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Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, comes into effect.

Poster presented by Emis Akbari, Post Doctoral Fellow, Atkinson Centre, June 18-21, 2015, Canadian Federation for University Women (CFUW), Annual General Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec.

Excerpt: "The OCB provides direct financial support to low- to moderate-income families with children under the age of 18. Starting July 1, 2015, the OCB, which supports about one million children in Ontario, will be increased to a maximum of $1,336 per child, per year."

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is continuing to reduce kindergarten to Grade 3 class sizes by providing new support for additional classrooms across the province, Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum announced today."

What is the most powerful lever of change for post-secondary systems? The short answer: funding.

Excerpt: "This study builds on a wide body of research from across disciplines that documents the benefits of early childhood education and care (ECEC) for children, families and society. The evidence suggests that accessible, quality ECEC would deliver similar benefits to the Northwest Territories. The key informant and survey and focus group participants who shared their views as part of the study were aware of the connections between ECEC and child, family and societal well-being. Using NWT data, the economic analysis predicts a similar ratio of costs to benefits from public spending on ECEC as found in studies of comparable regions. The GNWT motion commissioning this study on the feasibility of universal daycare reflects the attention policy-makers across Canada and internationally are affording early childhood education and care."

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is committing funding for 14 new or expanded child-care centres and raising wages for child-care workers as part of a five-year plan to create a universally accessible child-care system and add 5,000 newly funded licensed spaces, Premier Greg Selinger announced today."

Excerpt: "Motion 2617(4) called for the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) to provide a feasibility study on the concept of universal and affordable child care delivered by people trained in early childhood development and education, similar to the systems in Québec and Scandinavia."

Excerpt: "The Government of Saskatchewan has expanded its dual credit partnership with Saskatchewan Polytechnic to offer high school students three more courses that will be recognized as a credit toward both high school graduation and an Early Childhood Education certificate or diploma. The courses will be available province-wide to all Grade 11 and 12 students, including students in First Nations schools."

Child care policies were discussed at all levels, with emphasis on public influence.

Excerpt: "More recently provinces and territories have looked to their education systems to expand early childhood opportunities. Full day kindergarten for 5 year olds is now the norm. Three provinces are including 4 year olds in publicly-funded kindergarten and most provinces offer some preschool programming at least for vulnerable children (Akbari & McCuaig, 2014)."

Excerpt: "Budget 2015 continues to move Manitoba toward a truly universally accessible child-care system by: investing in 900 newly funded child-care spaces; supporting higher wages for child-care workers; and building and expanding child-care centres."