’s/territory’s fee structure; extra-billing of any kind should be prohibited);
Ensuring cultural safety for Indigenous children and families;
Including children with additional support needs to fully participate in child care;
Welcoming and respecting diverse children and families including Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQI+, immigrant, and refugee children and families and those with disabilities;
Adhering to and implementing provincial/territorial pedagogical frameworks;
Participating in quality and system improvement;
Establishing a parent/family advisory body to provide input into the operation of child care services;
Providing delegated government entities with financial and other information required for accountability purposes;
Participating in research, data collection, and evaluation;
Ensuring transparency and accountability in financial and governance matters.