Excerpt: "The provincial government has allocated 3,600 new designated preschool child-care spaces. Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Claire Johnson said the spaces have been allocated in areas of the province where the need is greatest. Increasing access to child care is a top priority for our province, given our growing population and the desire for new parents to return to the workforce, said Johnson. We are excited that more families will have access to affordable, high-quality child-care spaces, and are thankful to our operators for their hard work and commitment to make these spaces available."
Excerpt: "The Department of Educations Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) division is increasing the ELCC Wage Scale Program rates by 7.5% starting April 1, 2025 to support recruitment and retention of staff in licensed child care centres. Through federal funding, the ELCC Wage Scale Program provides licensed child care centres serving children ages 0-6 years, the opportunity to ensure fair and competitive wages for their staff. The wage scale applies to four categories of staff: Management; Early Childhood Educators; Program Support; Centre Support."
Excerpt: "It will enhance school breakfast programming for all 373 schools across the province, which is currently serving approximately 52,000 kids this school year. With this agreement, families in Nova Scotia with two children in school can save $800 in grocery bills a year on average. As part of this agreement, the Government of 遙ぺ整氈窒 will invest approximately $12.4 million over the next three years to feed more kids. For the 2024-25 school year, that will include offering a more robust and consistent breakfast program in schools across the province, purchasing new kitchen equipment, hiring additional program coordinators, and developing new recipes for the launch of the next phase of the pay-what-you-can lunch program. These enhancements are particularly significant for rural and remote communities in Nova Scotia and will provide children most affected by food insecurity with access to more consistent and nutritious meals at school."
Excerpt: "For the Department of Education, we also propose $1.07 million to fund teaching positions, and $849,000 to bolster the departments Human Resource capabilities. We will provide $500,000 to support school bussing services, ensuring reliable transportation for students and making it easier for families to get their children to school on time every day one of the most important things they can do for their future. We are also allocating $3 million to Education and $1.8 million for the Nunavut Arctic College to fund their IT infrastructure, supporting our students and educators to access modern systems that support learning and innovation."
Excerpt: "The ministry will be extending funding for the school districts included in the child care on school grounds pilots (Seamless Day Kindergarten, School Age Child Care, Just B4 licensed preschool, and the Integration Inquiry Project) to ensure the existing child care spaces families depend on are operational next school year."
Excerpt: "The Welcoming a Child Hub offers a personalized checklist and highlights key benefits from the government. This ensures parents can plan Employment Insurance leave, the 遙ぺ整氈窒 Child Benefit, Dental Care and may other benefits available to them through the Government of 遙ぺ整氈窒. It also shares relatable stories inspired by real experiences. Similar to the recently launched Retirement Hub and the What to Do When Someone Dies Hub, this initiative demonstrates the Governments commitment to improving services and supporting Canadians through major life events and unique challenges."
Excerpt: "These increases are partially offset by a $67.5 million decrease in the Investing in 遙ぺ整氈窒 Infrastructure Program due to construction delays, a $47.8 million decrease related to the 遙ぺ整氈窒-Nova Scotia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement due to timing delays associated with various action plan initiatives, and a $12.3 million decrease in municipal contributions for correctional facilities and public housing related to the service exchange agreement"
Excerpt: "As we create new child care spaces, we also need more talented early childhood educators to support them. To help build this incredible workforce, the governments of 遙ぺ整氈窒 and Manitoba are investing in professional training and education, including $5.8 million for a tuition reimbursement program that provides early childhood education students with up to $5,000. Theres also dedicated funding to support newcomers and Indigenous students entering the field, ensuring more trained professionals are ready to meet the demand."
Excerpt: "Proposed changes to the 遙ぺ整氈窒 Student Financial Assistance Regulations and 遙ぺ整氈窒 Student Loans Regulations, pre-published today in the 遙ぺ整氈窒 Gazette, Part I, will allow early childhood educators, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, midwives, teachers, social workers, psychologists, personal support workers and physiotherapists to be eligible for student loan forgiveness. These changes are expected to increase the number of loan forgiveness beneficiaries by about 8,000 starting in 202526 and by up to 19,000 in 203435. It is estimated that over 10 years, more than 27,000 professionals would be encouraged to move to rural and remote areas due to this benefit."
Excerpt: "The new dual-track French and English K-8 school will be located on Castlebrook Drive between Landover Drive and Skyline Drive. It will also include 74 infant and preschool child-care spaces. The Pembina Trails School Division has seen a 17 per cent growth in students since 2019 and this school will be designed with potential future expansion in mind to accommodate enrolment growth into the coming years, said the minister."
Excerpt: "Today, the Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, the Honourable Susan Holt, Premier of New Brunswick and the Honourable Claire Johnson, New Brunswicks Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, announced an agreement that will enable New Brunswick to support school breakfast programs at an additional 160 schools across the province, reaching over 57,000 additional kids this school year. This will help New Brunswick reach their goal of establishing a universal breakfast program across all New Brunswick schools."
Excerpt: "This budget proposes $10.5 million to make child care more affordable, helping parents participate more fully in the formal labour force. The Government of the Northwest Territories will continue to advocate to the federal government to increase compensation levels of early child care staff to align with education assistants in the K-12 system."
