Child care is a significant component in the lives of many Canadian children families. The federal document, Improving Social Security in Canada, recognizes that "child care is a priority for the reform of social security programs." It says that "with the majority of parents with young children both engaged in paid work outside the home, child care becomes a crucial factor in employment." Canada's global competitiveness is dependent upon an adaptable and productive workforce. Child care enables parents to fully participate in the labour market. It is a key social service for alleviating dependence on social assistance. Child care is also a growing sector of our economy, providing skilled jobs for the Canadians who provide non-parental care.

Child care, however, must be considered beyond the labour market context. A report by the Conference Board of Canada says that "it is not only employers and employees who suffer the negative effects of inadequate access to quality child care;" ⁴ children need access to child care environments that support them in reaching their full developmental potential. This is not a new concept. The federal government states in Improving Social Security in Canada that "Canada's historically strong commitment to education and learning has been a vital source of our enormous economic success."

The government's supplementary paper, Child Care and Development, notes that child care programs can "provide environments for children to develop the security of social, physical, emotional and cognitive competence and develop in children the foundation of life-long learning."

Child care has been be recognized as an integral component in meeting the Government of Canada's objectives around working, learning and security. However, we should heed the caution of Donna Lero, director of the Canadian National Child Care Study: when child care is approached simply as labour market strategy, "the needs of children for stable and stimulating care fall out as an afterthought..." Children must be central to the discussion.

To meet the needs of children, families, communities and society, the delivery of child care services in Canada must be based on four principles: quality, accountability, availability and accessibility, and affordability. As we work towards the development of a comprehensive child care system, these principles must guide us.

In the child care system that we envision:

	Care would be provided in a variety of settings in which adults create developmentally appropriate, child-centred environments.
	These environments would acknowledge and enhance the process of growth in children, supporting each child's optimal emotional, social, spiritual, intellectual and physical development.
	Child care services would reflect current Canadian research and knowledge. They would promote inclusivity, diversity and parental involvement.
	Providing child care would be recognized as a profession and compensation would reflect the responsibility involved.
	Child care providers would be supported within an infrastructure of organizations that would promote professional development, research and information sharing
	Child care fees would be based on parental income levels, so that cost would not be a barrier to participation.
	A comprehensive range of quality child care services would be available to meet the diverse needs of children and families.
	These services would be delivered within the larger context of family policies and would harmonize work and family responsibilities.
	The system would acknowledge parents' needs, work patterns, culture, as well as the specific needs of communities.
	Comprehensive child care would include full-time, part-time, seasonal and short-term care in child care centres, family home care, in-home care, nursery schools and resource programs
	This child care system would be stable and well sustained.

Child care is not unlike health care, where the work of the individual service provider is key to the quality of the care. The child care provider's interaction with the child is the single most important factor in quality care. Training and professional development, which enhance the interaction between care providers and children, are very important.

Consumers expect that health care services will be of high quality and based on current knowledge and research. They expect that these services will be accessible and accountable. However, those who provide health services, unlike child care providers, do so within a supportive structure that encompasses policies, institutions, resource and information networks. In the child care system that we are now developing, we must not envision less.

The first six years of life lay the foundation for acquiring social skills and competence in communication, reading, mathematics and reasoning. These skills are essential for success in school and for later labour force participation. They are also important for the development of self-confidence and self-management. If the basic competencies are not achieved during these early years, it is very difficult for the child to achieve full competency at a later age. ⁶

For all children in child care, a "quality" environment during these early years is very important. Many children enter child care before they are one year old and spend more waking hours in the child care setting than in their own home. Research has shown "that high-quality child care programs have positive effects on the development of young children.... Researchers have concluded that good early childhood programs not only improve the lives of the children and families involved, but also result in substantial economic benefits for society." ⁷

Conversely, a child care setting lacking social, language and other stimulation will likely have a negative impact on child development. Research indicates that children who receive child care that provides for basic health and safety, but not the components to stimulate development, have more behaviour problems in elementary school than children who have been in programs that meet some of the desired standards of practice. ⁸ They are less accepted by other children ⁹ and have poorer academic progress relative to their apparent ability. ¹⁰ Research on before-and after-school child care for older children indicates that this type of program also influences development.

It is critical that we provide quality child care environments that enhance socialization, cognitive skills and the overall development of all children.

In 1993, 63.4 percent of all women with children under six were in the paid labour force. There were over two million children under 13 years of age who required care outside the home while their parents worked or studied. Nearly one million of these children were under six years of age.

While we know that regulated spaces serve only a small percentage of these children, simply increasing the number of regulated spaces is not the answer. ^* Vacancies currently exist in the regulated system because it is too expensive. The Canadian National Child Care Study found that 55 percent of pre-school children whose parents preferred regulated child care did not receive it, primarily because it was unavailable or unaffordable. In some urban centres, child care can cost over $1,000 a month. The average monthly rate for regulated care ranges from $300 to $615, depending on the age of the child and the province or territory of residence. Waiting lists for subsidized care are long.

Even if there were sufficient affordable, accessible and regulated child care spaces, existing regulations do not necessarily assure quality. Licensing requirements vary widely across Canada, with most set at a minimal level. Generally, licensing requirements do not address child development issues, such as physical, social, language and thinking skills. Further, the majority of children are in informal, unlicensed child care arrangements and their parents and care providers are unsupported in assuring the quality of that care.

"When you heal a child you heal a family. When you heal a family you heal a community. When you heal a community you heal a nation." - Ovide Mercredi, Our Traditions, Our Children, Our Future, 1993

The "system" of child care across the country is tenuous at best. The development of child care services has generally been ad hoc because of the lack of funding and coordination. Many areas and populations are under-serviced. Many needed programs are non-existent or under-resourced. In some provinces, recent government cutbacks have resulted in child care programs struggling for viability. While the child care system across Canada may be described as patchwork, in First Nations communities it is practically non-existent. There are only an estimated 80 child care programs for approximately 1,000 reserves. Efforts to improve on-reserve child care services have been hampered by on-going jurisdictional problems between federal and provincial governments.

For the First Nations, child care is seen as an essential component in breaking the cycle of despair that is reinforced by high unemployment, inadequate housing, poverty and abuse. It is clear that the child care needs of aboriginal Canadians require special attention.

"We need principles and policies that are clear about the right of all children, regardless of level or type of disability, to participate in all child care programs -- principles that are clear about the benefits of inclusion to everybody, to the majority as well as the minority - about the value of diversity." - Sharon Hope Irwin

"We're talking about a national framework for child care, but the delivery of that can be community based. We can set standards and resource criteria, and hopefully do that in cooperation with the provinces and jointly deliver it through a community based system... It has to based on a national framework." - Minister Axworthy, April 1994, National Forum on guiding principles for quality child care in Canada There is an urgent need to develop a national strategy for child care. That strategy should reflect the vision of a comprehensive, quality child care system that would be accountable, available, accessible and affordable. The Canadian Child Care Federation recognizes the current constraints on government spending and acknowledges the necessity of incrementally developing this comprehensive system. It is vital, however, that our approach be thoughtfully considered so that in the end, we have a system that truly meets the needs of children, families and society.

Over the next three years the priority should be to stabilize the current "system" by ensuring its quality. Then we should expand the system based on a foundation of quality.

The Canadian Child Care Federation calls upon the federal government to take leadership and work with governments and child care organizations to develop a federal legislative and policy framework to accomplish this goal.

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