Moving Forward on Early Childhood Education and Care: Next Steps
On April 28, 2009, the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs tabled its report, Early Childhood Education and Care: Next Steps, to the Senate. In November 2006, the Senate authorized the Committee to examine the state of early learning and child care in Canada in view of the OECD report Starting Strong II, released in September 2006, which rated Canada last among 14 countries on spending on early learning and child care programs.
Senator Art Eggleton, Chair of the committee, said that: “We need to move foreword on early learning and child care because all our children deserve the best possible start in life. This report is a road map to put the necessary structures in place to give each child the best opportunity to reach his or her potential.”
At the release of this report, Senator Wilbert Keon, Deputy Chair, said that : “ Early child development is an important foundation for well-being in later life; co-ordinated support for families to encourage human development for the young is worthy of federal support and provincial action.”