N.S. has work to do on child-care action plan required to access millions in federal funds

Nova Scotia has not submitted an action plan that would give it access to $123 million in federal funds for child care and early childhood education this year.

Under a 2021 agreement with Ottawa, the province agreed to submit an action plan and progress report at the beginning of the fiscal year in April in order to access federal funds to achieve a goal of a $10 a day child-care fee for parents by 2026.

That agreement, officially called the Canada–Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, was signed by then premier Iain Rankin in July 2021.

Federal funding under the agreement would amount to $123 million this fiscal year, $143 million for the next fiscal year and $169 million for the 2025 to 2026 fiscal year.

Speaking on CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia, Becky Druhan, the minister of education and early childhood development, said the province is not "leaving any money on the table."

Druhan said wages for early childhood educators have been increased from 14 per cent to 43 per cent, which helps in retaining and attracting workers.

"We still have funds available to do all the work that we're undertaking and that will continue to be available until the new action plan is created and until additional funds flow from the federal government," Druhan said.

"It's not impacting our work at all."

Working on plan

She said the PC government inherited a plan and is trying to create a more resilient system to ensure that Nova Scotians have child-care spaces in their communities that are affordable.

Druhan said the province is working with Ottawa to develop a plan that meets federal and provincial objectives.

Kenya Thompson, the co-ordinator of the Nova Scotia chapter of the national organization Childcare Now, which advocates for a publicly funded non-profit child-care system, isn't as enthusiastic about the Houston government's performance.

The province has made progress in fee reductions but not on creating more spaces, Thompson said. 

Fell short of target

According to Thompson, the province had a target of achieving 1,500 new regulated child-care spaces last year but only created 400. 

She said that goal has now been pushed to the end of this year.

Thompson said she hears government officials say to the media that they inherited a plan and they're working to improve it.

"When we see spaces not being created, when we see a wage grid that's insufficient for ECEs [early childhood educators] to support themselves and it's insufficient to attract workers to the sector, that raises concerns about what that action plan will look like."

Thompson said the bilateral agreement calls for a central organization to be set up to ensure there is inclusive, culturally appropriate and high-quality care provided.

No such organization has been set up, Thompson said, which means a layer of accountability is missing.

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender shares Thompson's view.

No significant increase in spaces 

Chender said while parent fees have decreased and wages have increased modestly, there has not been a significant increase in child-care spaces in the province.

This has been challenging for children who don't have access to early childhood education and to parents who are unable to return to work because there is no child-care space for their children, Chender said.

She said there is a significant amount of federal money to help alleviate the problem that can't be released because the province hasn't submitted an action plan.

 "It is deeply confusing and upsetting that the government would not be accessing that funding," Chender said.

"Regardless of the number of interviews that the minister has done, some of which I've heard, she has yet to address this question head-on of why they have not filed the action plan in order to receive the money to use that money to create more child-care spaces."

An Employment and Social Development Canada spokesperson said by email that Ottawa is providing $605 million to Nova Scotia over five years to achieve agreed-upon targets and objectives.

Those targets include reducing fees to an average of $10 a day for licensed child-care and creating 9,500 new licensed spaces by March 2026, according to the email.

'In discussions'

"The Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia are in discussions regarding the action plan," the email states.

"The first instalment for 2023-24 will be provided to Nova Scotia once the requirements outlined in the agreement are met, including the finalization of the Action Plan for 2023-24 to 2025-26."

Thompson said many children in Nova Scotia are missing out on development opportunities in the meantime, and parents are forced to stay home with them and missing out on income. 

"It creates a lot of instability and chaos when you don't have access to child care for your child. A lot of parents across the province are really struggling."