e-4573 (Social affairs and equality)

The Government of Canada made a transformative investment of more than $27 billion over five years to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care (ELCC) system with provinces and territories. The vision for the Canada-wide ELCC system is that all families in Canada have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive ELCC, no matter where they live. 

Under the Canada-Ontario Canada-wide ELCC Agreement (2021-2026), the Government of Canada is providing more than $10.2 billion in funding over five years to the Government of Ontario.

The Government of Canada recognizes that provinces and territories have primary responsibility for the design and delivery of ELCC systems within their jurisdiction.

In Ontario, the Ministry of Education provides funding to licensed child care programs that participate in the Canada-wide ELCC system through Consolidated Municipal Service Managers and District Social Services Administration Boards, also known as service system managers. Service system managers enter into a service agreement with child care operators and are responsible for ensuring their compliance with the terms and conditions of their agreements. For home-based child care, a home child care agency holds the service agreement with a service system manager, and the agency then contracts with individual home-based child care providers.

All child care providers, including home-based, must follow certain requirements laid out by the provincial government, including regulations under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, and funding guidelines issued by the Ontario Ministry of Education. Home child care agencies must also adhere to requirements set out in their service agreements with the service system managers.  Service system managers are responsible for planning, managing and coordinating child care within their regions.

Lanark County indicated that the details concerning the termination of Natural Connections Childcare’s agreement are confidential.

The federal government will continue to work with provincial and territorial governments to increase the supply of high quality and affordable spaces across the country.