Advocates, business leaders, and lawmakers travel to Canada for a child care study tour.
A few weeks ago, business leaders, advocates, and state lawmakers traveled to Toronto and Ottawa to learn about the Canadian child care system. During the pandemic, the Canadian government made a large investment of $27 billion over five years through legislation called CWELCC (Canada Wide Early Learning & Child Care).
There will be a report coming out in the coming months ahead, but in the meantime, here are some key takeaways from the trip:
The LEAP Canada Study Tour highlighted how Washington’s lawmakers, advocates, and business leaders are committed to finding bi-partisan solutions for affordable child care in Washington state.
Solving the child care crisis requires a multi-faceted approach. Canadian advocates shared a helpful metaphor that addressing the child care crisis is like putting up a pop-up tent, with each leg of the tent being affordability, staff wages, inclusion, and quality. If you've ever gone camping, then you know that setting up only one leg at a time makes it likely that your tent keeps falling over. Similarly, working on just one facet of the crisis won’t be effective.
Canada faces many similar challenges to Washington state, particularly when it comes to recruiting and retaining providers. Canadian elected officials campaigned on a $10/day for child care platform, which improved the affordability problem, but left more work to be done for family access. The wage floor for providers in Ontario is less than other provinces ($19/hour). Advocates in Canada are in favor of a salary scale to improve retention and ensure equitable pay. Additionally, not all child care programs are participating in the $10/day program due to being ineligible or operational concerns about the program.
There are some structural differences between the Canadian early learning system and Washington. For instance, Ontario offers two years of full day kindergarten. Additionally, the Canadian system relies on non-profit and school based systems for families to access care. Washington’s child care market offers a diverse range of program types for families to choose the best care that aligns with their values, culture, and needs. Despite the array of programs, there are not enough openings for the families that need them in Washington state.
Canada’s federal investments ($27 billion over 5 years) has already yielded results in terms of workforce participation, particularly among women. In Quebec, the subsidized care system has increased labor participation for mothers from 67% to 87%. According to Senator Rosemary Moodie, for every $1 of government investment in child care, there is a return on investment of about $1.5 to $6. Additionally, the program has made significant progress in increasing the availability of care. In 2020, 40,000 children were benefiting from affordable care. By 2026, Canada plans to create 250,000 new spaces through CWELCC.
There are several funding streams and grants available for child care providers, but the multitude of funding sources cause administrative burdens for providers. For example, there are grants available for emerging issues faced for transitioning during the CWELCC implementation.
Stay tuned for the Association of Washington Business Institute’s full report!
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