Introduction

Early learning and child care in Ontario has undergone substantial changes in the last several years. In 2019, the Ontario government announced their intention to conduct a review of the Child Care and Early Years Act, the Early Childhood Educators Act, and their regulations in 2020. The provincial government also stated that they are working on a new plan for child care, including a new funding formula. At the same time, the federal government announced a significant commitment to establish a national secretariat to develop a pan-Canadian child care strategy. Then in March of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the temporary closure of child care centres across Ontario. The impact of the pandemic on the early learning and child care sector will be felt for years. Through all of this change, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care works to inform and engage the early learning and child care community and to amplify the voices of our community to call for a comprehensive early learning and care system. This Guide is part of that work. 

We also acknowledge that this one guide cannot do it all; throughout the document we encourage readers to go in-depth and read further reports, books and policy documents that can help inform your practice.

We hope for this Guide to be a living document and request that readers write to us to let us know: what they liked, what they didn’t like, and what they’d like to see in future editions. You can contact the OCBCC at: [email protected]

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