Investments in childcare and a well-resourced publicly funded education are important to families, communities and the economy. The investments we make today plant the seeds for greater rewards in the future and can attract families who want access to high quality education.

A highly-functioning learning environment that focuses on higher-order thinking beginning at a young age and continuing through the teenage years is also linked to positive societal outcomes. It opens up new doors to exciting careers and contributes to healthier, more dynamic communities.

Childcare

As a government, we are proud of the transformational changes that are being made to improve access to childcare. We have helped build capacity and last year took the bold step of introducing $25 per day childcare. It is a direct investment in young families – one that eases pressures on whether to enter or return to the workplace and sets the stage for life-long learning. Budget 2021 contributes:

• $74 million for early childhood development programs that support families, educators, and operators of childcare services.

K-12

The Education Action Plan has provided a roadmap to improve educational outcomes. With 80 per cent of actions either completed or substantially underway and $42 million invested over the last three years we are steadily making improvements to the K-12 system. Priority investments through Budget 2021 include:

• $22 million to maintain the significant additional teaching resources hired through the Education Action Plan since 2018.
• More than $13 million to maintain key COVID-19 staffing and supports in K-12 education for the current school year, and to maintain increased administrator and guidance counsellor positions for the upcoming school year.
• $2 million in professional learning for teachers, school administrators, and guidance counsellors who will be implementing new programs and services arising from the Education Action Plan.
• $357,000 to hire additional English-as-a-Second Language teachers to address the educational needs of newcomers to our province.

Post-Secondary

Newfoundland and Labrador’s post-secondary institutions make valuable social and economic contributions to our province. They support economic activity, contribute to our communities and attract students from around the world who want to study here.

As positive as those contributions are, we cannot overlook that provincial investments in post-secondary institutions equates to more than $21,000 per full-time equivalent student. Comparatively, the Atlantic Canadian average is $11,900 and the Canadian average is just over $10,000. The Provincial Government’s operating grant to Memorial University is 30 per cent higher than the national average.

This year, in collaboration with Memorial University, we are introducing a more balanced funding arrangement. One that supports Newfoundland and Labrador students, provides the university with greater autonomy over tuition which it has requested, and makes better use of taxpayers’ dollars.

In Budget 2021 we will provide Memorial University with:

• A core operating grant of $237 million.
• $53.9 million for the Faculty of Medicine.
• $68.4 million to maintain tuition for local students.
• $13.9 million for infrastructure.

Next year the funding model will be different.

In addition to amending the Memorial University Act to provide the university with greater autonomy, we will enter a new arrangement that will see the annual tuition offset to Memorial eliminated over five years. We will provide expanded access to needs based grants for new undergraduate students impacted by tuition changes at Memorial University.

As we work with Memorial University on a transition to greater autonomy, there will be a temporary freeze on any expansion of its physical footprint.

In Budget 2021, we will provide the College of the North Atlantic with:

• A $88.2 million operating grant, which includes $14.9 million to maintain tuition levels for local students.
• More than $1 million for capital improvements.

Public Libraries

• $11.3 million for the Provincial Information Library Resources Board.