#AtWhatCost Are We Allowing This to Continue?
Join the Movement for Provincial Autonomy in Childcare
The AACE National Committee on Childcare Reform is leading a national effort to reform the Federal-Provincial Early Learning and Child Care agreements. We advocate for shifting from federally controlled funding to no-strings-attached envelope funding that respects provincial jurisdiction, ensuring affordable, accessible, and high-quality childcare tailored to local needs. With thousands of families on waitlists and providers facing financial instability, the need for change is urgent. Stand with us for a more equitable future.
Who Has Already Signed The Petition
Despite efforts to make childcare more affordable, frozen fees and insufficient subsidies prevent providers from expanding or sustaining their services. This results in long waitlists, particularly in urban and rural areas, with the majority of the funded spaces being taken up by higher-income earners. As a result, the system becomes increasingly inequitable, leaving low-income families and newcomers without access!
ACCESS
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Frozen fees and inadequate government support under the agreements force operators to cut essential costs like staff, quality food, and educational materials. These reductions directly impact the care and educational outcomes for children, while programs for children with diverse needs are scaled back, compromising inclusivity.
QUALITY & INCLUSIVITY
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The current Federal-Provincial Child Care agreements centralize control, imposing federal regulations that undermine the unique approaches of operators. For example, by unequitably favoring non-profits and targeting private operators—predominantly led by women—the federal government not only threatens the sustainability and quality of personalized childcare but also stifles female entrepreneurship, rather than encouraging it!
Erosion of Operational Control
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Approx. 70% of the childcare industry is made up of small owner-operator type childcare centers. Managing the complex and often poorly thought out, requirements set out in the agreements have created massive amounts of red tape and have created significant administrative costs. Such costs average between $20 to $30 per child per month. For a childcare center with 100 children, this amounts to $2,500 monthly, adding a substantial financial strain on operators already navigating the challenges of the program.
Administrative Burden
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As inflation rises, operators struggle with frozen parent fees and inadequate government assistance that fails to cover increasing operational costs like wages, utilities, and supplies. This growing gap jeopardizes the financial stability of childcare services, threatening the quality of care and the long term viability of 'affordable' childcare.
Inflation
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#atwhatcost: The real impact
Our Ask
Empower Provinces to Build a Better Childcare System
We call on the federal government to respect provincial jurisdiction by modifying the current funding within the agreements to simple envelope funding—without strings attached—for the provinces to spend on these key priorities:
Affordability
Make childcare more affordable for families.
Quality
Enhance the quality of childcare services.
Accessibility
Increase childcare accessibility.
Our proposal for envelope funding would provide financial support directly to the provinces, without federal conditions attached. This would allow each province the flexibility to design and implement childcare funding models that best suit the needs of their families and operators. For example, Alberta has expressed interest in a fully income-tested subsidy system, where families would receive support based on their income level, and the funding would follow the parent to the childcare provider of their choice. Under this model, providers would lower their fees accordingly, but Alberta is currently unable to pursue this approach due to restrictions imposed by federal mandates under the CWELCC. With envelope funding, provinces like Alberta could implement innovative solutions that meet the needs of families while supporting small childcare operators in managing rising operational costs, ensuring quality services, and keeping fees sustainable.
Federal mandates should not dictate how these funds are allocated. It's time to respect provincial jurisdiction and empower provinces to create solutions that work for their families.
Support Us
Join Our Call for Respecting Provincial Jurisdiction in Childcare
Affordable, quality, and accessible childcare is a priority for all of us, but federal control with restrictive conditions is not the solution. We need to respect provincial jurisdiction, allowing provinces to manage childcare programs in ways that are effective and efficient for their unique needs.
Sign the letter to demand respect for provincial jurisdiction and support sustainable childcare funding reform, ensuring a better future for our children. #AtWhatCost
our letter
Association of Alberta Child Care Entrepreneurs (AACE)
AACE National Committee on Childcare Reform
Grande Prairie, AB, T8V 8L1
www.aacenational.ca
August 20, 2024
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,
Subject: Urgent Call for Reform: Respect Provincial Jurisdiction in Federal-Provincial Child Care Agreements
We, the undersigned, write to you as a coalition of provincial leaders, stakeholders, and advocates united under the banner of the Association of Alberta Child Care Entrepreneurs (AACE). We are leading a national movement to reform the Federal - Provincial Early Learning and Child Care agreements. The current system comes at a great cost, with thousands of families on waitlists and financial instability among just a few of the issues it has created. #AtWhatCost are we allowing this to continue?
Our Ask
We demand that the federal government respects provincial jurisdiction by modifying the current funding within the agreements to simple envelope funding—without strings attached—for the provinces to spend on these key priorities:
1. Affordability: Make childcare more affordable for families.
2. Quality: Enhance the quality of childcare services.
3. Accessibility: Increase childcare accessibility.
Provinces are best positioned to understand and address the unique needs of their constituents, involving operators, Early Childhood Educators (ECEs), and families in the process. Federal mandates should not dictate how these funds are allocated. It's time to respect provincial jurisdiction and empower provinces and their families, ensuring a sustainable, affordable, high-quality, and accessible childcare system for all Canadians.
Thank you for your consideration and support.
Sincerely,
Krystal Churcher
Chair, Association of Alberta Child Care Entrepreneurs (AACE)
www.aacenational.ca
On behalf of the undersigned supporters attached.
Sign The Letter
Join Our Call for Respecting Provincial Jurisdiction in Childcare Programs
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Uniting for Affordable, High-Quality, and Accessible Childcare
Join childcare operators across Canada to advocate for affordable, high-quality, and accessible childcare. Find out all the ways you can choose to participate in our National Awareness Week, from rolling closures to parent awareness campaigns.
This is an ongoing weekly event. You can choose to attend for one or all!
Reflecting on the Success of Our January 2024 Alberta Rolling Closures & Awareness Campaign
Our association was pleased to see Premier Smith step up in response to our January 30th closures and we decided to take a short pause on further action to reassess and get more details on the Government's response. As of February 1st, however, childcare operators only received approximately 15% of their revenue, which is the reduced parent pay portion of fees, and had to wait 40-45 days to receive the rest from Government. We can't stress the financial urgency enough. Many operators struggled to pay their rent and staff on the 1st of February. While we were relieved to hear the Premier would take decisive action, the struggle was far from over for the childcare industry.
We met with Premier Smith within a week of closures, where we were offered a very respectful meeting and felt our concerns were truly heard. The following week, a new Ministry was appointed to childcare: Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Trade, under Minister Matt Jones. The following week, the timing of our funding model was changed, effective March 1, to pay operators 80% of their revenue on the first of the month and reconcile at the end. We are very grateful for the immediate action taken to meet our requests!
