The Government of Canada has been working closely with the Government of New Brunswick to ensure families continue to have access to safe, affordable and high quality child care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Ahmed Hussen, and New Brunswick's Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, Dominic Cardy, announced $14 million in federal support for New Brunswick's child care sector.
The funding New Brunswick is receiving will help child care centres recover from temporary closures and loss of critical revenue from placement fees, adapt to public health guidelines and address needs emerging from the pandemic. It will also help ensure safe and sufficient child care spaces are available to support parents' gradual return to work.
This funding is part of a larger $625 million investment through the Safe Restart Agreement to address the key child care priorities agreed upon by Canada's First Ministers for the safe restart of Canada's economy over the next six to eight months. Along with the agreements under the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework, this investment means the Government of Canada will invest nearly $1.2 billion to support child care in 2020-2021.
Quotes
"Child care is not a luxury, it is a necessity. The availability of affordable, high-quality and flexible child care is key to ensuring Canadian parents can return to work and our economy can recover from this crisis. The Government of Canada will continue to work with the Government of New Brunswick to support the child care sector and ensure all families have access to the quality child care they need during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond."
- Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Ahmed Hussen
"Over the past year, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that access to affordable, safe and high-quality child care is important for families, our health-care system and our economy. Early learning and child care facilities, operators and educators have played a crucial role in leading New Brunswick through the recovery phase of the pandemic, but they need support to continue their important work."
- Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development of New Brunswick, Dominic Cardy
"The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant financial impact on many New Brunswick families. The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring parents have access to safe, affordable child care so they can return to work and we can build toward a strong economic recovery together."
- President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc
"Now more than ever, New Brunswick parents need to know that they can rely on safe, affordable child care so they can go back to work with peace of mind. The Government of Canada is working with provinces and territories to support the child care sector and ensure Canada's successful economic recovery from COVID-19."
- Pat Finnigan, Member of Parliament for Miramichi-Grand Lake
Quick facts
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New Brunswick will receive $14 million of the Government of Canada's $625 million child care Safe Restart Fund to address the reduced availability of child care spaces and the unique needs of the child care sector stemming from the pandemic.
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This investment is in addition to the $400 million the Government of Canada has committed in 2020-2021 to support early learning and child care through bilateral agreements with the provinces and territories.
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The Government of Canada will allocate Safe Restart funding to the provinces and territories based on the existing allocation formula used for the Early Learning and Child Care Bilateral Agreements.
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The key priorities to safely restart Canada's economy are:
- testing, contact tracing, and data management
- health care system capacity
- vulnerable populations
- municipalities
- personal protective equipment for health and non-health workers
- child care for returning workers
- pan-Canadian sick leave
