Canada – Ontario Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement - 2021 to 2026

AODA Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act CARE Tax Credit Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses Tax Credit CCEYA Child Care and Early Years Act CCLS Child Care Licensing System CMSMs/DSSABs Consolidated Municipal Service Managers/ District Social Services Administration Boards CWELCC Canada-wide early learning and child care DESDA Department of Employment and Social Development Act ECE Early childhood educators ECEA Early Childhood Educators Act EDI Early Development Instrument EFIS Education Finance Information System ELCC Early learning and child care FDK Full-day kindergarten FPT Federal-Provincial-Territorial HDLH How Does Learning Happen? OCAAT Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology O. Reg. Ontario Regulation PL Professional Learning POS Purchase of Service RECEs Registered early childhood educators SNR Special Needs Resourcing

Canada – Ontario Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement

• Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (hereinafter referred to as "Canada" or "Government of Canada") as represented by the Minister of Employment and Social Development ("Canada") and as represented by the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development (herein referred to as "the federal Minister"); and
• The Government of Ontario (hereinafter referred to as "Ontario") as represented by the Minister of Education herein referred to as "the Ontario Minister")

Referred to collectively as the "Parties".

Preamble

Whereas, Canada and Ontario agreed to a Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework on June 12, 2017 which articulated their shared vision for early learning and child care and describes their approach to achieve this vision.

Whereas, Canada and Ontario will work together to build a community-based system of quality, licensed early learning and child care, aiming for all families to have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care no matter where they live.

Whereas, Canada confirmed in Budget 2021 almost $30 billion over 5 years and provides permanent ongoing funding to work with provincial and territorial, and Indigenous partners to support quality not-for-profit licensed child care, and ensure early childhood educators are at the heart of the system. Combined with previous investments announced since 2015, approximately $9.2 billion per year ongoing will be invested in child care, including Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care, starting in fiscal year 2025 to 2026.

Whereas, Canada confirms its commitment to continuing its investment in early learning and child care (ELCC) past fiscal year 2025 to 2026, as indicated in Budget 2021.

Whereas, it is Canada's intention to continue this investment, subject to appropriations, by renewing the Canada-wide early learning and child care agreements signed with all provinces and territories prior to their expiration in fiscal year 2025 to 2026 and to begin discussions with jurisdictions on renewal in fiscal year 2024 to 2025.

Whereas, subject to the renewal of the Ontario Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement and the annual population adjustment, Ontario's estimated share for fiscal year 2026 to 2027 would be no less than the annual allocation for fiscal year 2025 to 2026, reaching approximately $2.9 billion. From fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2026 to 2027, Ontario's estimated allocation would total $13.2 billion.

Whereas, Canada confirms the federal intention to support the continuity of federal child care funding.

Whereas, Canada's spending in ELCC is intended to increase until it is roughly shared with provinces and territories by fiscal year 2025 to 2026.

Whereas, to further support a lasting federal commitment, Canada is committed to tabling Early Learning and Child Care Legislation, following consultations with stakeholders, provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners—to enshrine the principles of a Canada-wide ELCC system into law.

Whereas, the Department of Employment and Social Development Act (DESDA) authorizes the federal Minister to enter into agreements with the provinces and territories, for the purpose of facilitating the formulation, coordination and implementation of any program or policy falling within DESDA.

Whereas, the Government of Ontario may enter into agreements with the Government of Canada under which Canada undertakes to provide funding toward costs incurred by the Government of Ontario for the provision of ELCC.

Whereas, Canada has, pursuant to its Policy on Transfer Payments, established a transfer payment program to provide funds to the provincial and territorial governments for the development and delivery of licensed child care programs and services.

Whereas, as part of implementation of this Agreement, municipal partners will enrol child care operators that apply to enrol and meet provincial requirements in the Canada-wide ELCC child care system and enrolment will be subject to operator agreement funding terms and conditions.

Whereas, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has called "upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments to develop culturally appropriate early childhood education programs for Aboriginal families."

Whereas, Canada and the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Métis National Council jointly released the co-developed Indigenous ELCC Framework in September 2018, which establishes overarching principles and sets a vision for happy and safe Indigenous children and families, strong cultural identity, and a comprehensive and coordinated system that is anchored in self-determination and centered on children and grounded in culture, and can be used as a guide for all actors involved in Indigenous ELCC.

Whereas, Ontario invests in ELCC for Indigenous children and Canada and Ontario agree to work collaboratively with Indigenous governing bodies and organizations to achieve a Canada-wide ELCC system.

Now therefore, Canada and Ontario agree as follows.

1.0 Definitions

1.0.1 In this Agreement, the following words and expressions will have the following meanings.

1.0.2 "Licensed child care" has the same meaning as set out in the definition in subsection 2(1) of the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014. This is consistent with Canada's definition of regulated programs and services, which are those that meet standards that are established and/or monitored by provincial/territorial governments and Indigenous governments and authorities.

1.0.3 "Not-for-profit providers/operations", as it pertains to licensed child care, child care spaces, and early learning and child care programs means such services to a community for a purpose other than generating a profit, including publicly-delivered child care operations. Providers/operations may generate a profit, but the surplus earnings, or other resources, are directed towards improving child care services (for example, improving family or child well-being or development) rather than distributed for the personal benefit of owners, members, investors or to enhance asset growth. For the purposes of this Agreement, all home child care agency licensees (as defined under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014) are deemed to be not-for-profit licensed child care, regardless of auspice.

1.0.4 "Fiscal year" means the period commencing on April 1 of one calendar year up to and including March 31 of the following calendar year.

1.0.5 "Parent fees" means the fee a parent is required to pay a licensee for child care.

1.1 Vision for Canada-wide early learning and child care

1.2 Canada and Ontario agree that the long-term vision and objectives for Canada-wide ELCC set out in the Multilateral Framework will guide the investment of funds provided under this Agreement. This includes the vision that all families in Canada have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive ELCC no matter where they live.

1.3 Canada and Ontario aspire to the following objectives:

1. providing a 50% reduction in average parent fees for licensed ELCC by the end of 2022 and reaching an average of $10 a day by the end of fiscal year 2025 to 2026 for licensed child care enrolled in the Canada-wide ELCC system
2. creating more high-quality, affordable licensed child care spaces, predominately through not-for-profit licensed child care providers as outlined in section 2.1.1
3. addressing barriers to provide inclusive and flexible child care
4. valuing the early childhood workforce and providing them with training and development opportunities

1.4 Canada and Ontario agree that progress toward this vision will be undertaken by prioritizing federal investments in support of licensed child care for children under age 6.

2.0 Canada-wide early learning and child care objectives and areas of investment

2.1 Objectives

2.1.1 Canada and Ontario commit to the following Ontario objectives:

• affordability:
  • Ontario commits to using federal funding to reduce parent fees as defined in section 1.0.5 for ELCC spaces for children under age 6 by an average of 50% from 2020 levels by the end of December 2022
  • Ontario commits to using federal funding to reduce parent fees for full-time ELCC spaces for children under age 6 to an average of $10 per day by the end of fiscal year 2025 to 2026
  • Ontario commits to using federal funding to increase the net number of licensed child care spaces for children under age 6 by flowing funds by the end of fiscal year 2025 to 2026 to support the creation of 76,700 spaces (from 2019 levels) by March 31, 2026, and 86,000 child care spaces (from 2019 levels) by December 31, 2026
  • in creating these child care spaces, Ontario commits that:
    • federal funding will be exclusively used to support licensed child care
    • federal funding will be used predominantly to support the creation of not-for-profit child care spaces to ensure that the existing proportion of not-for-profit licensed child care spaces for children age 0 to 5 will be maintained or increased by the end of this Agreement. For further clarity, at the end of this Agreement, the proportion of not-for-profit licensed child care spaces for children age 0 to 5 compared to the total number of licensed child care spaces for children age 0 to 5 will be 70% or higher
    • Ontario commits to use federal funds to sustain and improve quality, including:
      • maintaining and improving evidence based quality frameworks, standards, and tools for ELCC
      • developing a wage framework for Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) and committing to its implementation, by setting a wage floor and instituting wage improvements
      • increasing the percentage of child care workers providing licensed child care in the province for children age 0 to 5 who fully meet Ontario's requirements for qualified employees in regulation under the CCEYA to at least 60% by fiscal year 2025 to 2026
      • Ontario commits to develop and fund a plan that supports access to licensed child care spaces for vulnerable children and children from diverse populations, including, but not limited to, children living in low income families, children with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports, Indigenous children, Black and other racialized children, children of newcomers to Canada, and official language minorities. Ontario will engage with a broad range of partners to develop a plan
      • in supporting inclusive child care, Ontario commits:
        • where possible, to report the annual public expenditures on child care programming dedicated to children from diverse and/or vulnerable families
        • to maintain or increase the current level of licensed child care spaces offering French-language programs and licensed spaces offering bilingual programs for children age 0 to 5 by fiscal year 2025 to 2026 and continue to meet or exceed the number of French child care spaces for children age 0 to 5 proportional to the population of French speaking people in Ontario by fiscal year 2025 to 2026
        • to working with Canada on monitoring quality and inclusion goals with statistical data. Ontario will work with partners to gather data and conduct assessments on barriers to access
        • Ontario commits to share financial and administrative data (including micro data) needed to monitor progress in establishing the Canada-wide system

        2.1.2 Ontario's policy and approach to achieving these objectives is set out in its action plan attached as Annex 2.

        2.2 Eligible areas of investment

        2.2.1 Ontario agrees to use funds provided by Canada under this Agreement to support the expansion of licensed child care, as defined under section 1.0.2, and predominately not-for-profit ELCC programs and services as outlined in section 2.1.1, for children under the age of 6.

        2.2.2 In developing and delivering its ELCC programs and services, Ontario agrees to take into account the needs of official language minority communities in its jurisdiction.

        2.2.3 Acceptable investments under this Agreement may include, but are not limited to: capital and operating funding for licensed ELCC; fee subsidies; training, professional development and support for the early childhood workforce; quality assurance; parent information and referrals; and certain administration costs incurred by Ontario to support the growth, expansion, implementation and administration of this Agreement.

        2.2.4 Canada and Ontario also agree to promote, define, and deliver innovative approaches to enhance the quality, access, affordability, flexibility, and inclusivity of ELCC systems, with consideration for those more in need.

        2.2.5 Canada and Ontario agree that funding will be targeted toward licensed programs and activities, as described above, for children under age 6, that will have an impact on families, including families more in need such as lower-income families, Indigenous families, lone-parent families, and families in underserved communities, including Black and racialized families; families of children with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports; and families with caregivers who are working non-standard hours. Families more in need also includes those with limited or no access to ELCC programs and services in the children's first official language.

        3.0 Period of agreement

        3.1 This Agreement shall come into effect upon the last signature being affixed and will remain in effect until March 31, 2026, unless earlier terminated in writing by Canada or Ontario in accordance with the terms hereof in section 10. Funding provided under this Agreement, in accordance with section 4, will cover the period from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026.

        3.2 Canada-wide early learning and child care bilateral agreements

        3.2.1 Extension of this Agreement beyond March 31, 2026 will provide Ontario and Canada the opportunity to review and course correct, if required, and realign new priorities in future agreements based on joint reviews of progress made to date. Section 6 outlines the program review process.

        3.2.2 In the event this Agreement is extended in accordance with the terms of section 3.2.1 and section 9.0, Ontario may continue to use funding provided thereunder to cover the same eligible areas of investment as those covered through funding received for the period fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 subject to the terms and conditions of that extended agreement.

        4.0 Financial provisions

        4.1 Canada's contributions under this Agreement are in addition to, and not in lieu of, those that Canada currently pays to Ontario through the Canada Social Transfer in order to support early childhood development and ELCC within Ontario.

        4.2 Ontario has an existing robust accountability framework in place as outlined in Annex 2. Ontario intends to maintain and build upon its existing robust accountability framework by introducing a further control mechanism. Ontario proposes to implement a cost control framework following the signing of the agreement that will be in place for all providers that opt into the Canada-wide ELCC system. The Parties are interested in approaches to ensure the sound and reasonable use of public funds, ensuring that costs and earnings of child care licensees that opt-in to the Canada-wide ELCC system are reasonable and that surplus earnings beyond reasonable earnings are directed towards improving child care services.

        4.3 For existing licensed child care spaces, Ontario intends to propose a regulation to set a fee maximum for those that opt-in to the Canada-wide ELCC system and freeze fees as of the date the signatures from both Parties are affixed to the agreement. For new spaces, where the licensee opts-in to the Canada-wide ELCC system, the same controls will be in place as for existing child care spaces with a further restriction that fees can be no higher than the average fee for the Consolidated Municipal Services Manager/District Social Services Administration Board (CMSM/DSSAB). If a corporate licensee that was enrolled in the Canada-wide ELCC system sells its shares, it remains enrolled and the purchaser is bound by the fee structure of the seller (this is the same for a merger). If a corporate licensee sells its assets, the new licensee must apply to enrol in the Canada-wide ELCC system and once enrolled its fees must be set at or below the Consolidated Municipal Services Manager/District Social Services Administration Board maximum.

        4.4 A proportion of Ontario's annual allocation will be conditional upon confirmation of the continued implementation of a cost control framework. Canada may withhold payment of 30% of the access funding set out in Annex 2 in the amounts of:

        • $53 million in fiscal year 2022 to 2023
        • $218 million in fiscal year 2023 to 2024
        • $442 million in fiscal year 2024 to 2025
        • $725 million in fiscal year 2025 to 2026

        The Parties will work together to ensure that the cost control framework is in accordance with the sound and reasonable use of public funding and is supportive of the objectives of this Agreement, as set out in section 2.1.1. Following the conclusion of this work and mutual agreement by the Parties, Ontario shall provide written notice of the implementation of the cost control framework, following which Canada will release the withheld funding.

        4.5 Beginning fiscal year 2023 to 2024 and on an annual basis, Ontario shall provide written notice in accordance with section 4.4 of the continued implementation of Ontario's cost control framework by April of each subsequent year, following which Canada will release the withheld funding in respect of that year.

        4.6 Wages will be subject to the minimum floor for Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECE) and supervisors, which will be a requirement in Ontario's funding guidelines.

        4.7 Allocation to Ontario

        4.7.1 Subject to Parliamentary approval of appropriations, Canada has designated the following maximum amounts to be transferred in total to all provinces and territories under this initiative with a fixed base rate of $2 million per year for each province and territory and the balance of the funding on a per child (0 to 12) basis for the period starting on April 1, 2021 and ending on March 31, 2026. This funding includes financial commitments made as part of the 2021 to 2026 Canada-wide early learning and child care agreements.

        1. $2,948,082,433 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2021
        2. $4,489,349,839 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2022
        3. $5,538,345,183 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2023
        4. $6,492,201,954 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2024
        5. $7,718,943,823 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2025

        4.7.2 Subject to annual adjustment based on the formula described in section 4.7.3, Ontario's estimated projected share of the amounts described in section 4.7.1 will be:

        Table 1. Ontario's estimated projected share of financial provisions by fiscal year

        Fiscal year	Estimated amount to be paid to Ontario* (subject to annual adjustment)
        2021 to 2022	$1,099,118,364
        2022 to 2023	$1,681,475,235
        2023 to 2024	$2,081,462,593
        2024 to 2025	$2,449,269,375
        2025 to 2026	$2,923,564,331

        • * The notional allocations for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 use Statistics Canada's population estimates as at July 1st, 2020. Notional allocations for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 are calculated based on Statistics Canada's longer-term population growth models using the Medium Growth M1 Population Growth Scenario from the previous fiscal year.

        4.7.3 The final amount to be paid to Ontario for the fiscal year will be calculated using the formula F x K/L plus $2 million, where:

        • F is the annual total funding amount transferred to provinces and territories for the fiscal year minus the base funding from all provinces and territories
        • K is the total population of children aged 0 to 12 in Ontario on July 1 of that fiscal year, as determined using population estimates from Statistics Canada
        • L is the total population of children aged 0 to 12 on July 1 of that fiscal year, as determined using population estimates from Statistics Canada

        4.7.4 For the purposes of the formula in section 4.7.3, the population of children aged 0 to 12 for Ontario for each fiscal year and the total population of children aged 0 to 12 in all provinces and territories for that fiscal year are the respective populations as determined on the basis of the quarterly preliminary estimates of the respective populations on July 1 of that fiscal year. These estimates are released by Statistics Canada in September of each fiscal year.

        4.8 Payment

        4.8.1 Subject to Parliamentary approval of appropriations, Canada's contribution will be paid in approximately equal semi-annual installments as follows:

        • the full payment of the designated amount set out in section 4.7.2 for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 will be made within 30 days after the signatures from both Parties are affixed to the agreement
        • beginning in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, the first installment will be paid on or about June 15 of each fiscal year. The second installment will be paid on or about November 15 of each fiscal year once conditions in section 5.2 are satisfied

        4.8.2 Beginning in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, the amount of the first installment will be an amount equal to 50% of the total amount of Canada's maximum contribution to Ontario for the fiscal year, which will be calculated using Statistics Canada 0 to 12 population estimates from the previous year.

        4.8.3 Beginning in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, the amount of the second installment will be an amount equal to the balance of Canada's contribution to Ontario for the fiscal year based on the actual amount of the contribution determined under sections 4.7.3 and 4.7.4 for the fiscal year.

        4.8.4 Canada will notify Ontario at the beginning of the fiscal year of their notional amount. The actual amount under sections 4.7.3 and 4.7.4 will be based on the Statistics Canada quarterly preliminary children (0 to 12) population estimates on July 1 of the preceding fiscal year.

        4.8.5 In fiscal year 2024 to 2025, Canada shall withhold payment of its first installment if Canada has not received from Ontario its planned action plan for fiscal year 2024 to 2025, in accordance with requirements outlined in section 5.1. In fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Canada shall withhold payment of its first installment if Canada has not received from Ontario its planned action plan for fiscal year 2025 to 2026, in accordance with requirements outlined in section 5.1.

        4.8.6 Starting in fiscal year 2023 to 2024, Canada shall withhold payment of its first installment for a fiscal year if Canada has not received from Ontario all information requested under section 4.8.8 for the payment of its second installment from the previous fiscal year.

        4.8.7 Starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, Canada may withhold amounts payable in respect of fiscal year if Ontario is unable to meet the objectives of the agreement, in accordance with section 2.1.1.

        4.8.8 Starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, Canada shall withhold payment of its second installment for that fiscal year until Ontario provides an annual progress report outlining data and results achieved from the previous fiscal year and its annual audited financial statement of the previous fiscal year in accordance with section 5.2.

        4.8.9 In such an event that payment is being withheld, Canada will provide Ontario with a minimum 60 days written notice of its intention to withhold payment amounts, and the procedures for dispute resolution will be followed in accordance with section 8.

        4.8.10 The sum of both semi-annual installments constitutes a final payment and is not subject to any further adjustment once the second installment of that fiscal year has been paid, unless there is a debt due to Canada, which requires repayment in accordance with section 4.11.

        4.8.11 Payment of Canada's funding for each fiscal year of this Agreement is subject to an annual appropriation by the Parliament of Canada for this purpose. Likewise, use of the funding by Ontario is subject to an annual appropriation by Ontario's Legislature.

        4.9 Maximum annual contribution in respect of administration costs

        4.9.1 Canada's contribution in respect of Ontario's administration costs referred to in section 2.2.3 shall not exceed:

        • in the fiscal years covered under this Agreement an amount up to 10% of the maximum amount payable for those fiscal years

        4.10 Carry forward

        4.10.1 For fiscal year 2021 to 2022, at the request of Ontario, and subject to the approval of Canada's Treasury Board, Ontario may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year any unexpended funds remaining from Ontario's annual contribution payable under section 4.7 up to a maximum of 100% of the contribution payable.

        4.10.2 In fiscal year 2022 to 2023, at the request of Ontario, and subject to the approval of Canada's Treasury Board, Ontario may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year unexpended funds remaining from Ontario's annual contribution payable under section 4.7, up to a maximum of 95% of the contribution payable. Any unexpended funds in excess of 95% of the contribution payable represents an overpayment subject to section 4.11.

        4.10.3 In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, at the request of Ontario, and subject to approval of Canada's Treasury Board, Ontario may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year any unexpended funds remaining from Ontario's annual contribution payable under section 4.7, up to a maximum of 75% of the total contribution payable. Any unexpended funds in excess of 75% of the contribution payable represents an overpayment subject to section 4.11.

        4.10.4 In fiscal year 2024 to 2025 at the request of Ontario, and subject to approval of Canada's Treasury Board, Ontario may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year any unexpended funds remaining from Ontario's annual contribution payable under section 4.7, up to a maximum of 50% of the total contribution payable. Any unexpended funds in excess of 50% of the contribution payable represents an overpayment subject to section 4.11.

        4.10.5 In fiscal year 2025 to 2026 at the request of Ontario, and subject to approval of Canada's Treasury Board, Ontario may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year any unexpended funds remaining from Ontario's annual contribution payable under section 4.7, up to a maximum of 10% of the total contribution payable. Any unexpended funds in excess of 10% of the contribution payable represents an overpayment subject to section 4.11.

        4.10.6 Ontario may only use the amount carried forward to the following fiscal year for expenditures on eligible areas of investment made under section 2.2 incurred that fiscal year.

        4.10.7 For greater certainty, any amount carried forward under sections 4.10.1 and 4.10.5 is supplementary to the maximum amount payable to Ontario under section 4.7 of this Agreement during the fiscal year in which the funding is carried forward.

        4.10.8 All amounts carried forward to the next fiscal year, pursuant to sections 4.10.1 to 4.10.5 must be spent by the end of that fiscal year. Ontario is not entitled to retain any such carried forward amounts that remain unexpended after the end of that fiscal year, nor is it entitled to retain any balance of Canada's contribution payable pursuant to section 4.7 that remains unexpended at the end of that fiscal year and is not carried forward in accordance with sections 4.10.1 to 4.10.5. Such amounts are considered debts due to Canada and shall be repaid in accordance with section 4.11.

        4.11 Repayment of overpayment

        4.11.1 In the event payments made to Ontario exceed the amount to which Ontario is entitled under the agreement and/or unexpended funding is in excess of the carry forward allowance, the amount of the excess is a debt due to Canada and shall be repaid to Canada upon receipt of notice to do so and within the period specified in the notice.

        4.11.2 Canada shall, in addition to any other remedies available, have the right to recover the debt by deducting or setting-off the amount of the debt from any future contribution payable to Ontario under this Agreement.

        4.11.3 Use of funds

        4.11.4 Canada and Ontario agree that funds provided under this Agreement will only be used by Ontario in accordance with the areas for investment outlined in section 2.2 of this Agreement.

        4.11.5 Canada and Ontario agree that, within each fiscal year of the period of this Agreement, Ontario may move funding between the individual programming categories outlined in its action plan in Annex 2 to ensure the maximum use of funding. Ontario agrees to notify Canada in writing of any such change in funding allocation, including the rationale for the change. The change will be implemented upon agreement between Canada and Ontario.

        4.11.6 Canada and Ontario agree that funds provided under this Agreement will be used to ensure improvements in ELCC as outlined in section 2.1.1 and will not displace existing provincial or municipal spending in place on or before March 31, 2021.

        5.0 Accountability

        1. Ontario has completed and shared its action plan for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and fiscal year 2023 to 2024 (Annex 2). Subsequently, Ontario will provide an action plan for fiscal year 2024 to 2025 by the beginning of fiscal year 2024 to 2025. Subsequently, with the completion of the program review conducted during the fiscal year 2024 to 2025 by the Implementation Committee pursuant to section 6.4, Ontario will provide an action plan for fiscal year 2025 to 2026 by the beginning of fiscal year 2025 to 2026. Ontario will publicly release their action plan which:
           1. outlines an implementation plan towards achieving objectives set out in section 2, including priority areas for investment, and targets by indicator, within the framework's parameters
           2. identifies specific targets for each indicator that will be reported on annually for tracking progress in relation to the objectives set out under section 2.1.1, and as outlined in its action plan in Annex 2, which may include the following:
              1. total number of ELCC spaces available during the fiscal year, broken down by age groups of child and type of setting (for example, for-profit/not-for-profit/public licensed child care centres, licensed family child care homes, etc.)
              2. the number of net new spaces created during the fiscal year, broken down by age groups of child and type of setting (for example, for-profit/not-for-profit/public licensed child care centres, licensed family child care homes, etc.)
              3. total number of inclusive (as defined in section 2.1.1) spaces created/converted, broken down by age group of child and type of setting
              4. average daily parental fee for licensed child care spaces at the end of each fiscal year, including at the beginning of fiscal year 2021 to 2022 and at the end of 2022
              5. number of children under age 6 and 6 to 12 years receiving fee subsidies, broken down by families receiving partial and full subsidies
              6. number and proportion of children under age 6 and 6 to 12 years in flexible licensed ELCC arrangements and number and proportion of centers/providers that provide flexible arrangements (for example, non-traditional arrangements such as flexible/irregular hours, weekend and emergency services); and geographic distribution of spaces
              7. number of children under age 6 and 6 to 12 years with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports that are in licensed ELCC spaces
              8. number or proportion of child care service providers who provide services that are adapted to the needs of children with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports
              9. number of Indigenous children under age 6 years in licensed child care spaces, distinction-based (First Nations, Inuit, Metis) through statistical methods where possible
              10. number of racialized Canadian children, including Black Canadian children under age 6 in licensed child care spaces through statistical methods where possible
              11. number and percentage of staff working in licensed child care programs in Ontario who fully meet the Ontario's certification/educational requirements
              12. annual public expenditure on training and professional development of the early childhood workforce
              13. wages of the early childhood workforce according to the categories of certification, including any wage enhancements, top-ups and/or supplements
              1. if available, number and proportion of children under age 6 and 6 to 12 years from families more in need that are in licensed child care spaces through statistical methods where possible
              1. information about waiting lists to access licensed child care spaces, where possible
              2. total child care subsidies provided by parents' income level
              3. average child-to-staff ratio among licensed child care service providers
              4. total annual investment in ELCC

              5.1.2 Ontario will consult with parents, child care providers, experts, Indigenous peoples, official language minority communities and other interested Parties as an important step in finalizing its fiscal year 2024 to 2025 action plan. Ontario will outline the results of consultations in its fiscal year 2024 to 2025 action plan as well as through its annual reporting.

              5.1.3 By the beginning of fiscal year 2024 to 2025, Ontario commits to share with Canada its fiscal year 2024 to 2025 action plan. With the program review under section 6.4 complete, Ontario will provide an action plan for fiscal year 2025 to 2026 by the beginning of fiscal year 2025 to 2026. The action plan shall include the elements described in section 5.1 (i) a) to f). Once the Parties agree that the action plan is final, the action plan may be published by one or both of the Parties and Canada will be able to provide Ontario with its first payment for the first fiscal year in the action plan according to section 4.8.

              5.2 Reporting

              5.2.1 Ontario agrees to provide baseline data on indicators set out in their action plan as soon as possible after the Parties sign this Agreement.

              5.2.2 By no later than October 1 starting in fiscal year 2023 to 2024, unless otherwise stated, and continuing during the period of this Agreement, Ontario agrees to:

              1. provide to Canada an annual report in the format and manner decided jointly by Canada and Ontario. The report shall show separately the results attributable to the funding provided by Canada under this Agreement and shall include:
                 1. description of the activities, expenditures and results of the agreement as set out in Annex 2
                 2. results achieved in working towards the vision for Canada-wide ELCC set out in this Agreement, including average child care fees and progress toward the average 50% reduction in fees by the end of 2022 and reaching an average fee of $10 per day by fiscal year 2025 to 2026
                 3. results achieved according to the indicators and targets referred to in Annex 2
                 4. the impact on families more in need, as described in section 2.2.5, including progress toward specific Ontario targets as described in Annex 2
                 5. additional available information to be reported annually that would be useful to assess progress
                 6. description of any relevant consultation processes, the type of groups consulted and annual priorities related to stakeholder feedback referred to in Annex 2
                 7. any additional results of Ontario's annual child care data collection as per section 5.2.2 (f) and any evaluation activities undertaken in the fiscal year, as available
                 1. the revenue section of the statement shall show the amount received from Canada under this Agreement during the fiscal year
                 2. the total amount of funding used for ELCC programs and services under section 2.2
                 3. the administration costs incurred by Ontario in developing and administering ELCC programs under section 2.2.3
                 4. if applicable, the amount of any amount carried forward by Ontario under section 4.10
                 5. if applicable, the amount of any surplus funds that are to be repaid to Canada under section 4.11

                 5.2.3 Canada, with prior notice to Ontario, may incorporate all or any part or parts of the annual report described under section 5.2.2 (a) into any public report that Canada may prepare for its own purposes, including any reports to the Parliament of Canada or reports that may be made public.

                 5.3 Audit

                 5.3.1 Ontario will ensure that expenditure information presented in the annual report is, in accordance with Ontario's standard accounting practices, complete and accurate.

                 5.4 Evaluation

                 5.4.1 As per established policies and processes with respect to program effectiveness, Ontario will evaluate programs and services receiving funds provided under this Agreement and make public the results of any such evaluations.

                 5.4.2 Ontario may be asked to participate in the evaluation by Canada of the initiatives under this Agreement and agrees to provide information as requested by Canada during and following the agreement in order for Canada to evaluate relevant initiatives under this Agreement. Evaluation results will be made available to the public.

                 6.0 Long-term collaboration

                 6.1 Understanding that expanding and building a new social program is complex, and that both governments are committed to achieving an average of $10 a day for licensed child care spaces for eligible children, Canada and Ontario will create an officials-level Implementation Committee. This committee will monitor progress towards this goal in consultation with stakeholders. Ontario and Canada will provide data to support the work of the Implementation Committee.

                 6.2 Canada and Ontario, through the Implementation Committee and/or designated officials, agree to meet at least twice annually, timed to coincide with the planning and reporting cycles, or as agreed to by the Parties, to discuss and exchange information on issues related to this Agreement, including:

                 1. administration and management of the agreement, including providing a forum for the exchange of information on annual planning priorities and reporting
                 2. exchanging information on local challenges and priorities and the results of engagement with other relevant stakeholders, including official language minority communities
                 3. discussing access to affordable high-quality and culturally appropriate ELCC for Indigenous children in Ontario with both Ontario and Canada providing updates and information
                 4. providing a forum to exchange information on best practices and have discussions related to the implementation of the agreement, for example, status of data collection and results as well as discussing what indicators may be included in subsequent action plan(s) under this Agreement
                 5. improving data collection and dissemination on key ELCC information, including culturally oriented ELCC information for indigenous children, Black and other racialized children, newcomer to Canada children, and other groups of children that may require additional consideration for accessing programs and services
                 6. review and provide direction to resolve any issues arising from the implementation and management of this Agreement, and from the evaluation of provincial programs supported under this Agreement
                 7. monitor progress towards the shared goal of an average of $10 per day, in consultation with stakeholders, including sharing information on space creation in the for-profit and not-for-profit sector
                 8. through mutual agreement, stakeholders may be invited to attend a meeting of the Implementation Committee
                 9. report to the Government of Canada and Ontario on progress towards Canada's and Ontario's shared goals to date and how the remainder of the shared goals may be achieved before the expiry of the agreement
                 10. in December 2022, the governments of Canada and Ontario to report on progress towards Canada and Ontario's shared goals to date based on data available at that time

                 6.3 Canada and Ontario agree to share and release data as available, and share knowledge, research and information on effective and innovative practices in ELCC, to further support the development of and reporting on quality and outcomes. Canada and Ontario agree to work together, and with stakeholders, towards the development of additional measures and indicators that could be included in bilateral agreements in the future that could reinforce the vision for Canada-wide ELCC.

                 6.4 Program review

                 6.4.1 To ensure the long-term sustainability of the agreement and to provide some certainty to Ontario's child care sector and partners, Canada and Ontario agree to have a program review ("program review") conducted during the term of this Agreement by the Implementation Committee. The program review will be conducted during the fiscal year 2024 to 2025.

                 6.4.2 Canada and Ontario agree that the purpose of the program review is to communicate progress and share information on the committed objectives outlined in section 2.1.1 of this Agreement. This includes a review of indicators and targets under section 2.1.1 of this Agreement as well as an analysis of costs (including operator deficits if any) and cost drivers.

                 6.4.3 The program review will be completed by June 30, 2024. This timeframe recognizes Ontario's need to release its funding allocations to partners for their subsequent fiscal year in a timely manner. This timing also considers Ontario's municipal partners operate on a calendar year basis with a January 1 start to their fiscal year.

                 6.4.4 Ontario will provide the Implementation Committee with the financial model for the purpose set out in section 6.4.2.

                 6.4.5 A summary of findings will be provided to Canada and Ontario with conclusions and recommendations.

                 7.0 Communications

                 7.1 Canada and Ontario agree on the importance of communicating with citizens about the objectives of this Agreement in an open, transparent, effective and proactive manner through appropriate public information activities.

                 7.2 Canada and Ontario recognize the importance of ensuring that the public is informed of Canada's financial contributions to Ontario's ELCC programs and services, funded under this Agreement.

                 7.3 Ontario agrees to acknowledge Canada's contribution by including federal identification in all public communications and marketing products, promotional material and advertising. Canada agrees to acknowledge Ontario's contribution in public communications and marketing products, promotional material and advertising where specifically related to or associated with Ontario.

                 7.4 Canada reserves the right to conduct public communications, announcements, events, outreach and promotional activities about the framework and bilateral agreements. Canada agrees to give Ontario 10 days advance notice of public communications related to the framework, bilateral agreements, and results of the investments of this Agreement.

                 7.5 Ontario reserves the right to conduct public communications, announcements, events, outreach and promotional activities about the framework and bilateral agreements. Ontario agrees to give Canada 10 days advance notice of public communications related to the framework, bilateral agreements, and results of the investments of this Agreement.

                 7.6 Canada and Ontario agree to participate in a joint announcement upon signing of this Agreement.

                 7.7 Canada and Ontario agree to work together to identify opportunities for joint announcements relating to programs funded under this Agreement.

                 7.8 Ontario will make best efforts to require service providers, funded under this Agreement to display federal identification to recognize that the programs and services provided receive Canada's financial assistance.

                 7.9 Ontario agrees that promotional communications to all groups receiving funding through this Agreement (for example, licensed child care providers, home child care licensees, and municipal partners, colleges, and career colleges) will include federal identification and recognize Canada's financial assistance.

                 7.10 Canada will provide a mutually agreed upon standard letter to Ontario for use in notifying all recipients of funding from this Agreement, to include federal and Ontario identification and recognize Canada's financial assistance. Parties may collectively agree on an alternate version that appropriately identifies and recognizes both Parties.

                 8.0 Dispute resolution

                 8.1 Canada and Ontario are committed to working together and avoiding disputes through government-to-government information exchange, advance notice, early consultation, and discussion, clarification, and resolution of issues, as they arise.

                 8.2 The Parties acknowledge that the current forecast provided by Ontario is accurate, and through the use of funds carried forward in accordance with section 4.10, is forecast to cover costs of achieving the objectives of the agreement up to the end of the fiscal year 2025 to 2026. This forecast includes funding provided by Canada under section 4 of this Agreement, and the $267 million net new investment committed by Ontario. Nothing in this Agreement would require either Canada or Ontario to contribute additional funding during the term of this Agreement beyond the funding committed by both Parties as referred to in the previous sentence.

                 8.3 As the Parties take stock of progress as outlined in section 6, should there be challenges, Canada and Ontario agree to work together to explore workable solutions, including proportional adjustments to targets. The responsible Ministers for Canada and Ontario agree to consider all reasonable approaches put forward by officials to address challenges.

                 8.4 If at any time either Canada or Ontario is of the opinion that the other Party has failed to comply with any of its obligations or undertakings under this Agreement or is in breach of any term or condition of the agreement, Canada or Ontario, as the case may be, may notify the other Party in writing of the failure or breach. Upon such notice, Canada and Ontario will endeavour to resolve the issue in dispute bilaterally through their designated officials.

                 8.5 If a dispute cannot be resolved by designated officials, then the dispute will be referred to the Deputy Ministers most responsible for ELCC, and if it cannot be resolved by them, then the federal Minister and Ontario Minister shall endeavour to resolve the dispute.

                 8.6 If Ontario has failed to comply with its obligations or undertakings and where the Ontario Minister and federal Minister are unable to resolve related disputes, a termination of the agreement may be pursued in accordance with section 10.

                 9.0 Amendments to the agreement

                 9.1 This Agreement, including all attached annexes, except Annex 1, may be amended at any time by mutual consent of the Parties. To be valid, any amendments shall be in writing and signed by the Parties.

                 9.2 Waiver

                 9.3 Failure by any Party to exercise any of its rights, powers, or remedies under this Agreement or its delay to do so does not constitute a waiver of those rights, powers, or remedies. Any waiver by either Party of any of its rights, powers, or remedies under this Agreement must be in writing; and, such a waiver does not constitute a continuing waiver unless it is so explicitly stated.

                 10.0 Termination

                 10.1 Canada may terminate this Agreement at any time if the terms of this Agreement are breached by Ontario by giving at least 6 months written notice of Canada's intention to terminate the agreement. Ontario may terminate this Agreement at any time if the terms of this Agreement are breached by Canada by giving at least 6 months written notice of Ontario's intention to terminate the agreement.

                 10.2 After the date of termination of this Agreement under section 10.1, Canada shall have no obligation to make any further payments to Ontario after the date of effective termination.

                 11.0 Notice

                 11.1 Any notice, information or document provided under this Agreement will be effectively delivered or sent by email or mail, with postage or other charges prepaid. Any notice that is delivered will have been received when delivered; and, except in periods of postal disruption, any notice mailed will be deemed to have been received 8 calendar days after being mailed. Any notice emailed will be deemed to have been received the following business day. The Parties agree that sending any notice, information or document by email is the preferred method of transmittal. However, if any notice, information or document must be mailed:

                 • Canada will advise Ontario's Assistant Deputy Minister, Early Years and Child Care Division by email at the time of mailing
                 • Ontario will advise the Director General of the Federal Child Care Secretariat by email at the time of mailing

                 The address for notice or communication to Canada shall be as follows, or as Canada later designates to Ontario by notice in writing:

                 • Federal Child Care Secretariat
                   140 Promenade du Portage
                   Gatineau, QC K1A 0J9
                   NC-SSP-ELCC-GD@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

                 The address for notice or communication to Ontario shall be as follows, or as Ontario later designates to Canada by notice in writing:

                 • Ministry of Education
                   Attention: Assistant Deputy Minister, Early Years and Child Care Division
                   315 Front Street, 11th floor
                   Toronto, ON M7A 0B8
                   holly.moran@ontario.ca

                 12.0 General

                 12.1 This Agreement, including Annexes 1 and 2, comprises the entire agreement entered into by the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof.

                 12.2 This Agreement does not displace federal investments in ELCC, based on the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework, Annex 1, concluded on June 12, 2017.

                 12.3 This Agreement shall be interpreted according to the laws of Canada and Ontario.

                 12.4 No member of the House of Commons or of the Senate of Canada or of the Legislature of Ontario shall be admitted to any share or part of this Agreement, or to any benefit arising therefrom.

                 12.5 If for any reason a provision of this Agreement that is not a fundamental term is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be or to have become invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, it will be deemed to be severable and will be deleted from this Agreement, but all the other provisions of this Agreement will continue to be valid and enforceable.

                 12.6 This Agreement is drafted in English at the request of the Parties.

                 • Signed on behalf of Canada by the Minister Families Children and Social Development in Ottawa this 27th day of March, 2022.
                 • [Signed by] The Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.
                 • Signed on behalf of Ontario by the Minister of Education at Vaughan this 27th day of March, 2022.
                 • [Signed by] The Honourable Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education.

                 Annex 1: Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework

                 Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers most responsible for early learning and child care (ELCC) agree on the importance of supporting parents, families and communities in their efforts to ensure the best possible future for their children. For more details, please consult the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework.

                 Annex 2: Ontario's action plan for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and fiscal year 2023 to 2024

                 In this section

                 • 1.0 Introduction
                 • 2.0 Background: Ontario's system of early learning and child care
                 • 3.0 Building on Ontario and Canada's progress to date
                 • 4.0 Implementation: Ontario's action plan
                 • 5.0 Appendix: Financial summary table fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and fiscal year 2023 to 2024

                 1.0 Introduction

                 The purpose of this action plan is to outline Ontario's key principles and priorities for this funding as well as the actions to be taken in fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to work towards the goal of implementing a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system. The fiscal year 2024 to 2025 action plan would be provided by the beginning of fiscal year 2024 to 2025, and the fiscal year 2025 to 2026 action plan would be provided by the beginning of fiscal year 2025 to 2026.

                 Under the CWELCC agreement between Ontario and the Government of Canada, Canada will provide funding to Ontario to support the implementation of a CWELCC system. Ontario will use the investment to build on and leverage the success of existing child care funding and associated initiatives while working with system partners to achieve the goals of a CWELCC system.

                 The goals for a CWELCC system include:

                 1. providing a 50% reduction in average child care fees for licensed child care for children under the age of 6 by the end of calendar year 2022 and reaching an average of $10 per day for child care fees by the end of fiscal year 2025 to 2026
                 2. creating more high-quality, affordable licensed child care spaces
                 3. addressing barriers to provide inclusive and flexible licensed child care
                 4. strengthening the early childhood workforce through enhanced compensation, training, and professional learning opportunities

                 Federal investments and support in Indigenous early learning and child care

                 The Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework, co-developed with Indigenous partners in 2018, sees children and families supported by a comprehensive and coordinated system of ELCC policies, programs and services that are led by Indigenous peoples, rooted in Indigenous knowledge, cultures and languages and supported by strong partnerships. Building on this strong foundation and in addition to investments announced in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, Canada's Budget 2021 included $2.5 billion over 5 years, starting in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, and $542 million ongoing, to advance First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation specific early learning and child care priorities that meet the unique needs of Indigenous families. Approximately $54 million in Indigenous ELCC funding is reaching Ontario in fiscal year 2021 to 2022.

                 2.0 Background: Ontario's system of early learning and child care

                 2.1 Highlights: Ontario's child care system

                 Child care is foundational to supporting early childhood development and student success. It is also a key enabler of workforce participation, particularly for women, both as parents and providers.

                 Ontario is home to almost 2 million children age 0 to 12, representing approximately 38% of Canada's child care age population. Ontario has approximately 860,000 children age 0 to 5 and 1,090,000 children age 6 to 12. These children are supported by a system of early learning and child care that is fully integrated with publicly funded schools to support access and seamless experiences for all Ontario families.

                 Ontario's child care system has a broad range of care options for families. There are more than 464,500 high quality licensed child care spaces in centres for children age 0 to 12 in the province. About 288,000 of these spaces are available for children age 0 to 5. Ontario's child care system also includes an estimated 10,000 spaces for children age 0 to 5 in licensed home child care, for an estimated total capacity of 298,000 spaces for this age group.

                 Quality and safety in child care programs are a priority for Ontario and are supported by a strong quality-focused licensing and enforcement regime.

                 Ontario shares with Canada the goals of a CWELCC system, including improved affordability, access, quality, and inclusion. Ontario has been working to advance these goals on many fronts, including:

                 • full-day kindergarten: Ontario invests $3.6 billion in universal full-day kindergarten, providing a full-day of free high-quality programming for all children age 4 to 5 in the publicly funded school system across the province. Ontario is the first Canadian jurisdiction to provide full-day kindergarten to both 4- and 5-year-old children and 90% of Ontario children age 4 and 5 attend full-day kindergarten
                 • fee subsidy for low-income families: Ontario's child care fee subsidy system provides $880 million annually to support low-income families to access child care. In 2019, the most recent year for which there is data available, fee subsidies supported 150,500 children in Ontario to access child care; 57,900 of these children attended child care free with full subsidy
                 • operator subsidies: Ontario invests approximately $700 million in operator subsidies to help offset costs that would otherwise result in higher child care fees. Support is provided for general operating costs, as well as wage enhancements for qualified staff
                 • Ontario childcare access and relief from expense (CARE) tax credit: introduced in 2019, this tax credit helps an estimated 300,000 families each year with up to 75% of their eligible child care expenses so they can work, run a business or study to acquire new skills
                 • child care spaces in schools: Ontario has committed up to $1 billion over 5 years (beginning in 2019) to create up to 30,000 new child care spaces in schools. As of March 31, 2021, 54% of licensed child care centres and 64% of licensed child care spaces were in publicly funded schools. 70% of primary schools have a child care centre
                 • wage enhancement grant/home child care enhancement grants: Ontario values the important role of child care and early years professionals. Since 2015, Ontario has supported recruitment and retention of RECEs in child care through the Ontario Wage Enhancement Grant. In 2021, Ontario invested $203 million to help attract and retain RECEs within Ontario's child care system and support access to stable, high quality child care programs
                 • Ontario's college of early childhood educators: Ontario values the important role of child care and early years professionals. The College is the self-regulatory body for the early childhood education profession in the province and is the only regulatory college for early childhood educators in Canada. As a result, Ontario is the only jurisdiction in Canada with title protection for the profession
                 • modern legislative framework and quality standards: the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 (CCEYA) is the legislation that governs child care in Ontario. The legislation requires that programming in licensed spaces is aligned with the provincial pedagogy, How Does Learning Happen?, which sets out a vision, values, foundations and approaches to guide practice for high quality experiences in licensed child care and early years settings
                 • licensing and enforcement: Ontario has a modern regulatory framework. The Ministry of Education issues child care licences under the CCEYA and is responsible for enforcement of that legislation
                 • annual data collection: Ontario has conducted an annual data collection of child care program operations from licensed child care centres and home child care agencies since 2012 and has been reporting on the Early Development Instrument (EDI) indicators since 2003
                 • EarlyON child and family programs: in addition to Ontario's robust child care system, Ontario also has 419 main sites and 664 mobile/satellite locations offering EarlyON child and family programs to provide key supports to caregivers and children

                 Note: Ontario's investment of $2 billion in child care includes $146.7 million from the federal government in fiscal year 2021 to 2022 under the Canada-Ontario early learning and child care agreement.

                 2.2 Overview: Ontario's child care system

                 Ontario sets overall policy, legislation, and regulations for the early years and child care sector (for-profit and not-for-profit) across the province. Ontario also issues licences, conducts inspections, and investigates complaints about licensed and unlicensed child care across the province.

                 There are 2 types of licensed child care in Ontario:

                 • child care centres are licensed by the Ministry of Education and include nursery schools, full-day and before- and after-school programs. Child care centres operate in a variety of locations including schools, workplaces, community centres and places of worship. The Ministry inspects child care centres at least annually to ensure they meet health, safety and programming requirements under the CCEYA
                 • home child care agencies are licensed by the Ministry of Education. Agencies enter into agreements with individual home child care providers and work with families to find the right provider for their child. Providers are screened, approved and regularly monitored by the licensed home child care agency. The Ministry also inspects home child care agencies and a sample of home child care providers annually to ensure licensing requirements are met and maintained

                 Ontario works with a broad and diverse range of partners to support the child care and early years system, including but not limited to Consolidated Municipal Service Managers (CMSMs), District Social Services Administration Boards (DSSABs), Child Care Licensees, the College of Early Childhood Educators, District School Boards, EarlyON Child and Family Centre Providers, First Nation communities, Indigenous and Francophone organizations, and Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology.

                 CMSMs/DSSABs are designated under the CCEYA as service system managers and are responsible and accountable for planning, implementing, monitoring, and reporting outcomes for child care and early years investments in their service area. CMSMs/DSSABs possess critical knowledge about community needs, maintain close connections with community partners, and are well positioned to plan and implement growth in the local child care system where it is needed the most.

                 Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014

                 The Child Care and Early Years Act (CCEYA) governs child care in Ontario. The CCEYA sets out what types of programs are considered child care and what types of child care do not require a licence in order to support informed decision-making for parents about their child care options. It sets out protective measures as well as licensing, inspection, and enforcement provisions. The CCEYA states that it is a matter of provincial interest that there be a system of child care and early years programs and services that:

                 • is focused on Ontario's children and families
                 • promotes the health, safety and well-being of children
                 • provides high quality experiences and positive outcomes for children with a provincial framework to guide pedagogy
                 • includes knowledgeable, self-reflective and qualified professionals and staff, including members of the College of Early Childhood Educators
                 • respects equity, inclusiveness and diversity in communities and the qualities of Aboriginal, First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities, children with disabilities, Francophone communities and urban, rural, remote and northern communities

                 The above items are just a few of the enumerated items of provincial interest regarding child care and early years system set out in the CCEYA and is not an exhaustive list.

                 The CCEYA has 2 associated regulations:

                 • Ontario Regulation 137/15 (General) provides licensing standards, additional clarity and accountability on a broad range of specific issues
                 • Ontario Regulation 138/15 (Funding, Cost Sharing and Financial Assistance), sets out rules regarding the use of provincial funding

                 Funding

                 Funding to support child care and child and family programs is flowed to 47 CMSMs/DSSABs, 96 First Nation communities and 3 Transfer Payment Agencies for child care and child and family programs on reserves.

                 CMSMs and DSSABs operate on a calendar year (January to December). Ontario typically provides their annual allocation information each fall, prior to the beginning of the calendar year.

                 In fiscal year 2021 to 2022, Ontario is investing over $2 billion in early years and child care:

                 • $1.6 billion to CMSMs/DSSABS for child care to support
                   • $880 million in fee subsidies for low-income parents
                   • $700 million in operator subsidies (including $203 million for the Wage Enhancement Grant)
                   • $25.5 million to support Indigenous-led child care and early years programming off reserve

                   As part of its plan to expand access to child care, the government is also investing up to $1 billion over 5 years to create up to 30,000 new child care spaces in schools.

                   On top of these investments, Ontario invests $3.6 billion annually in full-day kindergarten which guarantees full-day learning and education to all children age 4 to 5 in publicly funded schools across the province.

                   2.3 Affordability supports for families

                   Child care fees have historically been market-driven, with higher fees associated with regions with a higher cost of living. Parent fees also vary by age group, with higher fees for younger age groups. Based on data as of March 31, 2021, estimated average daily child care fees for the 0 to 5 age group are over $46 per day. Average daily fees for the 6 to 12 age group are approximately $24 per day.

                   Below is a chart that shows the average daily fees in licensed child care as of March 31, 2021:

                   Table 2: Daily fees in licensed child care for 2021

                   Note: the tables below were modified for accessibility reasons.

                   Table 2a: Licensed centres

                   Age group	Weighted average daily fees
                   Infant	$73.20
                   Toddler	$60.86
                   Preschool	$53.27
                   Kindergarten	$47.64
                   Kindergarten before and after school	$25.79
                   School age before and after school	$23.08

                   Table 2b: Licensed home child care

                   Age group	Weighted average daily fees
                   Less than 2 years	$47.56
                   2 to 3 years	$45.59
                   4 to 5 years	$41.19
                   4 to 5 years before and after school	$25.90
                   6 to 12 years before and after school	$26.36

                   Ontario has some of the highest child care fees in Canada. For example, of the 10 regions across the country with the highest monthly toddler fees, 7 of these are in Ontario.

                   

                   Ontario invests in several initiatives to make child care more affordable for parents across the province but achieving the $10 per day target will be more challenging for Ontario given the higher costs.

                   Full-day kindergarten

                   Ontario invests $3.6 billion annually to guarantee full school day learning to all children age 4 to 5 in publicly funded schools across the province. The program is universal and fully funded, providing high quality learning experiences co-led by teachers and Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECE) in the school system. Kindergarten supports children's well-being and learning before they begin school at age 6.

                   The transition from a half-day kindergarten program to a full-day program began in the 2010 to 2011 school year and was fully implemented by the 2014 to 2015 school year. Implementation of the program included more than $1.5 billion investment in capital funding to support school boards to build/renovate classrooms. This investment supported the creation of approximately 3,500 kindergarten classrooms.

                   Since it was fully implemented, about 99% of primary schools in Ontario provide full-day kindergarten, with 267,000 children currently enrolled.

                   Childcare access and relief from expenses tax credit

                   In 2019, Ontario introduced the Childcare access and relief from expenses (CARE) tax credit to enable families to access a broad range of child care options. In fiscal year 2021 to 2022, the credit will provide an estimated $445 million to approximately 300,000 families to support their eligible child care expenses, including those for child care in centres, home‐based care and other settings. As announced in the 2021 Ontario Budget, this includes a top‑up of 20% of the credit entitlement for the 2021 taxation year.

                   Families can receive up to:

                   • $6,000 per child under the age of 7 (plus a top‑up of up to $1,200 for 2021)
                   • $3,750 per child between the ages of 7 and 16 (plus a top‑up of up to $750 for 2021)
                   • $8,250 per child with a severe disability (plus a top‑up of up to $1,650 for 2021)

                   The CARE tax credit is provided in addition to the Child Care Expenses Deduction and focuses on lower- and moderate-income families. The CARE tax credit enables families to choose child care options that best meet their needs, including care outside of traditional hours and on weekends. The CARE tax credit is based on a tax filer's:

                   • family income, based on the income used in determining the tax filer's Child Care Expenses Deduction
                   • eligible child care expenses, defined as the tax filer's total entitlement under the Child Care Expenses Deduction

                   Support for general operating costs to support affordability

                   Ontario provides approximately $700 million in operator subsidies to help offset costs that would otherwise result in higher child care fees. This funding supports the general operating costs of licensed child care programs in order to reduce and stabilize fees for services, sustain service levels, and where funds allow, improve access to high quality affordable early learning and child care services for children and their families. General operating funding may be used for ongoing costs, including staff wages and benefits, lease and occupancy costs, utilities, administration, transportation for children, resources, nutrition, supplies, and maintenance.

                   Note: Ontario allocates fee subsidy funding and general operating funding to CMSMs/DSSABs and CMSMs/DSSABs have purchase of service (POS) agreements with child care operators in their region to support them in these areas. Currently, CMSMs/DSSABs as service system managers have discretion to decide which operators they will enter into POS agreements with based on available funding and service planning priorities (for example, gaps in service). An estimated 700 to 800 of the approximately 5,500 child care centres in Ontario do not have a POS agreement with a service system manager.

                   Child care fee subsidies

                   In Ontario, a child care fee subsidy is available for financially eligible families using a standardized assessment of family income and is determined on a sliding scale in order to increase access to the licensed child care system. Ontario's child care fee subsidy provides $880 million in direct support annually for low-income families to access child care. In 2019, the most recent year for which there is data available, 150,500 children in Ontario were supported with a full or partial fee subsidy.

                   The amount of subsidy a family may be eligible for is based on factors set out in the provincial Policy Statement: Access to Subsidized Child Care. These factors include parents' employment/education activities or the special needs of the child. CMSMs/DSSABs may weight the factors differently depending on the needs of their community. For example, 2 parents who both work full-time could receive subsidy for full-time child care if they qualify financially. If one of the parents works on a part-time basis, the family could be eligible for subsidy for the time the parent is working plus reasonable travel time.

                   Through the standardized income test assessment, the family contribution to the cost of child care is calculated as follows:

                   • no cost if family net income is $20,000 or under (full subsidy)
                   • 10% of net income over $20,000 but under $40,000, plus
                   • 30% of net income over $40,000

                   Access to fee subsidies is based on availability of subsidy funds within the budget of the local CMSM/DSSAB, as well as child care space availability. Service system managers have reported fee subsidy waitlists in some communities.

                   Fee subsidy eligibility includes children under 13 years or up to 18 years with special needs who were already in the child care system or entered the child care system before August 31, 2017.

                   The table below shows a breakdown of fee subsidies provided by family income level:

                   Table 3. Breakdown of fee subsidies provided by family income level

                   Family income	Percentage*	Number of subsidy children
                   $20,000 and below	38%	57,913
                   $20,001 to $40,000	34%	51,280
                   $40,001 to $60,000	18%	27,251
                   $60,001 and above	9%	14,030
                   Total	100%	150,474

                   • *Numbers may not add up due to rounding.

                   2.4 Family choice and access to child care spaces

                   In Ontario, licensed child care is provided in centres and homes, and is delivered by a mix of not-for-profit and for-profit organizations as well as municipalities, school boards and First Nation communities.

                   As of March 31, 2021, there were approximately 5,500 licensed child care centres in Ontario. The total number of spaces in licensed centres was about 464,500, which included:

                   • 35,500 spaces in centres that provide services in French
                   • 7,200 spaces that provide bilingual services
                   • 3,300 spaces in First Nation communities

                   Out of all licensed child care spaces in centres, about 288,000 spaces are available for children age 0 to 5 and 176,300 are available for children age 6 to 12.

                   In Ontario, the average annual growth rate for child care spaces for children age 0 to 5 is about 5% in the past 10 years, and about 3% in the past 5 years.

                   As of March 31, 2021, a total of 139 licensed home child care agencies were operating in the province. These agencies were permitted to contract with a maximum of 8,600 homes.

                   Overall, Ontario's licensed child care sector continues to grow despite the slight decrease in the number of centres over the past year. Since fiscal year 2011 to 2012:

                   • the number of licensed child care centres increased by 12%, from 4,900 to 5,500. Licensed spaces have increased by 68%, from 275,000 to 464,500
                   • the number of spaces has grown across all age groups, including school age (77%), kindergarten (230%), preschool (12%), toddler (62%), and infant (58%)

                   Over the past 5 years, Ontario has seen a growth of about 75,000 licensed spaces across the province. The growth is primarily in the not-for-profit child care sector.

                   The number of licensed child care centres and number of spaces in licensed child care by age group from fiscal year 2011 to 2012 to fiscal year 2020 to 2021 are shown in the charts below.

                   Note: the tables below were modified for accessibility reasons.

                   Table 4: Number of licensed child care centres from fiscal year 2011 to 2012 to fiscal year 2020 to 2021

                   Fiscal year	Number of centres
                   2011 to 2012	4,922
                   2012 to 2013	5,050
                   2013 to 2014	5,069
                   2014 to 2015	5,144
                   2015 to 2016	5,276
                   2016 to 2017	5,351
                   2017 to 2018	5,437
                   2018 to 2019	5,523
                   2019 to 2020	5,565
                   2020 to 2021	5,506

                   • Data source: Child Care Licensing System, Ontario Ministry of Education (as of March 31 each year).
                   Table 5: Number of licensed child care spaces by age group from fiscal year 2011 to 2012 to fiscal year 2020 to 2021*

                   Fiscal year	Infant	Toddler	Preschool	Kindergarten	School Age	Total
                   2011 to 2012	9,269	30,867	103,474	32,547	99,743	275,873
                   2012 to 2013	9,634	32,578	102,731	40,796	108,795	294,490
                   2013 to 2014	10,250	34,772	102,133	52,168	118,545	317,868
                   2014 to 2015	11,025	37,833	102,380	64,340	135,223	350,801
                   2015 to 2016	11,759	41,211	104,802	85,014	146,500	389,286
                   2016 to 2017	12,231	42,900	105,955	92,035	153,274	406,395
                   2017 to 2018	12,755	44,529	108,375	98,310	162,901	427,032
                   2018 to 2019	13,626	46,865	112,042	103,308	170,337	446,596
                   2019 to 2020	14,151	48,858	115,001	107,260	176,840	462,802
                   2020 to 2021	14,602	49,883	115,431	107,453	176,327	464,538

                   • *The total spaces in a given year may not equal the sum of the spaces by age group due to the exclusion of alternating spaces prior to fiscal year 2013 to 2014 and the inclusion of the family age group in fiscal year 2017 to 2018. The total number of spaces includes spaces for family age groups.

                   Since fiscal year 2011 to 2012, the number of licensed home child care agencies has increased by 5%, from 132 to 139, and the total number of homes these agencies can contract with has increased by 39%, from 6,100 to 8,600. Each home child care setting can provide child care for up to 6 children, with capacity within each home set by the home child care agency based on considerations including the size of the home, the skills of the provider and the needs of the children.

                   The table below shows the 10-year trend for licensed home child care agencies and homes from fiscal year 2011 to 2012 to fiscal year 2020 to 2021:

                   Note: the table below was modified for accessibility reasons.

                   Table 6: Licensed home child care agencies and approved homes from fiscal year 2011 to 2012 to fiscal year 2020 to 2021

                   Fiscal year	Number of agencies	Number of approved homes
                   2011 to 2012	132	6,142
                   2012 to 2013	127	5,960
                   2013 to 2014	126	5,765
                   2014 to 2015	124	6,962
                   2015 to 2016	122	7,504
                   2016 to 2017	124	7,579
                   2017 to 2018	122	7,783
                   2018 to 2019	124	7,923
                   2019 to 2020	131	8,296
                   2020 to 2021	139	8,561

                   • Data source: Child Care Licensing System, Ontario Ministry of Education (as of March 31 each year).

                   Overall, as of March 31, 2021, licensed child care in Ontario consisted of the following:

                   • centre-based child care: 5,500 centres with a total of 464,500 licensed child care spaces
                   • home child care: 139 licensed home child care agencies with 8,600 approved homes

                   In Ontario, licensed child care is delivered by both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. As of March 31, 2021:

                   • 75% of licensed child care centres were not-for-profit (operated by not-for-profit organizations and First Nation communities) and 25% were for-profit
                   • 76% of licensed home child care agencies were not-for-profit and 24% were for-profit
                   • 54% of child care centres and 64% of child care spaces were in publicly funded schools
                   • 79% of child care spaces were in not-for-profit centres and 21% were in for-profit centres. It should be noted that a higher percentage of age 0 to 5 spaces are in for-profit centres compared to age 6 to 12 spaces. The breakdown of spaces by auspice for the 0 to 5 and 6 to 12 age groupings is as follows as of March 31, 2021:
                     • 30% of spaces for 0 to 5 age were in for-profit centres and 70% of spaces for 0 to 5 were in not-for-profit centres
                     • 7% of spaces for age 6 to 12 were in for-profit centres and 93% of spaces for 6 to 12 were in not-for-profit centres

                     Note: Between April 1, 2019 and December 31, 2021, 45% of all new 0 to 5 spaces opened in Ontario have been for-profit spaces. As of February 2022, of the applications currently being processed by the Ministry for new centre-based child care spaces for age 0 to 5, approximately 66% of the more than 21,200 spaces are for-profit.

                     Distribution of for-profit child care varies across Ontario, with certain parts of the province, including the province's fastest growing regions, dependent on up to 44% of for-profit child care centres.

                     For more detailed information and an overview of the changes over time regarding the number of child care centres, spaces, agencies and approved homes between for-profit versus not-for-profit for age 0 to 12, please see tables below:

                     Table 7: Licensed child care centres and spaces by auspice from fiscal year 2011 to 2012 to fiscal year 2020 to 2021

                     Note: the tables below were modified for accessibility reasons.

                     Table 7a: Number of licensed centres

                     Types of centres	Fiscal year 2011 to 2012	Fiscal year 2012 to 2013	Fiscal year 2013 to 2014	Fiscal year 2014 to 2015	Fiscal year 2015 to 2016	Fiscal year 2016 to 2017	Fiscal year 2017 to 2018	Fiscal year 2018 to 2019	Fiscal year 2019 to 2020	Fiscal year 2020 to 2021
                     Number of centres	4,922	5,050	5,069	5,144	5,276	5,351	5,437	5,523	5,565	5,506
                     Not-for-profit	3,733	3,859	3,847	3,942	4,007	4,053	4,128	4,186	4,187	4,138
                     For-profit	1,189	1,191	1,222	1,202	1,269	1,298	1,309	1,337	1,378	1,368

                     • Data source: Child Care Licensing System, Ontario Ministry of Education (as of March 31 each year).
                     Table 7b: Number of licensed spaces

                     Types of spaces	Fiscal year 2011 to 2012	Fiscal year 2012 to 2013	Fiscal year 2013 to 2014	Fiscal year 2014 to 2015	Fiscal year 2015 to 2016	Fiscal year 2016 to 2017	Fiscal year 2017 to 2018	Fiscal year 2018 to 2019	Fiscal year 2019 to 2020	Fiscal year 2020 to 2021
                     Number of spaces	275,873	294,490	317,868	350,801	389,286	406,395	427,032	446,596	462,802	464,538
                     0 to 5 spaces	176,130	185,695	199,323	215,578	242,786	253,121	264,131	276,259	285,962	288,211
                     Not-for-profit	116,855	125,323	135,650	150,208	171,371	178,643	186,652	194,815	200,971	202,510
                     For-profit	59,275	60,372	63,673	65,370	71,415	74,478	77,479	81,444	84,991	85,701
                     6 to 12 spaces	99,743	108,795	118,545	135,223	146,500	153,274	162,901	170,337	176,840	176,327
                     Not-for-profit	88,922	97,528	105,231	122,691	133,946	140,965	150,666	158,134	164,682	164,099
                     For-profit	10,821	11,267	13,314	12,532	12,554	12,309	12,235	12,203	12,158	12,228

                     • Data source: Child Care Licensing System, Ontario Ministry of Education (as of March 31 each year).
                     Table 8: Percentage of spaces in for-profit centres from fiscal year 2011 to 2012 to fiscal year 2020 to 2021

                     % of spaces	Fiscal year 2011 to 2012	Fiscal year 2012 to 2013	Fiscal year 2013 to 2014	Fiscal year 2014 to 2015	Fiscal year 2015 to 2016	Fiscal year 2016 to 2017	Fiscal year 2017 to 2018	Fiscal year 2018 to 2019	Fiscal year 2019 to 2020	Fiscal year 2020 to 2021
                     0 to 12	25%	24%	24%	22%	22%	21%	21%	21%	21%	21%
                     0 to 5	34%	33%	32%	30%	29%	29%	29%	30%	30%	30%
                     6 to 12	11%	10%	11%	9%	9%	8%	8%	7%	7%	7%

                     • Data source: Child Care Licensing System, Ontario Ministry of Education (as of March 31 each year).

                     Table 9: Licensed home child care agencies and approved homes by auspice from fiscal year 2011 to 2012 to fiscal year 2020 to 2021

                     Note: the tables below were modified for accessibility reasons.

                     Table 9a: Agencies

                     Types of agencies	Fiscal year 2011 to 2012	Fiscal year 2012 to 2013	Fiscal year 2013 to 2014	Fiscal year 2014 to 2015	Fiscal year 2015 to 2016	Fiscal year 2016 to 2017	Fiscal year 2017 to 2018	Fiscal year 2018 to 2019	Fiscal year 2019 to 2020	Fiscal year 2020 to 2021
                     Number of agencies	132	127	126	124	122	124	122	124	131	139
                     Not-for-profit	118	116	113	111	108	109	105	104	105	106
                     For-profit	14	11	13	13	14	15	17	20	26	33

                     • Data source: Child Care Licensing System, Ontario Ministry of Education (as of March 31 each year).
                     Table 9b: Approved homes

                     Types of agencies	Fiscal year 2011 to 2012	Fiscal year 2012 to 2013	Fiscal year 2013 to 2014	Fiscal year 2014 to 2015	Fiscal year 2015 to 2016	Fiscal year 2016 to 2017	Fiscal year 2017 to 2018	Fiscal year 2018 to 2019	Fiscal year 2019 to 2020	Fiscal year 2020 to 2021
                     Number of approved homes	6,142	5,960	5,765	6,962	7,504	7,579	7,783	7,923	8,296	8,561
                     Not-for-profit	5,812	5,640	5,403	6,500	6,992	7,017	7,114	7,148	7,320	7,305
                     For-profit	330	320	362	462	512	562	669	775	976	1,256

                     • Data source: Child Care Licensing System, Ontario Ministry of Education (as of March 31 each year).

                     Child care capital

                     Capital funding for child care in Ontario is provided through a mix of provincial, federal, and municipal funding, and investments by individual child care operators, both not-for-profit and for-profit. Most child care capital investments in community settings are made by child care operators.

                     The Ontario government currently focuses its child care capital investments in schools, which assists children and families to seamlessly transition between child care and the school system. School-based child care capital investments support children age 0 to 4 in purpose built child care rooms. School-based child care for children age 4 to 12 typically takes place using shared classroom space before and after the regular school day.

                     Ontario has committed up to $1 billion to create up to 30,000 new licensed child care spaces in schools. These school‐based child care settings will provide safe learning environments for children and offer them the opportunity to grow in a familiar environment. The government has now approved nearly 24,000 spaces towards the overall commitment.

                     Ontario introduced and began implementing full-day kindergarten in the public school system for children age 4 to 5 in 2010, with a vision to transform schools into integrated service hubs and provide a seamless learning experience for children with extended day programs in schools.

                     Ontario school boards are required to provide before- and after- school programs in each elementary school in Ontario for students in kindergarten to grade 6, where there is sufficient demand and viability.

                     As of March 2021, 54% of child care centres and 64% of child care spaces were in publicly funded schools; 71% (2,800) of elementary schools have a licensed child care, and 9% (82) of secondary schools have a licensed child care.

                     2.5 Licensing, enforcement and inspections

                     Ontario has an established licensing and compliance regime for child care programs that can be leveraged to support implementation of a CWELCC system.

                     All licensed child care programs, regardless of auspice (for example, for-profit and non-for-profit), must meet and maintain the same specific provincial requirements according to legislation, regulations and Ministry policy (for example, health and safety, age groupings and staff-to-child ratios). These standards provide for the health and safety, and quality experiences of children, including:

                     • staff qualifications (for example, number of staff who must be qualified as a Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) or otherwise Ministry approved)
                     • ratios of staff to children and maximum group sizes
                     • first aid, police record checks, and immunization requirements for staff working in child care
                     • space requirements to support care including minimum square footage requirements, and areas for play, food preparation and meals, toileting, outdoor play and rest
                     • provision and maintenance of building, equipment, and furnishings to support quality care, and safe storage, handling and administration of food and medicine (for example, nutritious food, anaphylaxis policies)

                     Ontario inspects licensed child care programs (centre-based and licensed home child care agencies) at least once every year to:

                     • determine if licensing requirements are being met
                     • renew licenses
                     • monitor licensees who are having difficulty meeting licensing requirements
                     • support licensees to achieve and maintain compliance

                     Licensed home child care agencies are required to ensure an RECE visits and inspects all active home child care providers at least quarterly, using a Ministry checklist that includes indicators related to health, safety and quality of programming.

                     Directors and inspectors under the CCEYA have legislated powers of entry and inspection for licensed child care centres and do not require a warrant to access the premises. Additional unannounced inspections may be completed at any time the Ministry believes an inspection is warranted.

                     The CCEYA includes enforcement tools that allow the Ministry to better respond to contraventions under the Act in a timely manner using a risk-based progressive compliance approach. These tools include compliance orders, protection orders, administrative penalties and restraining orders in addition to the Ministry's existing authority to prosecute.

                     The Ministry investigates complaints about licensed child care and unlicensed child care and maintains dedicated phone lines for public complaints about each type of child care.

                     The Ministry also has a serious occurrence process that requires licensees to report key operational issues that put children at risk.

                     2.6 Quality frameworks and workforce

                     Ontario has a provincial pedagogy which sets out a vision, values, foundation and approaches to guide practice for high quality experiences in licensed child care and early years settings. How Does Learning Happen? (HDLH), Ontario's pedagogy for the early years, is issued by the Minister pursuant to his or her authority under the CCEYA. Ontario requires every licensed child care centre and home child care agency to have a program statement that is consistent with HDLH. HDLH is premised on evidence-based pedagogical approaches for learning, engagement and well-being and is adaptable to diverse and evolving contexts. HDLH is a professional learning resource for those working in child care and child and family programs.

                     In 2020, the Ministry released Building on How Does Learning Happen? Pedagogical Approaches to Re-opening Early Years and Child Care Programs in Ontario to support providers and staff in engaging with children and families while adhering to health and safety measures.

                     The CCEYA sets out the minimum requirements for licensed home child care agencies and home child care providers. Home child care agencies are licensed by the Ministry and contract individual home child care providers to care for children in their own homes. Agencies must ensure these providers meet the requirements as set out in the CCEYA, including the maximum number of children and health, safety and quality requirements as set out in the CCEYA and its regulations. Licensed home child care agencies are also required to employ an RECE home visitor.

                     The CCEYA sets out the minimum requirements for the workforce in licensed child care centres, including requirements for the ratio of employees to children, the maximum number of children in a group, the proportions of employees that must be qualified employees in licensed child care centres (which varies for different age groups, see below), and the qualifications of home visitors in licensed home child care agencies.

                     Table 10: Staff/child ratios, group sizes and proportion of employees that must be qualified employees for different age categories in licensed centre-based care

                     Age categories	Age range	Ratio of employees to children	Maximum number of children in group	Proportion of employees that must be qualified employees
                     Infant	Younger than 18 months	3 to 10	10	1/3
                     Toddler	18 months or older but younger than 30 months	1 to 5	15	1/3
                     Preschool	30 months or older but younger than 6 years	1 to 8	24	2/3
                     Kindergarten	44 months or older but younger than 7 years	1 to 13	26	1/2
                     Primary/junior school age	68 months or older but younger than 13 years	1 to 15	30	1/2
                     Junior school age	9 years or older but younger than 13 years	1 to 20	20	1/1

                     Licensees must ensure that they have hired enough individuals with the appropriate qualifications. In most cases, this is a minimum of 1 qualified staff per licensed age group; however, depending on the age and size of the group, 2 qualified staff may be required.

                     A qualified employee for any licensed age group shall be a person who is:

                     • an employee who is a member in good standing of the College of Early Childhood Educators
                     • an employee who is otherwise approved by a director

                     If a licensee is unable to hire enough qualified staff, they must apply for Ministry approval of an individual to take the place of an RECE. These approvals are considered on a case by case basis and the Ministry considers a variety of different things when reviewing the request, including:

                     • need for specialized training (for example, accredited Montessori training)
                     • unique circumstances (for example, Francophone program)
                     • licensee's efforts to recruit an RECE

                     Approvals can be time-limited (for example, to cover a parental leave) and are reviewed at each licensing inspection. The approved staff's name will appear on the licensing letter and an approval letter. The approval letter may also include conditions imposed on the approval, such as additional training requirements. Approvals are generally not transferable and may apply to only a specified licensed age group.

                     In Ontario, the College of Early Childhood Educators (College) is the regulatory body for Early Childhood Educators (ECEs). The College was established under the Early Childhood Educators Act, 2007 (ECEA) in February 2009 and is the only regulatory body for ECEs in Canada. The College regulates and governs Ontario's RECEs in the public interest. It regulates the profession by establishing and enforcing:

                     • registration requirements
                     • ethical and professional standards
                     • requirements for continuous professional learning
                     • complaints and discipline processes for professional misconduct, incompetence, and incapacity

                     A strong, qualified child care workforce is pivotal to providing high-quality experiences for children under a CWELCC system. Health and safety in child care settings has required a concerted, sector-wide effort and child care leaders, supervisors, Early Childhood Educators, and program staff have been instrumental in helping to keep children safe, families supported, and child care settings healthy places for our children to learn and thrive. As of March 31, 2021, there are 52,200 individuals working in the licensed child care centres and 25,600 are RECEs.

                     There are a broad range of staff who support the licensed child care system:

                     • registered early childhood educators (RECEs): trained professionals specialized in the early development and learning of children and registered with the College of Early Childhood Educators. To become an RECE, an individual will typically need to undertake a 2-year program at an Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology (OCAAT) or private career college. In accordance with s.2 of the Early Childhood Educators Act, 2007, RECEs are responsible for the planning and delivery of inclusive play-based learning and care programs for children to promote the well-being and holistic development of children. RECEs in Ontario can work in several different settings and provide a range of services for children and families
                     • child care supervisors: supervisors play a key leadership role in licensed child care centres. In addition to having the role and duties of an RECE, supervisors are also required under the CCEYA, to be responsible for a wide range of other duties, including planning and directing the program of a child care centre, being in charge of children, and overseeing the staff employed within that centre
                     • resource consultants: consultants, who are typically RECEs, who have specialized training and/or qualifications in providing individualized supports for children with special needs. They support program staff, providers and parents in working with children with special needs who attend licensed child care
                     • home child care visitors: RECEs who are employed by licensed home child care agencies. They check that homes are safe for children before children are enrolled in care and check in routinely to make sure that home child care providers are following the provincial requirements and the home child care agency's policies and procedures
                     • licensed home child care providers: individuals who are contracted by licensed home child care agencies to provide child care in their homes. These providers are screened, approved and monitored by a licensed home child care agency. Licensed home child care providers may be RECEs or have other skills and qualifications helpful to supporting children in a home child care setting
                     • other program staff working directly with children: individuals who work with children and families in licensed child care but are not registered members of the College of Early Childhood Educators. Titles in this role can include early childhood assistant, child care worker, day care worker, family support worker, and child care assistant. In addition, program staff can include program assistants or enhanced staff who work with children with special needs

                     In fiscal year 2021 to 2022, Ontario invested a total of $206.5 million provincially and $75.5 million in federal funding to support the early years workforce:

                     • $203 million in provincial funding to support the Wage Enhancement Grant/Home Child Care Enhancement Grant, which is intended to help retain RECEs within Ontario's child care system and support access to stable, high-quality child care programs. Since 2015, eligible program staff and home child care visitors working in a licensed child care programs could receive a wage enhancement of up to $2 an hour plus 17.5% in benefits. Eligible home child care providers contracted with a licensed child care agency could receive a HCCEG of up to $20 per day
                     • $3.5 million in provincial and $3.5 million in federal funding to support the ECE Qualification Upgrade Program, which provides grants (education, travel, training) for individuals working in the child care and early years sector who would like to obtain their ECE diploma and become registered with the College of Early Childhood Educators. There were approximately 2,000 participants approved for the fiscal year 2020 to 2021
                     • $2.25 million in federal funding to support the Targeted Professional Learning Strategies for Francophone and First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities to meet the growing professional learning needs related to mental health, cultural diversity, mentorship and networking
                     • $35.75 million in federal funding to support the Workforce Capacity and Innovation Fund, which provides flexible funding to service system manager and First Nations to allow them to support local workforce priorities
                     • $34 million in federal funding to support the Professional Learning and Development Strategy, which provides service system managers and First Nations with funding to develop professional learning strategies that support professional learning days for staff in the sector and focus on creating access to mentorship opportunities

                     2.7 Inclusion

                     Special needs resourcing

                     The Ministry provides Special Needs Resourcing (SNR) funding to CMSMs/DSSABs and First Nation communities to support the inclusion of children with special needs in licensed child care settings, including home child care, at no additional cost to parents/guardians.

                     Funding is used to hire or acquire resource consultants, supplemental staff, training and supports for child care staff and to purchase/lease adaptive equipment where required.

                     A total of 37,500 children were funded through Special Needs Resourcing in Ontario in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available.

                     CMSMs/DSSABs are required to spend a minimum of 4.1% of their child care allocation, as outlined in the budget schedule of the service agreement, on SNR.

                     French language and bilingual child care

                     Ontario's child care system includes French language and bilingual programs. Some licensed child care centres offer services in French or in both English and French (for example, bilingual). Of the 288,000 licensed child care centre spaces for children age 0 to 5, 19,900 (7%) were for programs in French and 5,600 (2%) were for bilingual programs.

                     In Ontario, 11.2% of the population (1,490,390 people) can speak both English and French. (Source: Office of Commissioner of Official Languages).

                     In 2016, 550,600 Ontarians (4.1% of the population) spoke French as their first official language. A small subset (40,045, or 0.3% of the population) had knowledge of only French. (Source: Statistics Canada).

                     Indigenous-led and First Nation child care on reserves

                     As of March 31, 2021:

                     • a total of 22 licensed child care centres reported that they were Indigenous-led organizations operating in urban and rural communities
                     • 74 licensed child care centres were operating in 59 First Nation communities in Ontario. The number of licensed child care spaces on reserves has increased by 5% since fiscal year 2011 to 2012

                     Professional learning supports for francophone and Indigenous communities

                     The Ministry also provides funding for professional learning supports for Indigenous and Francophone child care professionals aligned with How Does Learning Happen?, Ontario's pedagogy for the early years. These supports are intended to enhance culturally relevant programs and the delivery of high-quality child care and early years programs, which will help promote Francophone and Indigenous culture in Ontario.

                     2.8 Full-day kindergarten and before and after school programs

                     A CWELCC system provides Ontario with an opportunity to build on the significant investments to date in full-day kindergarten and further strengthen the continuum of learning for children.

                     Full day kindergarten (FDK) is available to all of Ontario's children age 4 to 5 in publicly funded schools. This is the most inclusive program in Canada, with approximately 267,000, about 90%, of children age 4 to 5 participating in this program. Ontario's full-day kindergarten program has been fully implemented since fiscal year 2014 to 2015. Ontario continues to invest $3.6 billion annually in this program.

                     FDK is part of a continuum of learning from birth to age 5 where coherence across pedagogical approaches in child care and FDK leads to more seamless programs for children and families.

                     Ontario's FDK is a 2-year, full day program. Participation is an optional parental/guardian choice as compulsory registration in school is not required until age 6.

                     FDK is delivered by educator teams of 1 teacher and 1 RECE. Full-day kindergarten operates during the regular school day (approximately 9:00am to 3:30pm) over the school year.

                     The FDK delivery model is based on an average class size of 26 students to 2 adults (a teacher and a Designated Early Childhood Educator), or a child to adult ratio of 13:1. Kindergarten classes have a class size cap of 29.

                     Before and after school programs

                     Under the Education Act, school boards have a duty to ensure the provision of a before- and after-school program on every instructional day for students in Kindergarten to grade 6, where there is sufficient demand and/or viability.

                     School boards have the option to operate programs on non-instructional days (for example, professional development days, winter, spring and summer breaks) if there is a need within the community.

                     School boards may directly operate before and after school programs or they may enter into an agreement with a third party that is either:

                     • a licensed child care centre that is eligible to receive fee subsidy payments for children enrolled in the program
                     • an authorized recreational and skill building program

                     Through integration between child care and education services, children benefit from a seamless day and consistent quality of care that supports healthy child development and well-being.

                     As of March 31, 2021, there were 283,700 child care spaces in licensed child care centre settings for Before- and After-School Programs (107,400 spaces for kindergarten children and 176,300 spaces for school age children).

                     2.9 Supporting data and measurement

                     Child care data collection

                     Ontario requires licensed child care centres and home child care agencies to submit data about their child care program operations through an annual data collection survey. This comprehensive survey includes information such as hours of operation, program offerings, child enrolment, child care fees, fee subsidies and staff wages.

                     The survey is completed by 95% to 98% of Ontario's licensed child care operators (including centre-based and licensed home child care agencies) and will serve as a data source to monitor performance of new federal investments.

                     Early development instrument

                     Information on children's developmental health and well-being prior to grade 1 is collected throughout the province using the Early Development Instrument (EDI). The EDI is a questionnaire that kindergarten teachers complete about the skills and abilities of each of their senior kindergarten students. It measures developmental health and well-being across 5 domains:

                     • physical health and well-being
                     • social competence
                     • emotional maturity
                     • language and cognitive development
                     • communication skills and general knowledge

                     The EDI is a population-level measure, collected on all senior kindergarten children across Ontario approximately every 3 years. EDI was last completed in Ontario in 2018. EDI results can be reported at various aggregate levels, such as municipalities or school boards and even for neighbourhoods or schools.

                     EDI results are used by the Ministry, municipalities, school boards, and community organizations to inform decision-making and plan early years programs and services. The Ministry uses the EDI as a key indicator to monitor the state of young children in Ontario.

                     Overall, recent results have been stable when compared to previous collections. As of 2018 (last time EDI was collected), about 70% of Ontario children were considered developmentally ready when they entered grade 1.

                     2.10 Child care during the COVID-19 pandemic

                     The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented impacts on Ontario's early years and child care sector given child care operators in Ontario are mainly independent businesses and not-for-profit operators. Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, the child care sector continues to experience reduced enrolment and staffing pressures. Ontario's child care and early years system plays a key role in the province's efforts to reopen the economy by ensuring safe and accessible child care is available as Ontario's workforce returns to pre-COVID-19 activity.

                     Strategic funding approaches were taken throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to support operators in partnership with CMSMs/DSSABs and the federal government. The Ministry of Education also directly funded non-purchase of agreement operators who applied to the Ministry for funding.

                     As municipal service managers, CMSMs/DSSABs have played an important role in keeping the child care and early years system stable and ensuring child care and EarlyON environments are healthy and safe over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes their role in implementing 4 separate rounds of Emergency Child Care for a total of 32 weeks. At its peak in spring 2021, this program helped over 12,000 children of front-line workers access high-quality child care enabling these parents to work.

                     Most child care centres in Ontario have re-opened as a result of the dedication of child care workers in the province and the partnership between operators, municipalities in Ontario, the Ontario government and federal support. Over 96% of licensed child care centres reopened following the emergency closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

                     3.0 Building on Ontario's and Canada's progress to date

                     In 2017, following the establishment of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework, Ontario entered into the Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) agreement with the federal government. The FPT Multilateral ELCC Framework was designed to underpin ELCC funding of activities that would support an early learning and child care system that is high quality, accessible, affordable, flexible, and inclusive.

                     In Ontario, funding under the ELCC agreement is used to support:

                     • over 11,000 children through subsidized child care spaces and community-based capital projects
                     • the operation of more than 80 EarlyON Child and Family Centres in 45 locations across the province, providing families with culturally and linguistically appropriate programs
                     • the workforce by assisting over 2,000 child care staff to obtain their certification (2021 data)
                     • in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, short-term measures to minimize the impacts of COVID-19 on Ontario's early years and child care sector

                     In August 2021, Canada and Ontario renewed the ELCC agreement for a 4-year term from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2025, with expected funding levels of $146 million in fiscal year 2021 to 2022 rising to $211 million in fiscal year 2024 to 2025.

                     In August 2021, Canada and Ontario also signed the Early Childhood Workforce agreement for $149.9 million in one-time funding to support the retention and recruitment of a high-quality child care and early years workforce. This funding will support the following objectives:

                     • sustain the existing child care and early years workforce to ensure a more stable and high-quality early years and child care system
                     • enhance access to opportunities for the workforce that promote retention and recruitment, including professional development, training and qualification upgrade programs
                     • grow the number of qualified staff in the early years and child care workforce to increase access to licensed child care for families
                     • attract and support the development of an increasingly diverse workforce to reflect the children and families accessing early years and child care programs more effectively

                     Ontario's approach for the one-time Early Childhood Workforce funding provides for flexible, multi-faceted strategies recognizing the importance of not only recruiting new individuals into the profession, but also retaining, supporting and recognizing the existing child care and early years workforce.

                     4.0 Implementation: Ontario's action plan

                     4.1 Ontario's principles of implementation

                     Overarching principles for implementation of the goals and targets of a CWELCC system in Ontario include:

                     1. phased approach: a phased approach to implementation will be taken and is necessary to ensure stability and sustainability of the child care system while working towards the goals of improved affordability, access, inclusion and quality
                     2. ongoing communication and engagement with partners: moving towards a CWELCC System will require the commitment, knowledge and experience of Ontario's diverse range of child care and early years partners. Engagement with the sector and stakeholders will be key to a successful implementation
                     3. provincial framework and consistency: consistency in provincial and local approaches will be necessary to achieve targets under a CWELCC system and ensure equitable access to affordable child care for families across Ontario. CMSMs/DSSABs will play a key role in implementation and will be consulted on Ontario's approach with the goal of consistent standards and implementation approach across the province
                     4. family-focused: implementation will be guided by what works best for Ontario's families and ensuring child care in Ontario continues to meet the diverse needs of children and families
                     5. equity, inclusion and quality: implementation activities will capture the needs of diverse communities and preserve or enhance high quality early learning and child care programming for all

                     4.2 Early implementation activities

                     Upon ratifying the CWELCC agreement with Canada, Ontario will work with municipal service managers to initiate a child care operator enrolment process with the goal to secure participation of a broad range of child care operators in a CWELCC system. Operator enrolment will be confirmed, inclusive of requirements for parent fee reductions, fee maximum, workforce supports, and other accountability requirements and funding terms.

                     Following the signature of the Canada-Ontario CWELCC agreement, Ontario will issue 2022 funding allocations to municipal service managers to implement the 2022 requirements under the agreement. Municipal service managers will be directed to enter into agreements and allocate funding to child care operators for 2022 fee reductions and other requirements.

                     As a first step, all Ontario families with children age 0 to 5 in participating licensed child care will see a fee reduction of up to 25% (to a minimum of $12 per day), retroactive to April 1, 2022. Retroactive rebates will be provided to parents from May to December 2022. Parents can expect a further reduction by the end of December 2022. By December, these reductions will reduce child care fees in Ontario for ages 0 to 5, on average, by 50%.

                     Subject to provincial legislation and included in the 2022 funding allocation to municipal service managers, Ontario will provide funding to raise the wage floor to $18 per hour for Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) and $20 per hour for RECE Supervisors to improve recruitment and retention in the child care workforce. In addition, in the summer of 2022, the Ministry of Education will work with sector partners and partner ministries on a comprehensive recruitment and retention plan. This will be supported by the release in the fall 2022 of an updated version of Ontario's leading pedagogical framework for the early years How Does Learning Happen? Ontario's Pedagogy for the Early Years.

                     In the summer and fall of 2022, the government will engage a broad range of partners on the space expansion and inclusion commitments in the CWELCC agreement. This engagement will be done in partnership with municipal service managers and include child care operators, First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners, Francophone stakeholders, organizations representing children with special needs and others and will focus on forming the basis of Ontario's space expansion and inclusion priorities. By the fall 2022, municipal service managers will be required to submit space expansion plans and inclusion plans to inform the provincial allocation of new child care spaces and to ensure a broad range of communities and populations have access to high quality, affordable and inclusive child care. In December 2022, based on space expansion and inclusion plans, Ontario will provide start-up grants to support the creation of new spaces in targeted regions and for underserviced communities and populations.

                     4.3 Implementation committee

                     Ontario will work with the federal government to establish an officials-level Implementation Committee that will discuss and exchange information and monitor progress toward the actions identified under this Agreement. Through mutual agreement, stakeholders may be invited to attend the Implementation Committee.

                     The Implementation Committee will also oversee a program review process in fiscal year 2024 to 2025. The purpose of the program review is to communicate progress and share information on the committed objectives. This includes a review of indicators and targets as well as an analysis of costs (including operator deficits if any) and cost drivers. The program review will be completed by June 30, 2024.

                     4.4 Funding and objectives/terms

                     Funding

                     Subject to the renewal of the Ontario Canada-wide early learning and child care agreement and the annual population adjustment, Ontario's estimated share for fiscal year 2026 to 2027 would be no less than the annual allocation for fiscal year 2025 to 2026, reaching approximately $2.9 billion. From fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2026 to 2027, Ontario's estimated allocation would total $13.2 billion.

                     Canada will provide Ontario with a notional allocation of $10.2 billion from fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 to support implementation of the initiatives under the CWELCC agreement. This is net of existing federal investments. Federal funding amounts for each year of the five-year Agreement are below.

                     Table 11: Federal funding amounts for each year of the 5-year agreement

                     Fiscal year	Federal notional allocation ($ billion)	Ontario's forecasted costs ($ billion)
                     2021 to 2022	$1.0991	N/A
                     2022 to 2023	$1.6815	$1.4911
                     2023 to 2024	$2.0815	$2.3413
                     2024 to 2025	$2.4493	$2.9252
                     2025 to 2026	$2.9236	$3.7421
                     Total	$10.2349	$10.4997

                     • Numbers may not add up due to rounding.
                     • Ontario will contribute $267 million in additional provincial funding, which combined with the Federal funding will support the implementation of the initiatives under the agreement forecast to cost $10.5 billion.
                     • Given that the costs of implementing the CWELCC in Ontario are higher in the latter years of the agreement, Ontario plans to use the carry forward provision in the agreement to shift available funding in early years of the Agreement to the latter years of the agreement when the costs are expected to exceed allocated funding.

                     Framework regarding auspice

                     As of March 31, 2021, the percentage of not-for-profit licensed child care spaces for children age 0 to 5 was 70% and the percentage of for-profit licensed child care spaces for children age 0 to 5 was 30%. Under this Agreement, the proportion of not-for-profit licensed child care spaces for children age 0 to 5 will be maintained at 70% or increased by the end of the agreement. Ontario intends to implement a cost control framework that will be in place for all providers who opt-in to the Canada-wide ELCC system.

                     4.5 Priority areas

                     To work towards the CWELCC system objectives, Ontario has outlined 5 broad priority areas of investments under this 2-year action plan and the sections following describe this implementation for each priority area:

                     • affordability
                     • access
                     • inclusion
                     • workforce and quality
                     • implementation and ongoing supports

                     These priority areas of investment will be implemented through Ontario's existing child care system, which includes 47 CMSMs/DSSABs who manage the funding and accountability relationship with child care operators.

                     4.5.1 Priority area #1: affordability

                     Ontario's commitment

                     Ontario will commit to:

                     • providing funding to licensed child care operators to achieve:
                       • a fee reduction of up to 25% (to a minimum of $12 per day) for children age 0 to 5 retroactive to April 1, 2022
                       • a 50% fee reduction on average for children age 0 to 5 by the end of calendar year 2022
                       • $10 average child care fees for children age 0 to 5 by the end of fiscal year 2025 to 2026

                       Action

                       Fee subsidies (see section 2.3) will be maintained to support families, including families with children age 0 to 5, for whom these new lower fees continue to be unaffordable.

                       Ontario will establish a framework by April 2022 outlining government expectations regarding an opt-in/opt-out approach for child care operators through a funding guideline for service system managers, providing information and instructions including on funding incentives, parameters (including parent fee maximum), eligibility, and accountability requirements. The guideline will be supported by a checklist of parameters for service system managers to include in their new purchase of service agreements with operators, as well as a sample application form for child care operators to demonstrate qualifications. Ontario will explore policy and regulatory amendments required to accomplish these goals. The funding guideline and supporting materials will be finalized and shared with CMSMs/DSSABs by April 2022.

                       Ontario will amend current transfer payment agreements with service system managers by May 2022. Child care operators will be requested to indicate to service system managers by September 1, 2022, their intent to participate. Date of purchase of service agreements between operators and service system managers will be dependent on local process (for example, municipal election cycle).

                       As a condition of funding, Ontario will work with municipal service managers to ensure reduced child care fees are being applied and enforced consistently across the province.

                       Consistent provincial and local approaches will be necessary to achieve targets under a CWELCC system and ensure equitable access to affordable child care for families across Ontario. CMSMs/DSSABs will work with all child care operators (for example, for-profit and not-for-profit) who choose to opt-in to support a CWELCC system.

                       Ontario, working with CMSMs/DSSABs, will establish targets related to affordability to achieve the objectives of a CWELCC system.

                       Ontario, through CMSMs/DSSABs, will provide funding to licensed child care operators through operating grants to meet affordability targets. To reduce child care fees, funding may be used by operators to support eligible child care operating costs (for example, staff wages and benefits, lease and occupancy costs). Ontario will establish parent fee maximums for child care operators. New investments will also be for compensation and for municipal admin costs.

                       Ontario will issue 2022 allocations to municipal partners, inclusive of the funding required to meet 2022 fee reduction targets and other requirements under the agreement.

                       As a first step, all Ontario families with children age 0 to 5 in participating licensed child care will see a fee reduction of up to 25% (to a minimum of $12 per day), retroactive to April 1, 2022. Retroactive rebates will be provided to parents from May to December 2022.

                       For the second phase of 2022 fee reductions, parents can expect a further reduction by the end of December 2022. By December, these reductions will reduce child care fees in Ontario, on average, by 50%.

                       There are expected to be variable impacts to families in 2022:

                       • the retroactive rebate may be seen at different times over the course of 2022, based on the timing of operator enrolment
                       • some families may not benefit from a fee reduction if their child care operator does not enrol in the program

                       Policies and procedures must be in place with child care operators to track and monitor the achievement of these objectives and meet all reporting requirements to the municipal service manager and Ministry.

                       Results within each CMSM/DSSAB will be measured and reported through the Ministry's established reporting processes and timelines to ensure that when aggregated, Ontario is on track to meet federal targets. CMSMs/DSSABs may also be requested to provide an update on the implementation of the initiative and the outcomes achieved.

                       Please see section 2.3 of the action plan for additional information on affordability.

                       Initiatives

                       The total estimated cost of reducing child care fees by 50% for children age 0 to 5 in licensed child care is $1,139 million for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and $1,648 million for fiscal year 2023 to 2024. The initiative is summarized below.

                       Table 12: Summary table: affordability

                       Initiative	Funding	Description	Indicator(s)	Targets
                       Reduction of child care fees for children age 0 to 5 (infant, toddler, pre-school, and kindergarten children attending before and after school programs) through operating grants and subsidies	Fiscal year 2022 to 2023: $1,139 million

                       4.5.2 Priority area #2: access

                       Ontario's commitment

                       Ontario will commit to:

                       • growth in spaces
                         • providing operating funding to create 76,700 new spaces (relative to 2019) by March 31, 2026, and 86,000 child care spaces (relative to 2019) by the end of 2026. Up to 42,000 of these spaces will be created by the end of 2023
                         • start-up grants
                           • supporting expansion with a portion of the new spaces (approximately 8,000 by end of 2023 and 18,000 by the end of the agreement) in geographic areas of highest need by providing start-up grants for a targeted number of spaces in these high need areas

                           Action

                           Growth in spaces

                           In the summer of 2022, Ontario will engage with partners to develop a framework for targeted space creation for communities and for populations most in need of new spaces. As it expands its child care system, Ontario will work with service system managers and a range of other partners to ensure equitable funding approaches based on community need.

                           By the fall of 2022, municipal service managers will be required to submit space expansion plans and inclusion plans to inform the provincial allocation of new child care spaces and to ensure a broad range of communities and populations have access to high quality, affordable and inclusive child care. In December 2022, based on space expansion and inclusion plans, Ontario will provide start-up grants to support the creation of new spaces in targeted regions and for underserviced communities and populations.

                           This directed growth approach will support space creation in regions of the province that have had historically low rates of space availability. Funding will be allocated to work towards ensuring equitable access to affordable, high quality and inclusive child care for children age 0 to 5.

                           CMSMs/DSSABs will ensure that operating funding is provided to new child care operators or increase funding to operators that expand their licensed spaces. This will help support the targeted growth in child care spaces.

                           Recognizing the critical role of CMSMs/DSSABs and First Nation communities in working towards a CWELCC system, a clear outline of roles and responsibilities to frame implementation planning and a collective understanding of the shared outcome(s) will be established by late fall 2022 to achieve targets and guide implementation activities.

                           Ontario will continue to implement its commitment of building up to 30,000 new licensed spaces in schools.

                           Start-up grants

                           Start-up grants will be provided to support the creation of new spaces in locations and for populations most in need and would enable new space creation in regions that may not be accommodated through natural market growth.

                           Ontario will use a variety of existing tools to identify regions with high need populations including vulnerable children, children from diverse populations, children with special needs and Indigenous and Francophone communities.

                           Start-up grants would be used to offset the initial costs required to expand or create spaces in these regions, such as equipment and leasehold improvements.

                           Ontario is developing a model incorporating demographics, socio-economic indicators, and existing licensed child care capacity to apportion new licensed child care spaces in centres and homes by CMSMs and DSSABs. Ontario is projected to build 86,000 new child care spaces under the CWELCC (measured from April 1, 2019). Of that total number some 15,000 have already been built.

                           Ontario will allocate funding to support the creation of spaces to CMSMs to ensure Francophone spaces are created in proportion to the Francophone presence in the population as Ontario grows its system. This proportion and allocation are based on the 2016 Statistics Canada population estimate for Francophone children age 0 to 5.

                           Ontario will determine needs based on demographic and socio-economic factors. Ontario is reviewing the following socio-economic factors to incorporate into its model:

                           • low income measure
                           • employed
                           • tenant households in subsidized housing
                           • highest education: no certificate, no diploma, no degree, age 25 to 64
                           • recent immigrants, 2011 to 2016
                           • employed women, age 15 to 64

                           Please see section 2.4 of the action plan for additional information on access.

                           Initiatives

                           The total estimated cost of creating additional spaces is $53 million in operating funding in fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and $218 million in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. In addition, there is $106 million in start-up grants for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and $107 million in fiscal year 2023 to 2024. The initiatives are summarized below.

                           Table 13: Summary table: access

                           Initiative	Funding	Description	Indicator(s)	Targets
                           Growth in Spaces	Fiscal year 2022 to 2023: $53 million

                           Up to 61,700 net new child care spaces by the end of March 31, 2026, (76,700 since 2019, reflecting 15,000 spaces already created)

                           4.5.3 Priority area #3: inclusion

                           Ontario's commitment

                           Ontario is committed to a child care system for all children. Ontario's kindergarten program already guarantees full school-day care for all children age 4 to 5, including those from low income families and diverse and vulnerable communities.

                           Ontario will develop an inclusion plan that supports child care access to low income children, vulnerable children, children from diverse communities, Francophones and Indigenous children.

                           Action

                           In the summer and fall of 2022, Ontario will engage with a broad range of partners to develop a plan that supports child care access for low income children, vulnerable children, children from diverse communities, children with special needs, and Francophone and Indigenous children.

                           This includes engagement with the federal government and Indigenous partners, including First Nation and Métis Nation governments and Indigenous organizations, to discuss interest in developing a collaborative plan that can support Indigenous children and families' access to affordable, high-quality and culturally appropriate early learning and child care. The federal government will join these collaborative discussions upon agreement from both Ontario and the Indigenous governments and organizations.

                           Ontario will work with partners to gather data and conduct assessments on barriers to access for children of diverse populations and children with varying abilities to implement targeted strategies that support equitable access for these children to licensed child care.

                           Ontario will develop a framework based on the outcomes of the engagement process. This framework will be released in the early fall and used by service system managers to guide the development and implementation of local inclusion plans.

                           In addition, in the fall 2022, service system managers will be required to submit space expansion plans and inclusion plans to inform the provincial allocation of new child care spaces and to ensure a broad range of communities and populations have access to high quality, affordable and inclusive child care. The plans will require specific inclusion targets, which will be negotiated by the province and service system managers based on provincial direction and local context and priorities. At a minimum, the targets set out in each service system manager's plan must reflect the demographics of their region. These negotiated targets will be used to inform reporting to the federal government.

                           In December 2022, based on space expansion and inclusion plans, Ontario will provide start-up grants to support the creation of new spaces in targeted regions and for underserviced communities and populations.

                           These actions are in addition to work underway on enhancing Ontario's early years pedagogy to further reflect all of Ontario's children and families, including those from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds as well as those with special needs. It is also in addition to the development of revised guidelines on Special Needs Resourcing funding and the release of resources to support system and pedagogical leaders as they establish an equitable and inclusive vision and culture for professional learning in early years and child care programs across Ontario.

                           In addition, Ontario's legislative requirements further support accessibility of licensed child care spaces. The Ontario Building Code includes accessibility requirements designed to align with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). The AODA also applies to all public and private sector organizations in Ontario and sets out accessibility standards that organizations in Ontario must implement by January 1, 2025. In accordance with the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, licensees must provide evidence of compliance with the Ontario Building Code upon application for a licence, approval of a renovation and, on renewal/revision of a licence. As well, the CCEYA requires that a licensee ensure they continue to be in compliance with the laws of Ontario at all times.

                           Existing provincial inclusion initiatives

                           Special needs resourcing

                           Ontario currently provides Special Needs Resourcing (SNR) funding to service system managers and First Nation communities to support the inclusion of children with special needs, as defined under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, in licensed child care centres, home child care and children's recreation programs at no additional cost to parents or guardians. Service system managers are required to spend at least 4.1% of their total child care funding allocation on SNR, which most far exceed. The reported SNR expenditures were approximately $121.6 million in 2019.

                           Fee subsidy funding

                           Ontario provides approximately $880 million annually to CMSMs/DSSABs to support low-income families to access child care through fee subsidies. The amount of child care that may be subsidized is based on factors set in the provincial Policy Statement: Access to Subsidized Child Care, such as parents' employment/education activities or the special needs of the child.

                           CMSMs/DSSABs may weight the factors differently depending on the needs of their community (for example, parents who both work full-time could receive subsidy for full-time child care if they qualify financially. If one of the parents works on a part-time basis, the family could be eligible for subsidy for the time the parent is working plus reasonable travel time). Access to fee subsidies is based on availability of subsidy funds within the budget of the local CMSM/DSSAB, as well as child care space availability. Service system managers have reported fee subsidy waitlists in some communities.

                           Indigenous

                           Ontario has the largest population of Indigenous people in the country, 22% of the total population of Canada. In 2016, there were 374,395 Indigenous people (First Nation, Métis and Inuit) in Ontario, living either on- or off-reserve. Children represent 28% of the total Indigenous population. There are 3,306 licensed child care spaces in First Nation communities.

                           Francophone

                           In 2016, 4.1% of the Ontario population spoke French as their first official language, and a subset (0.3% of the population) had knowledge of only French. Children (age birth to 12) make up about 12.3% of the Francophone population. Some licensed child care centres offer services in French or in both English and French (for example, bilingual). Of about 5,500 licensed child care centres, 300 (6%) offered programs in French, and 100 (2%) offered bilingual programs. Of the 288,000 licensed child care centre spaces for children age 0 to 5, 19,900 (7%) were for programs in French and 5,600 (2%) were for bilingual programs.

                           Equity-based communities of practice

                           Under the fiscal year 2021 to 2022 early childhood workforce agreement, Ontario has dedicated funding to support Francophone professional learning for staff and Indigenous-led professional learning strategies for First Nation, Métis and Inuit staff in child care and early years settings. This is intended to meet needs through targeted, differentiated cultural and regional approaches. The initiatives funded under the early childhood workforce agreements will continue to be supported through investments on quality and the workforce under the CWELCC agreement.

                           Please see section 2.7 of the action plan for additional information on inclusion.

                           Initiatives

                           The initiatives are summarized below.

                           Table 14: Summary table: inclusion

                           Initiative	Funding	Description	Indicator(s)*	Targets
                           Ensure vulnerable children and children from diverse populations have equitable access to licensed child care	Fiscal year 2022 to 2023: $ to be confirmed

                           • *Ontario collects some data on child care offered by First Nation and through French language and bilingual programming, but does not currently have sufficient data on those groups and other populations. Data limitations will be part of the engagement with partners.
                           • **4.1% is based on the existing provincial funding and does not include the new funding under this Agreement.

                           4.5.4 Priority area #4: workforce and quality

                           Ontario's commitment

                           Ontario will commit to:

                           • increasing the percentage of child care workers providing licensed child care in the province for age 0 to 5 spaces who fully meet Ontario's requirement for qualified employees in regulation under the CCEYA to at least 60% by fiscal year 2025 to 2026
                           • work to improve compensation focusing on the lowest wage earners, by requiring participating operators to introduce a higher wage floor (subject to provincial legislation) for RECE program staff and RECE Supervisors of $18 per hour and $20 per hour respectively
                           • work towards providing RECE program staff and supervisors with $1 per hour wage increases each year from 2023 to 2026 up to a maximum of $25 per hour
                           • Ontario will contribute additional funding which in part will be used for wages for staff in participating programs who serve children age 6 to 12, to ensure equity of wages across staff serving different age groups, and to avoid these increases being passed onto parents through higher fees
                           • investment in training and professional development, including sustaining workforce initiatives funded under the 2021 to 2022 early childhood workforce agreement and, in partnership with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, to consider strategies to support improving graduation rates and expanding the number of education spaces in ECE programs
                           • maintain Ontario's strong quality and safety frameworks, including licensing and enforcement, pedagogy and Ontario's regulatory college and professional standards for RECEs

                           Action

                           This investment will provide support for a wage increase consistent with provincial legislation to recruit and retain qualified early childhood educators and support training and professional development for an expanded child care workforce in licensed centre-based, licensed home based and early years settings. Ontario will require participating operators to implement the wage increase for lower wage earners and progress them through to higher levels of compensation to improve recruitment and retention subject to provincial legislation.

                           Ontario will engage with key partners to develop a workforce strategy that strengthens the child care and early years workforce and enhances high quality child care experiences for children and families.

                           Ontario will work across government, including with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, on developing targeted recruitment strategies to increase the supply of ECE graduates in Ontario as well as explore opportunities to support more immigrants in entering the ECE profession and child care workforce.

                           Beginning in 2022, funding will be available to provide the existing child care workforce with compensation enhancements consistent with Provincial legislation. Eligible RECE Staff working in licensed child care settings can expect to have their wages adjusted to the following, based on the introduction of a wage floor and an annual $1 per hour wage increase (up to a maximum of $25 per hour).

                           Table 15: Wage improvements for eligible RECE staff working in licensed child care settings

                           Wage floor ($/hour)	2022	2023	2024	2025
                           RECE child care program staff	$18	$19	$20	$21
                           RECE child care supervisors and home child care visitors	$20	$21	$22	$23

                           Those making more than the wage floor will continue to benefit from the $1 per hour wage increase (up to a maximum of $25 per hour) beginning in 2023.

                           As part of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system, Ontario will work to increase the number of RECEs and support the growth of the licensed child care system by working with other provincial ministries and sector partners on the development and implementation of a child care workforce strategy.

                           The strategy is under development, and it is anticipated that the following initiatives will be included in 2023:

                           • increase spaces in ECE diploma programs: support the creation of additional spaces in ECE diploma programs across the province, and support students in these spaces
                           • professional learning days: continuation of funding for provincially-funded Professional Learning (PL) days and mentorship opportunities for program staff, providers and supervisors working in licensed child care. PL days are currently funded under the Canada-Ontario early learning workforce funding agreement, which expires March 31, 2023
                           • early childhood educator qualifications upgrade program: additional enhancements to the program to further support unqualified staff already working in the system to become RECEs, including further enhancing incentives/grants for individuals and implementing targeted approaches for staff working in communities with the greatest need
                           • equity-based communities of practice: continuation of funding for existing professional learning strategies for Francophone and First Nation, Métis, Inuit and Indigenous communities to meet the growing professional learning needs related to mental health, cultural diversity, mentorship and networking, and expansion of this funding to additional organizations and areas of focus

                           CMSMs/DSSABs must support equitable access to compensation enhancements for eligible staff in all licensed child care centres and home child care agencies, regardless of participation in municipal quality initiatives, or current purchase of service status with their local CMSM/DSSAB or First Nation community.

                           CMSMs/DSSABs and First Nation communities will be required to report on service and expenditure data through the Ministry's established reporting processes and timelines. CMSMs/DSSABs and First Nation communities must also have policies and procedures in place to fulfill all reporting requirements. CMSMs / DSSABs and First Nation communities may also be requested to provide an update on the implementation of the initiative and the outcomes achieved.

                           Please see section 2.6 of the action plan for additional information on quality/workforce.

                           Initiatives

                           The total estimated cost of net new Quality/Workforce initiatives are: $102 million for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and $243 million for fiscal year 2023 to 2024. These initiatives are summarized below.

                           Table 16: Summary table: quality and workforce

                           Initiative	Funding	Description	Indicator(s)	Targets
                           Increased compensation for the child care workforce and increase in the % of child care workforce who are Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECE)*	Fiscal year 2022 to 2023: $53 million

                           Number of early childhood workforce staff, according to staff category, whose wages have increased due to the introduction of a wage floor

                           Increased wage floor to $20 per hour for RECE supervisors in 2022

                           The wage floor will continue to increase $1 per hour each year from 2023 to 2025

                           Increase of early childhood workforce according to staff category for age 0 to 5 spaces

                           Number of child care programs (centre-based and home child care agencies) and EarlyON Centres supported

                           Number of program staff participating in mentorship programs

                           Number of individuals supported through recruitment and retention initiatives

                           Increase in the number of applications approved (including Francophone and Indigenous applications approved)

                           Number of ECE graduates supported with one-time CECE registration fees

                           50% of child care programs and EarlyON Centres supported through the Professional Learning and Development Strategy*

                           25% of new program staff and supervisors participating in mentorship programs*

                           Grow the qualified workforce in child care and early years programs by 3%* for spaces for age 0 to 5

                           Increase the number of applications for grants under the ECE QUP by 40%*

                           Support approximately 400 graduates with one-time ECE registration fees*

                           • Numbers may not add up due to rounding.
                           • * The targets for "training and professional development" are under the Canada-Ontario early childhood workforce agreement, to be achieved by end of fiscal year 2022 to 2023. Targets and indicators will be added/removed and/or further refined for the Canada-wide ELCC workforce strategy. The workforce strategy is under development, and Ontario will report back to the federal government on targets and indicators by the end of fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

                           4.5.5 Priority area #5: implementation and ongoing supports

                           Ontario's commitment

                           Ontario will commit to ensuring the capacity is developed to implement the CWELCC agreement in a manner that aligns with the implementation principles and with accountability and transparency, including through the enhancement of existing data collection activities to support reporting to the federal government key indicators associated with a CWELCC system.

                           Initiatives

                           The total estimated cost of administration, municipal support and implementation is $91 million for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and $126 million for fiscal year 2023 to 2024. The initiative is summarized below.

                           Table 17: Summary table: administration, municipal support and implementation

                           Initiative	Funding	Description	Indicator(s)	Targets
                           Implementation and ongoing supports	Fiscal year 2022 to 2023: $91 million

                           4.6 Accountability and safe guards

                           Licensing, enforcement, and inspections

                           Ontario has an established licensing and compliance regime for child care programs that will be maintained, leveraged, and enhanced to support implementation of a CWELCC agreement (see section 2.5 in action plan).

                           Funding

                           Ontario currently has accountability measures and safeguards in place, including under Ontario Regulation 137/15 (General) and Ontario Regulation 138/15 (Funding, Cost Sharing and Financial Assistance) made under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, funding management guidelines and transfer payment agreements.

                           As part of Ontario's financial reporting and accountability framework, below are some of the accountability measures that Ontario currently uses to ensure accountability over public funding:

                           • contractual service targets tied to transfer payment agreements to support accountability and facilitate funding recovery where applicable
                             • if the funding recipient does not meet annual service targets by year end, funding may be recovered to reflect the underachievement of targets
                             • this ensures potential issues are identified and mitigated early
                             • meetings are held by Ministry staff when new funding allocations are provided, along with Q&A time to explain new parameters and address potential concerns regarding implementation
                             • regular meetings and follow up with individual CMSMs/DSSABs to address local and sector challenges, including an established process for escalation of issues to senior management
                             • analytical review to assess performance against service targets
                             • verification of expenditures submitted against audited financial statements
                             • variance and trend analytics against prior year submissions to support reasonability of expenditures
                             • further qualitative review through inquiry to assess reasonability including detailed follow up where further information is required
                             • since 2015, the Ministry has undertaken fee subsidy compliance audits on CMSMs/DSSABs, on a rotational basis
                             • while the primary audit focus is on regular fee subsidy, it does not preclude the inclusion of other audit components. The audit may entail a review of CMSMs/DSSABs adherence to regulations, guidelines, policies and directives for the purposes of strengthening accountability with the child care sector and to ensure the funding entitlement is properly supported

                             Enhanced accountability framework

                             To ensure greater consistency for families and child care licensees, CMSMs/DSSABs will be required to implement a new standardized funding and accountability framework with child care licensees to support the achievement of the goals of a CWELCC system.

                             As part of this new framework, Ontario will implement various measures including funding parameters and additional guidance for CMSMs/DSSABs to control cost structures. These funding parameters and controls will apply to all licensees regardless of auspice (not-for-profit, for-profit, directly operated).

                             There will be safe guards around public funding and profit margins, where applicable. Ontario will have controls on:

                             • fees
                             • staffing (both a wage floor and staffing ratios)
                             • quality (proportion of RECE's)

                             Ontario will explore any necessary modifications to these existing measures to enable the implementation of the targets under this Agreement.

                             Ontario will provide funding for implementation of actions outlined for the priority areas of investments and leverage the strengths of its existing system to deliver on key targets and terms.

                             Provincial funds are normally allocated to CMSMs/DSSABs on a calendar year basis (January to December) and to First Nation communities on a fiscal year basis (April to March).

                             Ontario will provide amendments to the 2022 calendar year transfer payment agreements with CMSMs/DSSABs to include the new CWELCC child care funding.

                             Ontario will explore a new/revised allocation methodology for 2023 to incorporate feedback from the sector, implementation of the CWELCC as well as potential systematic sector changes post COVID-19.

                             In 2023, Ontario will also provide funding allocations, including funding from this investment, updated contractual terms and contractual targets as part of the 2023 calendar year transfer payment agreements with CMSMs/DSSABs.

                             For each funding year, Ontario will develop and provide updated funding guidelines that embed the CWELCC Framework outlining the associated funding parameters and eligible expenditures and reporting mechanisms to support these additional investments.

                             Ontario will provide CMSMs/DSSABs requirements to include in funding agreements and will work with them to ensure all licensed providers have access to this funding.

                             As part of the standards and requirements between CMSMs/DSSABs and service providers, CMSMs/DSSABs will be required to ensure that funds are used in accordance with the Transfer Payment Agreement and Funding Guidelines. CMSMs/DSSABs will be required to monitor the use of funds with service providers on an annual basis and reconcile and recover funds as required.

                             CMSMs/DSSABs must have a comprehensive reconciliation process in place with service providers, which will allow reconciliation of actual expenditures against funding allocation, assist in recovering unspent funding, and provide supporting documents for audit purposes. The reconciliation process will be documented, retained and is subject to Ontario's review.

                             Ontario will set targets for each CMSM/DSSAB. Results within each CMSM/DSSAB will be measured to ensure that when aggregated, Ontario is on track to meet the federal targets. Ontario will work with partners to address questions and concerns on adapting to the required data collection requirements.

                             The annual financial statement reporting submission will present the CMSM or DSSAB's results against its financial and service targets for the year. The submission includes elements such as the audited financial statements of the CMSM/DSSAB, the post audit management letter issued by external auditors, and the special purpose audit report which includes the breakdown of expenditures for the child care programs funded by the Ministry of Education. These submission requirements will be detailed in the transfer payment agreement.

                             Ontario will conduct a thorough review of the submissions and any unspent funding provided to CMSMs/DSSABs will be recovered. CMSMs/DSSABs must also have policies and procedures in place to fulfill all reporting requirements to the Ministry.

                             Under the terms of the transfer payment agreement with CMSMs/DSSABs and First Nation communities, Ontario reserves the right to verify or audit any information submitted by the funding recipients for completeness or accuracy and may ask for further information in order to ensure funds are used for the intended purposes.

                             Ontario also reserves the right to undertake compliance audits in addition to the annual financial reporting review of CMSMs/DSSABs. The audit may entail a review of CMSM's and DSSAB's compliance with regulations, guidelines, policies, and directives for the purposes of strengthening accountability with the child care sector and to ensure continual funding entitlement is properly supported.

                             Reporting and Ontario's annual report

                             Ontario will continue to provide leadership in child care data collection and reporting and will enhance existing data collection activities to support reporting to the federal government key indicators associated with a CWELCC system. Ontario will continue to utilize data from a variety of existing sources including:

                             • the licensed child care operator survey
                             • early development instrument
                             • the child care licensing system
                             • the education finance information system

                             Ontario will continue to provide information via its established Ontario early years and child care annual report. The report aligns with the objectives of the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework and includes reporting on the indicators that support principles under the Framework for accessible, affordable, and flexible, inclusive, and high-quality early learning and child care.

                             Please see section 2.9 of the action plan for additional information on data and measurement.

                             As with all Ontario's data collection activities, new data points will be considered in the context of administrative burden for CMSMs/DSSABs, First Nations and child care operators.

                             • CMSM and DSSABs: new data sources will have to be developed in association with Ontario's municipal partners. Data from municipalities is collected through the Education Finance Information System (EFIS). New data points collected through EFIS will require the development of templates and guidelines to identify and specify how these data points should be collected and the frequency of such collections. Examples of such data points could include those to better understand the outcomes for children with special needs, child care fee pricing and subsidies
                             • child care operators: new data sources will have to be developed in association with the child care sector, particularly child care operators. Data from child care operators is collected directly through the Annual Child Care Data Collection. New data points collected through the Data Collection will require changes and additions to the survey and, guidelines and Child Care Licensing System (CCLS), which is used to collect the data. Examples of such data points could include improved enrolment figures
                             • First Nations: Ontario will work with First Nations to identify areas for data collaboration. Examples of such data points could include updated population data sets for on reserve child care

                             The annual report will include a description of results achieved according to indicators and targets. Please refer to key indicators to track progress outlined in section 4.4 to 4.8 of this action plan.

                             The table below summarizes the initiatives, investments, indicators and targets supported by the agreement.

                             Table 18: Summary table: initiatives, investments, indicators and targets supported by the agreement

                             Note: the tables below were modified for accessibility reasons.

                             Table 18a: Priority area – affordability

                             Initiative	Funding	Description	Indicator(s)	Targets
                             Reduction of child care fees for children age 0 to 5 (infant, toddler, pre-school, and kindergarten children attending before and after school programs) through operating grants and subsidies	Fiscal year 2022 to 2023: $1,139 million

                             Table 18b: Priority area – access

                             Initiative	Funding	Description	Indicator(s)	Targets
                             Creating new spaces	Fiscal year 2022 to 2023: $53 million

                             61,700 net new child care spaces by the end of fiscal year 2025 to 2026 (76,700 since 2019, reflecting 15,000 spaces already created)

                             Table 18c: Priority area – inclusion

                             Initiative	Funding	Description	Indicator(s)	Targets
                             Maintain funding for special needs resourcing	Fiscal year 2022 to 2023: $ to be confirmed

                             Table 18d: Priority area – workforce/quality

                             Initiative	Funding	Description	Indicator(s)	Targets
                             Increased compensation for the child care workforce and increase in the % of child care workforce who are Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECE)*	Fiscal year 2022 to 2023: $53 million

                             Number of early childhood workforce staff, according to staff category, whose wages have increased due to the introduction of a wage floor

                             Increased wage floor to $20 per hour for RECE supervisors in 2022

                             The wage floor will continue to increase $1 per hour each year from 2023 to 2025

                             Increase of early childhood workforce according to staff category for age 0 to 5 spaces

                             Number of child care programs (centre-based and home child care agencies) and EarlyON Centres supported

                             Number of program staff participating in mentorship programs

                             Number of individuals supported through recruitment and retention initiatives

                             Increase in the number of applications approved (including Francophone and Indigenous applications approved)

                             Number of ECE graduates supported with one-time CECE registration fees

                             50% of child care programs and EarlyON Centres supported through the Professional Learning and Development Strategy*

                             25% of new program staff and supervisors participating in mentorship programs*

                             Grow the qualified workforce in child care and early years programs by 3%*

                             Increase the number of applications for grants under the ECE QUP by 40%*

                             Support approximately 400 graduates with one-time ECE registration fees*

                             Table 18e: Priority area – implementation and ongoing supports

                             Initiative	Funding	Description	Indicator(s)	Targets
                             Implementation and ongoing supports	Fiscal year 2022 to 2023: $91 million

                             • The following notes apply to tables 18a to 18e.
                             • Numbers may not add up due to rounding.
                             • *The targets for "training and professional development" are under the Canada-Ontario early childhood workforce agreement, to be achieved by end of fiscal year 2022 to 2023. Targets and indicators will be added/removed and/or further refined for the Ontario ELCC workforce strategy. The workforce strategy is under development, and Ontario will report back to the federal government on targets and indicators by the end of fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

                             5.0 Appendix: Financial summary table fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and fiscal year 2023 to 2024

                             Table 19: Financial summary table fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and fiscal year 2023 to 2024

                             Priority area	Initiative	Fiscal year 2022 to 2023* ($ million)	Fiscal year 2023 to 2024* ($ million)
                             Affordability	Reducing fees for age 0 to 5**	$1,139	$1,648
                             Quality	Wage enhancements**	$53	$94
                             Quality	Professional development and other initiatives	$50	$149
                             Access	Growth in spaces (including fee reductions and wage supports)	$53	$218
                             Access	Start-up grants	$106	$107
                             Implementation and ongoing supports	Implementation, administration, and IT costs	$91	$126
                             Total	N/A	$1,491	$2,341

                             • Numbers may not add up due to rounding.
                             • *This includes the use of both federal funding under the CWELCC agreement and Ontario's additional investment to support this Agreement.
                             • **Operating funding to support fee reductions and wage enhancements for new spaces are included under the "Growth in spaces" line.