Question Period Note: Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care

Implementation of the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework

• Supporting culturally appropriate early learning and child care programs that take into account the cultures, languages, traditions, values and customs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities can be crucial in creating a foundation for a child’s cultural identity and sense of worth.

• Now is the time to make long-term, sustained investments so that every Canadian family has access to affordable and high-quality early learning and child care, including Indigenous children.

• As a first step, in the Fall Economic Statement, our government announced key early investments to lay the groundwork for a Canada-wide child care system in partnership with provinces, territories and Indigenous peoples, including:

• $70 million over 5 years, starting in 2021-22, and $15 million ongoing to sustain the existing federal Indigenous ELCC Secretariat, and to help build Indigenous governance capacity and support Indigenous participation in the development of a Canada-wide system;
• $75 million in 2021-22 to improve the quality and accessibility of Indigenous child care programs;
• Making previous funding for early learning and child care permanent to sustain the progress made with provinces, territories and Indigenous partners to date, including $210 million annually for Indigenous early learning and child care.
• I am pleased to say that this new funding, in addition to this government’s investment of $1.7 billion over ten years in Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care, will help pave the way for a new Canada-wide ELCC system that provides a safe, healthy, and culturally –relevant environment for all First Nations, Inuit and Metis children.

• Our Government also provided $120 million in emergency funding for 2020-21 to support Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care during the pandemic.

The Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, supported by the Ministers of Indigenous Services, Health, and Status of Women, led work to collaborate with Indigenous peoples to co-develop an Indigenous Early Learing and Child Care (ELCC) Framework.
While engagement was taking place on the new Framework, Budget 2016 invested $129.4 million over two years to support three existing federal early learning and child care programs:
• Aboriginal Head Start On Reserve (AHSOR), administered by the Department of Indigenous Services Canada (previously Health Canada);
• Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities (AHSUNC), administered by the Public Health Agency of Canada; and,
• First Nations and Inuit Child Care Initiative (FNICCI), administered by Employment and Social Development Canada.
Throughout 2017, the Government of Canada worked closely with Indigenous partners to undertake broad engagement on Indigenous ELCC - reaching over 3,000 participants through town halls, regional and national meetings, and online surveys.
On September 17, 2018 the Government of Canada, the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Métis National Council jointly released the co-developed Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework aimed at strengthening early learning and child care programs and services for Indigenous children and families.
To ensure it stands the test of time, the Framework does not include program or funding details, but signals a commitment to ongoing collaboration to inform implementation in 2018-19 and into the future. It sets a vison for happy and safe Indigenous children and families, strong cultural identity, and a comprehensive and coordinated system that is anchored in self-determination, centred on children and grounded in culture.
The Indigenous ELCC Framework is supportive and consistent with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Call to Action #12, which directs federal, provincial, territorial and Indigenous governments to work together to develop culturally appropriate early childhood education programs for Indigenous families.
The Government heard through engagement that the Head Start and First Nations and Inuit Child Care programs make a real difference in the lives of the children and families they serve. These programs will play an important role in continuing to strengthen ELCC going forward. New investments are over and above existing funding which already supports communities. As work advances towards making these programs more flexible and inclusive, any changes will be in close collaboration with Indigenous Partners over time.

In support of the Indigenous ELCC Framework, the Government of Canada is investing $1.7 billion over 10 years to strengthen early learning and child care programs and services for Indigenous children and families starting in 2018-19. This is part of the commitment of $7.5 billion over 11 years the Government has made to support and create more high-quality affordable child care across the country. This more than doubled federal investments in Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care programs through the FNICCI, AHSOR and AHSUNC programs.

Starting in 2018-19, up to $1.02 billion will support ELCC for First Nations and will be managed in partnership with First Nations. Up to $111 million will support ELCC for Inuit and will be managed in partnership with Inuit. Up to $450 million will support ELCC for the Métis Nation and will be managed in partnership with the Métis Nation. In 2018-19 nearly $100 million in new investments reached First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation communities. These investments have supported 460 First Nations communities, 73 Inuit communities and the launch of new Métis specific ELCC programs and services.

In addition to the three distinctions-based envelopes for ELCC services, partnerships, governance and transformative action:
• The Government is also enhancing existing “pan-Indigenous” ELCC programming by dedicating $34 million over 10 years, starting in 2018-19, to existing AHSUNC sites (especially located in urban communities). AHSUNC is recognized as a strong program that makes a real difference in the lives of the children and families it serves.
• $44 million is available to fund application-based, Indigenous-led Quality Improvement Projects to advance foundational elements of Indigenous ELCC.
• Data and Innovation funding announced in Budget 2017, provides an opportunity for Indigenous organizations/recipients and participation in supporting improved ELCC Data or innovative projects.

The Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework and its corresponding investments complement Provincial and Territorial programming and funding under the Multilateral ELCC Framework and creates opportunities for Indigenous communities to partner with Provinces and Territories where desired.

The Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Transformation Initiative is a horizontal initiative across multiple federal departments. New flexible programming authorities enable Indigenous-led investments in a broad range of ELCC priorities for all Indigenous children and families to matter where they live in Canada. The Initiative is using a new partnership model to facilitate Indigenous-led decision making to advance national and regional priorities. Early results for 2018-19 include: establishment of interim national partnership tables; development of regional and community allocations, which were supported by Indigenous leadership; and development of regional plans that identified short and medium term priorities.

COVID-19 Response

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020-21 the government announced $120 million in new federal investments to support the safe reopening of federally funded child care centres and Head Start programs and support the First Nations, Inuit and Métis children who benefit from culturally-relevant Indigenous ELCC programs and services. Of the $120 million in new federal investments in Indigenous ELCC:

• $71.01 million to First Nations
• $10.90 million to Inuit ELCC
• $29.88 million to the Métis Nation
• $8.21 million to the Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities (AHSUNC) program.

The new funding provided is to ensure the continued availability of Indigenous ELCC spaces and to offset increased costs to Indigenous ELCC centres associated with implementing COVID-19 public health measures (e.g. enhanced cleaning and sanitization protocols and lower child to staff ratios).

In addition, as communities respond to COVID-19, IELCC Transformation Initiative program authorities can support a number of measures related to emerging early learning and child care priorities. This includes:

• continuing to operate child care centres or offering home child care to essential workers in communities, where it is safe to do so;
• offering respite care and other types of support to vulnerable families facing heightened pressures at this time, including pressures related to providing healthy meals or supporting children with special needs; and
• continuing to pay the wages of staff where child care centres or other IELCC programs have been temporarily closed.

To further support Indigenous children and their families, a temporary addition of new eligible activities have been added to the program authorities. In effect from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021, eligible spending will encompass any activity that provides assistance to Indigenous children and families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This measure applies to unspent 2019-20 IELCC funds, and unspent 2019-20 funds from the First Nations and Inuit Child Care Initiative and Head Start on-Reserve program, that carried forward to 2020-21.

Fall Economic Statement

The Fall Economic Statement announced key early investments to lay the groundwork for a Canada-wide child care system including the following support for Indigenous early learning and child care:
• $70 million over 5 years, starting in 2021-22, and $15 million ongoing to sustain the existing federal Indigenous ELCC Secretariat, and to help build Indigenous governance capacity and support Indigenous participation in the development of a Canada-wide system;
• $75 million in 2021-22 to improve the quality and accessibility of Indigenous child care programs;
• $210 million per year by making previous funding for early learning and child care permanent at 2027-28 levels, beginning in 2028-29, to sustain the progress made with provinces, territories and Indigenous partners to date.

• In September 2018 the Government released the co-developed Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework, jointly with First Nation, Inuit and Métis Nation leadership. In support of the Framework, the Government committed up to $1.7 billion over 10 years starting in 2018–19.

• Since 2018-19, annual federal investments in Indigenous ELCC have almost doubled.

• In addition, $120.7 million in emergency funding is being delivered to communities this year (2020-21) to support the safe reopening of Indigenous ELCC programs and services and adherence to Covid-19 public health measures.