Question Period Note: FEMALE LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION IN THE EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD CARE SYSTEM

A Fraser Institute report states that federal day-care program has resulted in little-to-no change in the female labour force participation rate or industry employment (news release)

I am aware of the report from the Fraser Institute and would note that while early in its implementation, the Canada-wide system is delivering on making life more affordable for families.

Over half of provinces and territories are delivering child care for an average of $10-a-day or less, with fees cut by 50% everywhere else.

In 2023, labour market participation among core-aged mothers in Canada with young children reached a record high at 79.7%, up from 75.9% in 2019.

That is an increase of 3.8 percentage points.

Further, in January 2023, the Bank of Canada observed that the “rise in the participation rate of women could be due to lower average fees for child care since April 2022, as measured by the consumer price index.”   If pressed on employment in the child care industry

Through the agreements, provinces, and territories, except Quebec, committed to support a qualified child care workforce through initiatives such as wage grids for early childhood educators (ECEs) and increasing the percentage of certified ECEs.

According to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours as referenced by the Fraser Institute in their report, employment in the child care industry has increased by nearly 30% since early 2021, following the depths of the job losses at the onset of the pandemic.

The federal government continues to work with all partners to ensure workforce strategies are in place to expand the Canada-wide system.

If pressed on Labour Force Participation rates

Data from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey clearly demonstrates that 2023 labour force participation rates for core-aged women were equal or above 2019 in all provinces. For the whole country, the labour force participation rate went from 83.8% in 2019 to 85.5% in 2023.

Si l’on insiste sur l'emploi dans le secteur de la garde d'enfants

Dans le cadre de ces accords, les provinces et les territoires, à l'exception du Québec, se sont engagés à soutenir une main-d'œuvre qualifiée dans le domaine de la garde d'enfants par le biais d'initiatives telles que des grilles salariales pour les éducateurs de la petite enfance (EPE) et l'augmentation du pourcentage d'EPE certifiés.

Selon l'Enquête sur l'emploi, la rémunération et les heures de travail, citée par l'Institut Fraser dans son rapport, l'emploi dans le secteur de la garde d'enfants a augmenté de près de 30 % depuis le début de l'année 2021, après avoir subi de lourdes pertes d'emploi au début de la pandémie.

Le gouvernement fédéral continue de travailler avec tous les partenaires pour s'assurer que des stratégies de main-d'œuvre sont en place afin d'étendre le système à l'ensemble du Canada.

Si l'on insiste sur les taux d'activité

Les données de l'Enquête sur la population active de Statistique Canada montrent clairement que les taux d'activité des femmes en âge de travailler en 2023 étaient égaux ou supérieurs à ceux de 2019 dans toutes les provinces. Pour l'ensemble du pays, le taux d'activité est passé de 83,8 % en 2019 à 85,5 % en 2023. The recruitment and retention of qualified ECEs is a long-standing challenge across Canada, which has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, general labour force shortages, and recent high inflation. In 2023, the Labour Force Survey estimated the employment level among ECEs and Assistants as still below pre-pandemic (2019) levels, with nearly 15,000 fewer people, mostly women, working in this occupation compared to 2019. To address the persistent recruitment and retention challenges facing the ELCC sector, the federal government worked multilaterally with PTs to first identify the problems underpinning these challenges as well as potential outcomes. This work was presented to Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Ministers Most Responsible for ELCC as a Conceptual Frame for a Multilateral ELCC Workforce Strategy. At the July 2023 meeting of FPT Ministers Most Responsible for ELCC, Ministers agreed to develop a Canada-wide, multilateral workforce strategy for the ELCC workforce under the pillars of recruitment, retention, and recognition.

Additionally, Ontario has committed to taking the lead on establishing a working group on inter-provincial and territorial mobility and foreign credential recognition for the early childhood education workforce to ensure seamless movement of qualified staff across Canada and from around the world.

Many of the challenges that PTs are facing in the development of an ECE workforce are shared and potentially exacerbated in an Indigenous context. In addition to navigating labour force shortages, needing to establish competitive wage grids and working to eliminate barriers to ECE education and training, Indigenous governments are having to develop culturally-appropriate training modules and build human capacity that is grounded in culture and can support linguistic revitalization interests. Flexible funding is available to support Indigenous-led workforce initiatives and it will be important to work in collaboration with Indigenous partners moving forward on these issues. For example, First Nations in BC and the Manitoba Métis Federation have implemented wage enhancement funds to better compensate and retain this valued workforce.

The Government of Canada provided $420 million in 2021-2022 for PTs to support the recruitment and retention of ECEs, in recognition of the workforce’s central role in providing high-quality ELCC.

All Canada-wide ELCC Agreements, with the exception of the asymmetrical agreement with Quebec, prioritize quality through the requirements of:

developing and implementing evidence-based quality frameworks, standards, and tools for ELCC;

increasing the percentage of certified child care workers; and,

implementing wage grids or frameworks where not already in place.

Through the Canada-wide ELCC Agreements and workforce funding, many PTs have already announced new supports for ECEs in areas such as hiring, retention, training, and wages.

The Fraser Institute released a report titled “Is the Federal Daycare Program Achieving Its Stated Goals?” on February 6, 2024.

The report has attracted media attention (Fraser Institute News Release: Federal day-care program has resulted in little-to-no change in the female labour force participation rate or industry employment | Financial Post).

The author has been quoted in the media report stating, “the federal government initiative to expand subsidized daycare and raise the labour force participation rate of women has produced few results, nor has the roll-out of daycare expanded employment in the industry”.

The data referenced by the Fraser Institute includes all women aged 15 and over, whereas research on this topic (including the Fortin report from 2011) has typically focused on core-aged mothers (aged 25 to 54) with young children given not all women are mothers and those outside the core-age group are less likely to participate in the labour force.