Child Care Funding Tied to Standards

Summary#

This bill sets national criteria for early learning and child care that provinces must meet to receive federal transfer payments. It requires the federal Minister to report each year on how provinces perform against these criteria and creates an 18‑member advisory council to guide policy. The bill lets the federal Cabinet (Governor in Council) withhold funds if a province does not comply. Quebec may opt out of the criteria and still receive its payment (s. 6).

• Ties federal child care transfers to four criteria: accountability, quality, universality, and accessibility (s. 5; s. 7‑10).
• Requires provincial programs to be publicly administered on a non‑profit basis and audited (s. 7).
• Mandates standards for staff qualifications, ratios, group sizes, health and safety, and children’s development, plus Indigenous‑specific standards and an action plan (s. 8).
• Requires every child to be entitled to appropriate services on uniform terms, including children with special needs (s. 9‑10).
• Enables withholding of all or part of a transfer if a province does not meet the conditions (s. 11).
• Establishes annual federal reporting on availability, fees, quality, and access indicators by province (s. 12) and an advisory council of 18 members (s. 13).

What it means for you#

• Households and parents

  • Provinces must design programs that entitle every resident child to early learning and child care suited to their needs (s. 9). This is a condition for federal funding, not a direct federal benefit to individuals.
  • Programs must offer services on uniform terms and conditions and ensure reasonable access for any child, including children with special needs (s. 10(a)).
  • The federal Minister will publish yearly indicators you can use to compare your province: number of spaces by age and setting, average fees as a share of wages, and access measures by urban, suburban, and rural regions (s. 12(2)(d)‑(g)).

• Children with special needs

  • Provinces must ensure reasonable access for any child, including those with special needs, under uniform terms and conditions (s. 10(a)).

• Early childhood educators and staff

  • Provinces must set standards for qualifications and certification, and provide for recruitment, training, support, compensation, and retention (s. 8(a)).

• Indigenous communities

  • Provinces must set standards that reflect First Nations, Inuit, and Métis values and traditions and develop an action plan to meet community needs (s. 8(d)). The federal annual report must summarize progress on these action plans (s. 12(2)(b)).

• Child care providers

  • To qualify a province for federal funds, the provincial program must be administered and operated on a non‑profit basis by a public authority that is accountable to the provincial government and subject to audit (s. 7). The bill does not describe roles for for‑profit operators.
  • Providers in compliant provinces will need to meet standards on ratios, group sizes, health and safety, and support for child development (s. 8(b)‑(c)).

• Provincial governments and public authorities

  • A province must designate a public authority to run the program on a non‑profit basis and submit to audits (s. 7).
  • Provinces must meet all four criteria—accountability, quality, universality, accessibility—throughout the fiscal year to qualify for transfers (s. 5; s. 7‑10).
  • If the Minister finds non‑compliance, the federal Cabinet may withhold all or part of the transfer (s. 11).
  • Quebec may choose to be exempt from the criteria and still receive its transfer (s. 6).

• Federal government and advisory bodies

  • The Minister must table an annual report within 60 days after each fiscal year ends, with required indicators on availability, affordability, quality, and accessibility for each province (s. 12).
  • An 18‑member advisory council will include representatives from provinces, Indigenous organizations, and groups for providers, professionals, parents, and children. Members are appointed from candidate lists prepared through a public process by relevant parliamentary committees (s. 13(1)‑(2)).
  • The council may report to Parliament or advise the Minister, and its reports must be included in the Minister’s annual report (s. 13(3)‑(4)).

Expenses#

Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• No fiscal note or cost estimate identified. The bill sets conditions for transfer payments but does not set amounts.
• The transfer payment referenced is a payment that may be made under the Federal‑Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act in respect of social programs, including early learning and child care (definition; s. 4).
• Quebec may receive transfers without meeting the criteria (s. 6). The fiscal impact of this provision is not quantified.
• Administrative costs for the annual federal report and the 18‑member advisory council are not specified. Data unavailable.

Proponents' View#

• Sets a clear national baseline for accountability, quality, universality, and accessibility so families can expect consistent standards across provinces (s. 5; s. 7‑10).
• Requires public, non‑profit administration with audits, which supporters say strengthens oversight of public funds and program integrity (s. 7).
• Improves workforce stability and program quality by requiring standards for qualifications, training, support, compensation, and retention (s. 8(a)).
• Respects and supports Indigenous communities through tailored standards and required action plans, with public reporting of progress (s. 8(d); s. 12(2)(b)).
• Increases transparency via mandatory annual reporting on spaces, fees, quality measures, and access by region and child age (s. 12(2)(d)‑(g)).
• Provides an enforcement tool—potential withholding of transfers—to encourage compliance with the criteria (s. 11).

Opponents' View#

• Imposes federal conditions on a provincial area. Uniform terms and conditions may limit provincial flexibility to tailor programs to local needs (s. 10(a)).
• The requirement for non‑profit, publicly administered programs may disadvantage or exclude for‑profit providers that operate in some provinces, risking service disruption during transitions (s. 7(a)). Extent of impact is not defined in the bill.
• Creating an entitlement for every child could be difficult to meet if space is limited; without added capacity, provinces could face non‑compliance risks (s. 9).
• Withholding funds for non‑compliance could reduce resources for services and indirectly affect families, even if the goal is to improve standards (s. 11).
• Adds administrative and data tasks to meet detailed standards and reporting, including developing Indigenous action plans and tracking multiple indicators (s. 8(d)(ii); s. 12(2)).
• Quebec’s exemption from the criteria while still receiving transfers may be seen as unequal treatment across provinces (s. 6).