We are proud to be collaborating with Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) and the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development on project on raising the voices of the child care workforce in the decent work movement.The Professional Pay & Decent Work forums provide a positive and engaging space for all – no matter where you work in the child care sector. The forums aim to increase dialogue and broaden understandings of decent work in the early childhood sector. Participants attending the forum should expect engaging conversations, networking and organizing, useful resources and skill building opportunities so that we can all take on a leadership role within the movement for professional pay and decent work.
Coming to a Community near you this year!
PAST EVENTS
Provincial Day of Action
On May 31, 2018 we asked you to chalk it up for child care. The Early Years Professionals
Rise Up TO group got together for the provincial day of action at Nathan Philips Square to
chalk it up to raise awarness and engage voters.
2016 Provincial Early Learning and Child Care Conference
Shaping Our Future was an exciting opportunity to celebrate the ELCC community and to share knowledge and experiences to help move our sector forward in Ontario. The conference’s themes were local innovation, leadership and advocacy. The ELCC sector is known for delivering vital programs that support children and families. We know that communities, programs and early childhood educators continue to provide these essential services even in the midst of system and funding changes. That is why we want to give front-line ECEs, child care workers, and all professionals who support children and families the opportunity to share their important work with colleagues and to learn about the most exciting and innovative practices in our field.
Conference Vision Statement
Shaping our Future begins with you and the vibrant local innovation and leadership practices that happen daily in Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) programs across the province. Early learning and child care shapes the future of our communities. Together we can shape the future of early learning and child care. Across Ontario, we are building a stronger community and movement for early learning and child care that recognizes diverse and groundbreaking work from Windsor to Wawa!
The Shaping Our Future conference is an opportunity to exchange transformative ideas, skills, programming and to connect with other professionals, leaders and advocates in the ELCC community. We intend to highlight the resiliency, dedication, professionalism and vital importance of the ELCC workforce. We recognize that the workforce shapes the future of our sector; we intend to celebrate this by showcasing your work and connecting you with other professionals.
This is an opportunity to empower one another by acknowledging and celebrating our work, sharing our stories and learning together with a variety of important leaders.
This conference is supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation
Special thanks to our conference partners:
Early Childhood Education Faculty Forum
Algonquin College
Public Town Hall meeting on Ontario's child care regulations
We had over 100 people attend, engage in meaningful dialogue, build our collective voice and sign the petition!
Our twitter storm was a success! Thank you for participating we got #childcarecantwait trending on Twitter in Toronto!
Video coming soon.
Child Care Matters to Everyone! Regional Conferences
The Child Care Matters to Everyone event series is presented by the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario with the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Child care really does matter to everyone and this event invites educators, service providers, parents, students, policy makers and 
concerned citizens to come together and discuss its importance from a variety of perspectives. The event will draw on the strengths of the community to build relationships and identify how we can work together to create the change we need for child care.
These events will be unique to each community in format and content. Local leaders and advocates will help shape the discussion and workshops will focus on navigating current developments, getting involved, and specific areas of practice that have been identified by community members.
Through these events we hope to:
- Bring together a diverse group from sectors including child care, family resource, education sector, and community groups
- Bring together parents, early childhood educators, local decision makers, child care programs, community college programs, and local municipal child care staff.
- Build leadership skills and actively involve ECEs and child care staff as leaders in their field and in the community.
- Develop local strategies to increase awareness of the benefits of licensed child care and the role played by early childhood educators.
Sault Ste. Marie - October 24th, 2015
Niagara Region - December 5, 2015
Ontario Child Care Policy Summit
September 25th-26th, 2015
A thought-provoking forum about provincial and national child care policy organized by CUPE Ontario, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, Childcare Resource and Research Unit, Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario and Ryerson University, School of Early Childhood Studies.
download flyer for posting and sharing here (pdf)
Day 1
Child Care is a hot issue in the federal election. There has never been a better time to push for a quality, public child care system for Ontario. Economist Jim Stanford and sociologist/activist Susan Prentice will discuss why child care is an economic no-brainer, and how to win the child care system that Ontario families deserve.
- Jim Stanford, Unifor Economist and the author of Economics for Everyone.
- Susan Prentice, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manitoba and member of the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba.
- Q&A and a reception will follow the talks.
REGISTRATION IS NOW FULL FOR FRIDAY'S EVENT. SPACES STILL AVAILABLE FOR SATURDAY (SEE BELOW)
Day 2
We’re bringing together a mix of academic, activist and community leaders to discuss recent changes to child care in Ontario and how to move forward together. We’ll explore Ontario child care in the context of the federal election and how to take our vision of child care from dream to reality. It’s about time!
Morning: Moving Ontario child care forward: Where have we been? Where do we go?
Panel One – Review and Reflect
The opening panel will explore the significant changes to ECEC in Ontario over the past five years and the impact of these changes for licensed child care.
Panelists include:
Panel Two – What’s next?
The second morning panel will consider Canadian and international examples to explore moving towards a made-in-Ontario child care plan. Panelists will discuss strategies to convince government and mobilize the community to work together for change. Panelists include:
Afternoon: Ontario in the federal context
Opening keynote by Martha Friendly, Executive Director, Childcare Resource and Research Unit
Panel - Behind the headlines: What does the federal election mean for child care in Ontario?
This panel will explore the underlying ideologies and policies presented in the election platforms of the federal political parties and the possible outcomes for child care in Ontario. Panelists include:
Registration $30
Includes lunch and refreshments
REGISTRATION
(please note, you will be redirected to the AECEO website for registration)
Day 1 - Friday September 25th, 2015 - Registration FULL
Day 2 - Saturday September 26th, 2015
You can also register by completing the Registration form here
Olivia Chow: Affordable Childcare: Why Not Now?
McLaughlin College Public Policy Lecture
WHERE: McLaughlin College, Junior Common Room, O14, York University
York University
4700 Keele Street, North York, ON M3J 1P3
Canada
Keynote Speaker: OLIVIA CHOW, Former Member of Parliament and Toronto City Council, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Ryerson University
(Copies of her book “My Journey” will be available for signing!)
Featured Speakers:
- LAUREEN WATERS, Aboriginal Elder
- DR ANDREA O’REILLY, Professor, School of Women’s Studies
- DAVID LEYTON-BROWN, Master of McLaughlin College
*Refreshments will be served. Limited child care subsidies available*
Please contact Nadia at [email protected] to request a childcare subsidy.
Check out the event poster!
Please RSVP: Lorraine Myrie at 416-736-2100 x 33825 or [email protected]
Department of Public Memory remembers Bellevue Child Care Centre
Date: October 9, 2014 5:00pm
Location: 95 Bellevue Avenue, Toronto, ON
“The city forgets that in the year that the Bellevue Child Care Centre closed as many as 18 500 children waited for subsidized daycare spots. The Bellevue Child Care Centre was a municipally run daycare that closed on July 19th, 2013. Municipally run daycares typically pay higher wages than other childcare centres and many of the staff at Bellevue had worked there for years. While all the staff and children at Bellevue were relocated, the centre’s closure meant that staff with less seniority at other municipally run centres lost their jobs and children waiting for daycare spots were bumped further down the waiting list. The DEPARTMENT is making a sign to celebrate and remember this long standing daycare centre, which will be unveiled at this event.“
Click here for more information.
ChildCare2020: from vision to action- Canada's Fourth National Child Care Policy Conference, Winnipeg
Date: Thursday November 13th- Saturday November 15th 2014
Location: Fort Garry Hotel, Winnipeg, MB
Click here for more information
Description: The Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada, the Canadian Child Care Federation, and the Childcare Resource and Research Unit host Canada’s Fourth National Child Care Policy Conference this year in Winnipeg. All our welcome! Join early childhood educators, academics and researchers, policymakers, advocates and parents from across Canada as we work together to build a better early childhood system.