Unified Child Care System, $10-A-Day Goal

Summary#

This bill creates a single provincial system to organize child care in Nova Scotia. It sets up a new public body to manage child care and a one-stop online waitlist for families. The goal is to make access fairer, clearer, and faster, and to plan where new spaces are needed.

• Creates the Nova Scotia Child Care Organization to run child care services and support the workforce.
• Launches a province-wide online registration and waitlist that every licensed child care facility must use.
• Sets clear priority rules for offering spots (including time on the list), and requires operators to follow them.
• Publishes province-wide data on registrations, wait times, and available spaces (without names or personal details).
• Directs the Minister to use the data to plan new spaces, funding, and staffing.
• Requires steps to protect privacy and security of family information.
• Commits the Province to fund the system and to reach average fees of $10/day by March 31, 2026, under the federal-provincial agreement.

What it means for you#

• Families and guardians

  • Use one secure online account to register your child, pick preferred locations and programs, and update details anytime.
  • You will get offers through the system and must accept or decline within a set time.
  • Your place in line will consider when you registered and other factors like your child’s age, disability or extra support needs, whether a sibling is enrolled, or if you are staff at a facility.
  • You no longer apply separately to multiple centres (unless a centre is exempted by regulation).
  • You can see published data on wait times and spaces by region, which may make the process feel more transparent.
  • The Province aims to bring average parent fees down to $10/day by March 31, 2026.

• Children with disabilities or added support needs

  • The system must welcome and support you.
  • Priority rules may consider your support needs when places are offered.

• Child care operators (licensed centres and family homes)

  • You must join and use the provincial waitlist; keeping your own separate list is not allowed unless exempted.
  • Offering a spot must follow the province’s priority rules set by regulation.
  • Your contracts, enrollment offers, and reporting will tie into the new system.
  • Participation becomes a condition of your child care licence.
  • The new Organization will handle workforce recruitment and retention supports and manage the early learning curriculum framework.

• Child care workers

  • A new provincial body will lead hiring and retention efforts, which could mean more coordinated recruitment, training, and supports.
  • Your own child may receive priority for a space if you work at a facility (as allowed in the priority rules).

• Communities

  • The Province will publish overall data on wait times and spaces and use it to decide where to expand capacity.
  • The system is meant to be inclusive and culturally responsive, with attention to historically marginalized communities.

• Privacy and transparency

  • The waitlist must follow provincial privacy law and use safeguards to protect personal information.
  • Only aggregate (summary) data will be published; no personal details.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

• The bill requires the Province to fund the new Organization and the centralized online system.
• It also commits funding to reach average fees of $10/day by March 31, 2026, under the Canada–Nova Scotia child care agreement.
• Annual public reporting and ongoing data publication are required but no dollar amounts are provided in the bill.

Proponents' View#

• A single, fair queue reduces confusion and “list shopping,” making access clearer for families.
• Common priority rules and public data improve transparency and equity across regions and programs.
• One-stop registration saves parents time and helps match families to open spaces faster.
• Data-driven planning will steer new spaces, funding, and staff to the places and age groups that need them most.
• Central workforce efforts can help recruit and keep early childhood educators, improving quality and stability.
• The $10/day goal will make child care more affordable for families.

Opponents' View#

• Centralizing control may reduce operators’ flexibility to meet unique community or program needs.
• A new provincial bureaucracy and IT system could add costs and take resources away from frontline care.
• Families without reliable internet or digital skills may struggle with an online-only entry point unless strong supports are offered.
• Strict priority rules could limit centres’ discretion, and preferences (like staff children) may feel unfair to some families.
• Any large data system carries privacy and security risks, even with safeguards.
• If the system rollout is slow or glitchy, it could delay placements and frustrate families and operators.