On February 9, 2024, as part of the Government of Canada’s 2024 Pre-Budget Consultation process, we made a written submission on behalf of ourselves and 64 other organizations (available here).
In this submission, we support the continued building of a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) system and the passage of Bill C-35, entitled “An Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada.” Together, we are working towards a Canada in which all children have access to quality early learning and childcare programs and services that support their development and enable them to reach their full potential.
To enable the ELCC system’s success in supporting child development and helping children reach their full potential, we recommend that the Government of Canada, in collaboration with its provincial and territorial partners, further embed foundational policies that support improved children’s literacy within a high-quality, affordable, accessible, and inclusive ELCC system. Strong literacy skills are integral to children, youth, and adults fully thriving today and into the future.
Improved children’s literacy should be advanced within the ELCC system through partnering with provinces and territories to:
- Enable early childhood educators to access quality training that includes the why and how of developing children’s early literacy and language skills;
- Strengthen additional pathways to children’s literacy for families that do not yet participate in early learning and childcare programs; and
- Include data on the effectiveness of the ELCC systems in improving children’s literacy development as part of the broader ELCC data strategy.
We stand ready to assist the Government of Canada, alongside its provincial and territorial partners, in implementing these recommendations. We also welcome the opportunity to continue to partner with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities on creating high-quality, culturally-strong early learning and childcare, and note that at this time these recommendations do not pertain to the distinct work being undertaken with respect to the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework.
We’re grateful to the 64 submission signatories, listed below:
- ABC Life Literacy Canada
- Affiliated Services for Children and Youth (ASCY)
- Association of Early Childhood Educators of Newfoundland and Labrador (AECENL)
- Association of Early Childhood Educators of Nova Scotia
- Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area
- Bookmates
- Canada West Foundation
- Canadian Childcare Federation
- Canadian Children's Literacy Foundation
- Canadian Mental Health Association
- Centre for Family Literacy
- Children's Book Bank
- Children's Communication Lab, University of Waterloo
- Children's First Canada
- Children's Healthcare Canada
- Childrens Reading Room
- Decoda Literacy Solutions
- Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
- Early Childhood Development Association of PEI (ECDA)
- ELLA - Early Learning and Literacy Alliance Waterloo Region
- Ensuring Full Literacy in a Multicultural and Digital World
- Fédération Québécoise des organismes communautaires famille
- First Book Canada
- Further Education Society of Alberta
- Gord Downie Wenjack Fund, the
- gritLIT Readers and Writers Festival ( Hamilton Literary Festival Assoc)
- Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia
- IDA Ontario
- Kids Can Fly
- Lab for Infant Development and Language (University of Waterloo)
- Let's Talk Science
- Literacy Lambton
- Maggie’s Place Family Resource Centre – Colchester
- Malvern Family Resource Centre
- Manitoba Child Care Association
- minibiblioPLUS powered by Fraser Hickson
- Montreal Children's Hospital
- Mothers Matter Centre
- National Alliance for Children and Youth (NACY)
- Nunavut Bilingual Education Society (NBES)
- NWT Literacy Council
- Offord Centre for Child Studies - McMaster University
- Ontario Library Association
- PEI Literacy Alliance
- PolicyWise
- Prince Albert Literacy Network
- Read to Me!
- Reading Partnership, the
- Resilient Kids
- Saskatchewan Early Childhood Association
- Saskatchewan Literacy Network
- Scouts
- South Winnipeg Family Information Centre
- St. John’s Christian Nursery School
- Storybooks Canada
- Today's Family
- Toronto Foundation for Student Success
- Trico Changemakers Studio
- UBC Language Sciences Initiative
- United For Literacy
- Vibrant Communities Calgary
- Yarmouth County Learning Network
- Young Canadians Roundtable on Health
- YWCA Canada
Further endorsed by:
- Read Surrey/White Rock Society
Please contact us at info@childrensliteracy.ca if your organization would like to endorse these recommendations, or if you wish to learn more and get involved.
