4. MOTION RE REQUEST TO FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS TO PRESERVE THE NATIONAL CHILD CARE PROGRAM – PROTECT HIGH QUALITY ACCESSIBLE CHILD CARE IN OTTAWA

MOTION CONCERNANT UNE DEMANDE AUX GOUVERNEMENTS FÉDÉRAL ET PROVINCIAUX VISANT LE MAINTIEN DU PROGRAMME NATIONAL DE GARDERIES ET LA PROTECTION DE GARDERIES ACCESSIBLES ET DE HAUTE QUALITÉ À OTTAWA

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

That Council approve the following:

1. That Mayor Chiarelli, on behalf of Council and the residents of the City of Ottawa, work with the federal and provincial governments to preserve the national child care program and the Ontario federal-provincial child care agreement;

a. maintaining existing federal commitments (Canada Social Transfer, Early Childhood Development Initiative and Multilateral Framework Agreement funding);

b. introducing standards that guarantee quality, universally accessible, developmental, inclusive programming like the Canada Health Act, the principles of child care needs to be enshrined in legislation;

c. dedicating a separate adequate designated funding stream for a new, long-term federal transfer to provinces and territories; and

d. including provincial and territorial accountability, tied to five-year plans that include goals and objectives, timelines and targets, review and evaluation as they build new Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) systems.

2. That the City of Ottawa work with families, child care programs, and child care advocacy groups to ensure that the federal government fulfils its five-year funding commitment to build a national early learning and child care system in Ottawa and Canada;

3. That this Motion be circulated to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Association of Francophone Municipalities of Ontario, Ottawa-area M.P.s and area school boards.

RECOMMANDATIONS DU COMITÉ

Que le Conseil approuve ce qui suit :

1. Que le maire Chiarelli, au nom du Conseil et des résidents de la Ville d’Ottawa, travaille de concert avec les gouvernements fédéral et provinciaux, afin de maintenir le programme national de garderies et l’Accord fédéral-provincial sur les garderies de l’Ontario;

a. en maintenant les engagements actuels du gouvernement fédéral (financement du Transfert canadien en matière de programmes sociaux, de l’Initiative sur le développement de la petite enfance et de l’Accord sur les cadres multilatéraux);

b. en instaurant des normes qui garantissent des programmes de développement de qualité, inclusifs et accessibles universellement, notamment la Loi canadienne sur la santé, les principes régissant les garderies devant être garantis par les lois;

c. en affectant une voie de financement désignée séparée et adéquate pour un nouveau transfert fédéral à long terme aux provinces et aux territoires; et

d. en incluant une responsabilité provinciale et territoriale, limitée à des plans quinquennaux englobant des buts et des objectifs, des calendriers et des cibles visées, et l’examen et l’évaluation au fur et à mesure de l’édification de nouveaux systèmes d’apprentissage et de garde des jeunes enfants.

2. Que la Ville d’Ottawa travaille avec les familles, les programmes de garde d’enfants et les groupes militant pour les services de garde à l’enfance, pour s’assurer que le gouvernement fédéral respecte son engagement de financement quinquennal visant l’édification d’un système national d’apprentissage et de garde des jeunes enfants à Ottawa et au Canada.

3. Que la présente motion soit transmise à l’Association des municipalités de l’Ontario, à l’Association française des municipalités de l’Ontario, aux députés de la région d’Ottawa et aux conseils scolaires de la région.

DOCUMENTATION

1. Councillor Cullen report dated 2 March 2006 (ACS2006-CCS-HRS-0004).

Report to/Rapport au :

Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee

Comité de la santé, des loisirs et des services sociaux

and Council / et au Conseil

2 March 2006 / le 2 mars 2006

Submitted by/Soumis par : Councillor Alex Cullen, Bay Ward

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Councillor Alex Cullen

(613) 580-2477, Alex.Cullen@ottawa.ca

Ref N°: ACS2006-CCS-HRS-0004

SUBJECT:	MOTION RE REQUEST TO FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS TO PRESERVE THE NATIONAL CHILD CARE PROGRAM – PROTECT HIGH QUALITY ACCESSIBLE CHILD CARE IN OTTAWA

OBJET :	MOTION CONCERNANT UNE DEMANDE AUX GOUVERNEMENTS FÉDÉRAL ET PROVINCIAUX VISANT LE MAINTIEN DU PROGRAMME NATIONAL DE GARDERIES ET LA PROTECTION DE GARDERIES ACCESSIBLES ET DE HAUTE QUALITÉ À OTTAWA

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

That Mayor Chiarelli, on behalf of Council and the residents of the City of Ottawa, work with the federal and provincial governments to preserve the national child care program and the Ontario federal-provincial child care agreement;

a. maintaining existing federal commitments (Canada Social Transfer, Early Childhood Development Initiative and Multilateral Framework Agreement funding);

c. dedicating a separate adequate designated funding stream for a new, long-term federal transfer to provinces and territories; and

That the City of Ottawa work with families, child care programs, and child care advocacy groups to ensure that the federal government fulfils its five-year funding commitment to build a national early learning and child care system in Ottawa and Canada;

That this Motion be circulated to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Association of Francophone Municipalities of Ontario, Ottawa-area M.P.s and area school boards.

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

Que le Conseil approuve ce qui suit :

c. en affectant une voie de financement désignée séparée et adéquate pour un nouveau transfert fédéral à long terme aux provinces et aux territoires; et

BACKGROUND

On 2 March 2006, Councillor Cullen advised the Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee that that he had received an emergency request from the child care community to adopt the following Motion regarding maintaining the federal-provincial agreements signed by the former government regarding child care (through which the City has already received funding):

WHEREAS the City of Ottawa will receive $$32.5 million in Best Start funding which will add 1100 new licensed child care spaces by the end of 2007; and

WHEREAS the City approved the Child Care Service Plan for 2005-2006 and the Best Start Transitional Implementation Plan and Infrastructure Plan; and

WHEREAS purchase of service within the for-profit child care will be maintained at no more than the current level; and

WHEREAS the cancellation of the federal Early Learning and Child Care program by the new Conservative government puts the City of Ottawa’s child care system and those new spaces in jeopardy; and

WHEREAS the lost funding will leave many children in the City of Ottawa without quality accessible child care; and

WHEREAS the Conservative Government’s proposed child care income support for families is a valid policy goal but is not a substitute for public investment in high quality early learning and child care programs; and

WHEREAS at less than $100.00 a month (after taxes) this comes nowhere close to covering the cost of high quality child care; further, tax credits for employers will not create sustainable, equitable child care programs; and

WHEREAS without a national child care program, there will be no choice in child care for parents;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Mayor Chiarelli, on behalf of Council and the residents of the City of Ottawa, work with the federal and provincial governments to preserve the national child care program and the Ontario federal-provincial child care agreement;

a. maintaining existing federal commitments (Canada Social Transfer, Early Childhood Development Initiative and Multilateral Framework Agreement funding);

c. dedicating a separate adequate designated funding stream for a new, long-term federal transfer to provinces and territories; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the City of Ottawa work with families, child care programs, and child care advocacy groups to ensure that the federal government fulfils its five-year funding commitment to build a national early learning and child care system in Ottawa and Canada;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT this motion be circulated to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Association of Francophone Municipalities of Ontario and to Ottawa-area M.P.s.

In light of recent announcements on this by the new federal government, the councillor requested that the committee consider the matter immediately and to forward the Motion to Council on 8 March. It was suggested that the Motion also be circulated to area school boards. The councillor accepted this amendment and the committee agreed to forward it to Council as requested.

CONSULTATION

Representatives from the child care community have been consulted and are in support of the Motion. Staff from Children’s Services, City of Ottawa are also in support of the Motion.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no financial implications associated with approval of this Motion.

DISPOSITION

The City Clerk will forward Council’s resolution as directed in the Motion.

ADDITIONAL ITEM

POINTS SUPPLÉMENTAIRES

Moved by P. Feltmate

That the Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee approve the addition of the following item for consideration by the Committee at today’s meeting, pursuant to Section 81(3) of the Procedure By-Law (being By-Law No. 2005-431).

CARRIED

MOTION RE REQUEST TO FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS TO PRESERVE THE NATIONAL CHILD CARE PROGRAM – PROTECT HIGH QUALITY ACCESSIBLE CHILD CARE IN OTTAWA

MOTION CONCERNANT UNE DEMANDE AUX GOUVERNEMENTS FÉDÉRAL ET PROVINCIAUX VISANT LE MAINTIEN DU PROGRAMME NATIONAL DE GARDERIES ET LA PROTECTION DE GARDERIES ACCESSIBLES ET DE HAUTE QUALITÉ À OTTAWA

Vice Chair Cullen advised that he had received an emergency request from the child care community to adopt a Motion regarding maintaining the federal-provincial agreements signed by the former government regarding child care (through which the City has already received funding). Councillor Feltmate agreed to put this Motion forward on his behalf. It was suggested the Motion be amended to include area school boards on the circulation. Vice Chair Cullen accepted the amendment.

Moved by P. Feltmate

WHEREAS the City of Ottawa will receive $$32.5 million in Best Start funding which will add 1100 new licensed child care spaces by the end of 2007; and

WHEREAS the City approved the Child Care Service Plan for 2005-2006 and the Best Start Transitional Implementation Plan and Infrastructure Plan; and

WHEREAS purchase of service within the for-profit child care will be maintained at no more than the current level; and

WHEREAS the cancellation of the federal Early Learning and Child Care program by the new Conservative government puts the City of Ottawa’s child care system and those new spaces in jeopardy; and

WHEREAS the lost funding will leave many children in the City of Ottawa without quality accessible child care; and

WHEREAS without a national child care program, there will be no choice in child care for parents;

a. maintaining existing federal commitments (Canada Social Transfer, Early Childhood Development Initiative and Multilateral Framework Agreement funding);

c. dedicating a separate adequate designated funding stream for a new, long-term federal transfer to provinces and territories; and

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT this motion be circulated to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Association of Francophone Municipalities of Ontario, Ottawa-area M.P.s and area school boards.

CARRIED

The committee agreed to forward the Motion to Council on 8 March.