The Government of Canada and provincial and territorial governments agreed on the terms of an early childhood development framework, with an investment by the federal government of  $2.2 billion over five years, starting in 2001/02.  This significant investment is one more step being taken in the government’s overall plan to support Canadian families and their children. 

The Government of Canada has made helping children and their families a priority of its long-term commitment to a better quality of life.  Healthy children, secure families and vibrant communities are all essential in defining quality of life in Canada.

Current evidence suggests that the early years of childhood are especially vital to a child’s development and future ability to learn.   Promoting early childhood development can have long term benefits that extend throughout children’s lives.

The Government of Canada plays a major role in supporting Canadian families and their children through strong income support, Employment Insurance parental benefits, tax supports, community-based programs and research through partnerships with provincial and territorial governments.  As the most recent Government of Canada initiatives illustrate, we are committed to ensuring that our actions reflect the values of a caring society. 

Early Childhood Development 

With direction provided by such research, the Government of Canada is moving ahead to support early childhood development through its new agreement with provincial and territorial governments.  Early childhood development was identified by governments as a priority under the National Children’s Agenda.  As its contribution, the Government of Canada is making a substantial total investment of $2.2 billion in early childhood development through this initiative over five years, starting in 2001/02. Provincial and territorial governments will use this increased funding to promote healthy pregnancy, birth and infancy; improve parenting and family supports; strengthen early childhood development, learning and care; and strengthen community supports.

For Canadian families, these new investments will ultimately mean better access to services such as pre-natal classes and screening, pre-school programs and child care, and parent information and family support.

Extended Parental Benefits

Recognizing that parents have primary responsibility for the well-being of their children, the Government of Canada is also making it possible for them to spend more time at home during the critical first year of life.  Maternity and parental benefits will double from the current six months to one full year, and the leave available to adoptive parents will triple, from 10 weeks to 35 weeks.  This will give parents the choice to spend an extra six months with their children during that precious initial period following a birth or adoption.  The government will also make it easier for parents to collect benefits by working 600 hours of insurable employment, 100 hours less than the current requirement. 

More Income for Canadian Families

To provide support for all Canadian families, we made them our first priority for tax cuts.  Families with children will get tax breaks averaging 21 per cent by the time the 2000 budget measures are fully in place.

By 2004, yearly funding to families under the Canada Child Tax Benefit will have increased by $2.5 billion.  Parents will then be able to claim annual benefits of up to $2,400 for the first child and $2,200 for subsequent children—up from the current maximums of $1,805 and $1,605 respectively.  And the Canada Child Tax Benefit is now indexed to keep up with the cost of living.

The National Child Benefit is both a federal supplement paid through the Canada Child Tax Benefit and a series of provincial, territorial and First Nations reinvestments in enhanced programs and services for low-income children and families.  This initiative helps those parents who want to work but have low-paying jobs to improve their quality of life while caring for their children. 

Research

Ultimately, research helps policy makers decide which policies and programs best support children and their families.  To this end, the Government of Canada is actively engaged in a number of targeted research initiatives.  The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth is a long-term study of Canadian children that tracks their development and well-being from birth to early adulthood. The survey collects information about factors (family, friends, schools and communities) influencing a child’s physical, behavioural and learning development.  This forms the basis of a directed policy-oriented research program. 

At the community level, Understanding the Early Years is a research initiative that focuses on children under the age of six and involves teachers, parents, guardians and community agencies.  It helps communities understand how their children are doing and how best to respond to their needs.  With this information, communities can put in place specific action plans that will help their children—both before and after they enter school—to reach their full potential. 

Aboriginal Programs and Services

The Government of Canada addresses the special needs of Aboriginal children and their families through many of the initiatives described above.   The development of a longitudinal research survey of Aboriginal children is under discussion.  Federal/provincial/territorial initiatives such as the new early childhood development agreement and the National Child Benefit involve First Nations in the development and management of programs and services on reserve. 

And ongoing programs supporting Aboriginal children and their families, such as Aboriginal Head Start, are also essential to our plan. This early intervention program for young Aboriginal children and families living in urban and large northern communities directly involves parents and the community in the design and implementation of pre-school projects and includes the promotion of culture and languages, education, health, nutrition, counselling and improved social supports. 

Healthy Family Initiatives

The Government of Canada is committed to enhancing the health and well-being of Canadian families and their children through a number of programs and initiatives.

The Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) addresses the health and social development needs of children from birth to six years of age living in conditions of risk such as low-income families, teenage-parent families and children experiencing developmental delays. CAPC is now serving 70,000 parents and their children in over 300 urban, rural and remote communities across Canada. 

The Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program helps communities develop or enhance programs for pregnant women at risk by providing support, education, referrals and counselling on issues such as alcohol abuse, stress and family violence.  The program offers services to about 26,000 women at risk.

The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAS/FAE) initiative aims at preventing one of the major known preventable birth defects.  FAS occurs in about three of every 1,000 births in Canada and can cause intellectual deficits and learning disabilities that may also lead to other secondary disabilities such as early school drop out, trouble with the law and alcohol and drug abuse problems.  Prevention is achieved through increasing awareness and supporting community action.