Trish Hennessy’s Index, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Rabble

3 million
Number of Canadian moms of children aged 12 or younger who work in the paid labour force.

75
Percentage of Canadian moms of children aged three to five who work in the paid labour force.

78.2
Percentage of children under the age of six in Canada who don’t have the option of regulated child care because there aren’t enough spaces to go around.

28
Percentage of all child-care spaces across Canada that are operated for profit. It’s the fastest growing segment of child-care provision in Canada.

0.3
Percentage of Canada’s GDP that is spent on early childhood education and child care, falling short of the one per cent of GDP both UNICEF and the OECD recommend governments devote to such programs for children under five, as a minimum.

$1,975
Monthly fee for an infant at a downtown Toronto non-profit child-care centre in November 2012 — among the highest fees in Canada.

$154
Monthly fee for a child-care space in Quebec, one of only three provinces with a low-fee policy in place. Quebec provides, by far, the lowest child-care fees in Canada.

10,848
Total number of child-care spaces for 0-12-year-olds in Saskatchewan, the province with the lowest percentage of children in regulated child care.

379,386
Total child-care spaces for children under 12 in Quebec, the province with the highest percentage of children in regulated child care.

1970
Year the Royal Commission on the Status of Women first recommended a national child-care program. Thirty-five years later, the short-lived Paul Martin Liberal government began the process to implement that recommendation. Sources: Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada. (1970). Government of Canada: Ottawa.

3
Number of hours between Stephen Harper’s first swearing-in as Prime Minister of Canada in 2006 and his cancellation of the Liberals’ nascent national child-care program.

$100
Amount of the monthly cheque Canadian families with a child under age six receive in lieu of a national child-care program. With the exception of Quebec, the cheque falls far short of average child-care fees, which are about five to 10 times higher than the value of the $100 after tax.

50
Percentage of child-care program costs that families in every province and territory outside of Quebec cover. The TD Bank says that’s the fourth highest ratio among select OECD countries, where government investments help cover costs.

$1.50 to $3
Estimated return on investment for every dollar spent on early childhood education, according to the TD Bank. It’s an even greater return for children from disadvantaged families.

* The SOURCE for each stat is listed at http://rabble.ca/columnists/2012/12/number-never-just-number-search-child-care

EXCERPT ONLY

The BC Poverty Reduction Coalition has launched a call to the Government of British Columbia for a comprehensive poverty reduction plan that includes legislated targets and timelines;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Vancouver City Council reaffirms its endorsement of the Coalition’s Call for a Poverty Reduction Plan

Join the Call

…. we call upon the province to commit to specific policy measures and concrete actions in each of the following policy areas:

1. Provide adequate and accessible income support for the non-employed, and remove policy barriers so that recipients can build and maintain assets.
2. Improve the earnings and working conditions of those in the low-wage workforce.
3. Improve food security for low-income individuals and families.
4. Address homelessness and adopt a comprehensive affordable housing and supportive housing plan.
5. Provide universal publicly-funded child care.
6. Enhanced support for training and education for low-income people.
7. Enhance community mental health and home support services, and expand integrated approaches to prevention and health promotion services.

Boost child care spending for big payoff, bank urges
Ottawa Citizen
By Matthew Pearson

OTTAWA — A new report from TD Bank urges federal and provincial governments to invest heavily in the child care sector once the economy improves, but leading advocates say children and families desperate to find spaces in quality programs now shouldn’t have to wait that long.

The report by TD’s chief economist Craig Alexander confirms what proponents of early childhood education have said for more than two decades.

Quality child care programs lead to superior cognitive and language development, as well as improved numeracy. Children who enter the school system after being in child care repeat grades less often, usually graduate on time and have a higher likelihood of attending college or university.

The effects of positive educational experiences in the early years ripple throughout a child’s life, often leading to better job prospects, higher earnings and less chance of ending up in poverty.

“The biggest bang you get for your government dollar in terms of investment is investment in education in young individuals,” Alexander said in an interview.

“The earlier you invest, the bigger the payout you get.”

But the benefits extend far beyond children.

Access to child care allows parents to return to work or upgrade their skills, while employers benefit from having workers who aren’t stressed about their children’s safety and security during the work day.

And numerous studies suggest the return on investment ranges from $1.50 to nearly $3 for every dollar spent on early childhood education. The figure grows to double digits for children from disadvantaged families.

Despite the compelling evidence, child care programs in Canada are insufficiently funded and continue to be rolled out in a piecemeal fashion.

“One of the challenges we have as a country is we view early child care almost as welfare, whereas it really should be thought of as education and development,” Alexander said.

Canada spends just one quarter of one per cent of its annual GDP on child care, putting it dead last among comparable European and English-speaking countries, the report says.

Even after factoring in family support — including child payments, parental leave benefits and child care support — public spending in Canada is 17 per cent below the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) average.

Families in every province and territory outside of Quebec cover 50 per cent of child care program costs — the fourth highest ratio among select OECD countries.

Alexander said he was “very surprised” to find out how little we spend compared to other countries.

“I generally think of Canada as having a very strong emphasis on education and skills development and I would have expected Canada, if not at the top of the pack, to at least be pretty close to the average,” he said.

In fact, Canada would have to pump $3 billion to $4 billion into the sector just to bring us up to the average of other industrialized nations, the report says.

Advocates say the time to act is now.

“We shouldn’t make a generation of children wait,” said MP Chris Charlton, the NDP’s spokeswoman on child care issues.

“It really does just take political will at the national level to make it a priority.”

The head of an Ottawa child care agency welcomed the report, but agreed governments shouldn’t wait to make much-needed investments in the sector.

“Since we know that high-quality care encourages employment, maybe it isn’t appropriate to wait. Maybe some of the challenges that we’re facing are because people can’t access high-quality care,” said Kim Hiscott, the executive director of Andrew Fleck Child Care Services.

She said the Quebec model — where parents pay $7 a day for child care — should be emulated in other parts of the country.

Even raising the fee to as high as $10 per day would allow families to make ends meet and still make it possible for agencies to pay workers a fair wage, Hiscott said.

By comparison, the daily fee for toddlers at her centres now is $70 per day….

But injecting millions into the child care sector at a time when governments across the country are under pressure to balance the books would be a hard sell, Alexander said.

“I don’t think that’s a realistic ask in the current environment.”

He hopes the report will highlight the value of investing in child care so policy-makers down the road will increase funding once their governments have the money to do so.

While numerous provinces are currently increasing investments in the early years, a national child care strategy remains notably absent….

National Campaign 2000 Report Card, 2012
This year marks 23 years since the unanimous House of Commons’ resolution to end child poverty in Canada by 2000 and three years since the unanimous House of Commons resolution “to develop an immediate plan to end poverty for all in Canada”.
http://www.campaign2000.ca/

Campaign 2000 urges Ottawa to eliminate child tax credits and use money to fight poverty
Toronto Star
November 21, 2012
Laurie Monsebraaten

Ottawa should streamline the “hodgepodge” of federal child tax credits and use the money to lift more children out of poverty, says Campaign 2000.

On the 23rd anniversary of a unanimous House of Commons pledge to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000, the national coalition is once again calling for a federal plan with goals and timelines to get the job done.

With one in seven Canadian children — including one in four in First Nations communities — still living in poverty, this year’s progress report goes after Ottawa’s “inefficient” tax system.

It takes aim at the “misnamed” Universal Child Care Benefit that provides $100-per-month for children under age 6; the “regressive” Child Tax Credit that reduces federal income taxes by about $300; and the Child Fitness Credit, worth a maximum of $75 per child.

All three should be eliminated and the resources redirected to boost the National Child Benefit to a maximum of $5,400 a year, up from the current maximum of $3,485, the coalition says.

At $5,400, a single parent with one child who is working full-time at $11 an hour would be able to escape poverty.

More broadly, it would cut Canada’s child poverty rate by 15 per cent and lift 174,000 children out of poverty.

Ottawa would only have to contribute an additional $174 million, the report says. This would drop to just $74 million, if the recently announced Child Arts Tax Credit is also redirected to the child benefit.

Since more than 90 per cent of Canadian families receive the child benefit on a sliding scale based on income, the move would allow Ottawa to use its valuable resources in a more efficient and effective way to reduce child poverty, the coalition says in its report released Wednesday. On average, those families above the median family income ($68,860) would pay more taxes or lose benefits, while those below the median would be better off.

“Right now the federal government oversees a hodgepodge of family tax credits meant to help low- and middle-income families,” said Dr. Sid Frankel, associate professor of social work at the University of Manitoba.

“Applying for these tax credits can be complicated and require upfront expenditures that low income families don’t have,” he said. “As a result, those who need the credits most go without.”….

Campaign 2000 also calls on Ottawa to invest in a national child-care system, introduce a national housing strategy, restore and expand eligibility for Employment Insurance, address employment equity for “racialized communities” and improve funding for post-secondary education.

“Child poverty impairs our long-term national interests because it leads to higher heath-care costs and spending on social support services, lost productivity and limited opportunities,” the report said.

—–

Government of Canada MIA on Child Poverty: Report
Campaign 2000/Canada Newswire
Nov 21 2012

Twenty-three years after the House of Commons unanimously voted to work together to eliminate child poverty the crisis is worse. Today, one in seven Canadian children live in poverty – one in four in First Nation’s communities – a reality that threatens our country’s future through higher healthcare costs, lost productivity and limited opportunities.

“Many of the provinces and a few municipalities have recognized the critical need to take action and have developed their own poverty reduction strategies. Thanks to their efforts we’re beginning to see some improvements in those jurisdictions,” says Rothman. “But they can’t do it alone. Without a coordinated federal action plan that sets out clear goals and provides the necessary resources the crisis of child poverty will continue.”

With the release of their annual report card entitled Needed: A Federal Action Plan to Eradicate Child and Family Poverty, Campaign 2000 sets out practical actions the Canadian government can take now that would reduce our child poverty rate by fifteen percent.

“Right now the federal government oversees a hodgepodge of family tax credits meant to help low and middle income families,” says Dr. Sid Frankel, associate professor of social work at the University of Manitoba. “Applying for these tax credits can be complicated and require up front expenditures that low income families don’t have, as a result those that need the credits most go without. The current credits also require multiple layers of administration, increasing costs for the government. If the federal government streamlined all current family and child tax credits into one, dispersed on a sliding scale based on income to a maximum of $5,400 per year, 174,000 children would be lifted out of poverty.”

The report also highlights the need for a national strategy on good jobs and affordable housing, as well as greater investment in regulated, not-for-profit childcare as critical to building a strong future for all Canadian families….