The Honourable Krista Lynn Howell, Minister of Education, was joined by the Honourable Jenna Sudds, federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development today to announce several measures to help increase child care capacity throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

The announcement is a part of the $306 million invested through the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. The initiatives include an increase in funding availability and supports for the sector offered through the Child Care Capacity Initiative program, including:

• $7.5 million in funding to support infrastructure and renovations to regulated child care services availing of the operating grant program, to increase child care capacity by 750 spaces, with priority for the creation of toddler spaces in not-for-profit child care services;
• The hiring of a Project Manager within the Provincial Government to oversee and support not-for-profit child care capacity projects; and
• An increase to the personnel budget category of projects operating under the Child Care Capacity Initiative program, which includes an hourly wage increase from $17 per hour to $25 per hour for developmental workers.

The announcement was held at The Fluvarium, a public environmental education centre in St. John’s that focuses on environmental education. The facility was able to access funds through the Child Care Capacity Initiative program and is in the process of converting a portion of its building into a child care centre, with an estimated 55 new child care spaces.

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Action Plan is increasing access to regulated child care through the creation of approximately 6,000 spaces by 2025-26, as well as improving affordability, inclusivity and the quality of early learning and child care programming in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is committed to providing high quality, affordable child care that is accessible throughout the province. There are currently over 8,300 child care spaces operating at $10-a-day or less in the province, with government on track to achieve the creation of 1,000 new spaces in 2023.

Further questions on the application process for the Child Care Capacity Initiative program can be sent to createaspace@gov.nl.ca.

Quotes
“Increasing access to high-quality child care has positive outcomes for children, for families, and for the economy. We have successfully reduced the cost of child care in the province, and we remain focused on meeting the demand. Early learning and child care is key to ensuring a bright future for Newfoundland and Labrador, and we will continue to focus our efforts on these important initiatives.”
Honourable Krista Lynn Howell
Minister of Education

“We cannot build a national Early Learning and Child Care system without creating new child care spaces. Programs like Newfoundland and Labrador’s Child Care Capacity Initiative will help us reach our goal of creating 250,000 new spaces across Canada by 2026, and provides children and families in the province better access to high-quality, inclusive, flexible and affordable early learning and child care opportunities. We remain committed to our common goal of giving all children in Canada the best possible start in life.”
Honourable Jenna Sudds
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

“The Fluvarium has always been a space for children, students and families to visit and learn about ecology and our local freshwater environment. We are excited to expand our work in education by creating a child care centre space. The interpretation centre will remain on the bottom floor of The Fluvarium, and we look forward to sharing further details on the main floor child care centre in the coming months.”
Shantille Butler
Executive Director, The Fluvarium

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Learn more
$10-a-day Child Care Now a Reality for Families in Newfoundland and Labrador

Early Childhood Educator Wage Grid

Operating Grant Program

Child Care Capacity Initiative

Budget 2021: A Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Plan

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