Edmonton Social Planning Council

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  • fACT Sheet: Who is Responsible for Early Learning and Care?

    fACT Sheet: Who is Responsible for Early Learning and Care?

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    Introduction

    Early learning and care refers to the environments where young children who have not yet entered kindergarten spend a portion of their day under the supervision of adults other than their parents. Sometimes called daycare or child care, early learning and care includes licensed child care centres, early education programs, preschools, and family day homes.

    Early learning and care is seen as a necessity by some and a privilege by others. The federal government envisions a “system” of early learning and care that is high quality, affordable, accessible, inclusive, and flexible. The government intends to increase its financial support toward child care and to negotiate with the provincial and territorial governments on what a system of child care might look like for each.

    But who is responsible for actually building such a system?

    Who is Currently Responsible for Early Learning and Care?

    At present, the responsibility for early learning and care in Alberta is distributed across different authorities.

    • Local school boards provide early years programming, funded by Alberta Education, for some of the children who need preventive support to prepare for school entry.
    • Local non-profit organizations and for-profit businesses manage child care centres, preschools, and family day homes.
    • Alberta Children’s Services regulates child care centres, preschools, and family day homes. It also provides grants to programs and subsidies to low-income families.
    • The federal government provides funding for some preschools (e.g., Indigenous Head Start) and is committed to building a national system of early learning and child care. It has begun to distribute funds to some provinces and territories for this purpose.
    • City governments control land use and planning within the municipality.

    Unfortunately, these different levels of government and community typically do not work together in a coordinated way. The result is delivery of local child care programs and services that is highly fragmented, with some children and families left behind. For many in Edmonton, early learning and care can be difficult to access, largely unaffordable, and uneven in quality. 

    • The availability of child care spaces is constrained in Edmonton, especially depending on which area of the city a family lives. It is estimated that there are only enough full-day licensed early learning and care spaces for about 37% of Edmonton children under 5 years of age.
    • The affordability of child care is a substantial concern for many Edmonton families, with median monthly child care fees at $1,050 for infants, $950 for toddlers, and $925 for preschool-aged children in 2020. An Edmonton family with one infant and one toddler earning the median after-tax family annual income of $99,500 spends about 20% of that income on child care alone.
    • The quality of early learning and care varies widely across Edmonton. Depending on the specific child care program or service accessed, there can be a range of staff qualifications, child-to-staff ratios, group sizes, indoor and outdoor environments, and use of a curriculum framework.

    The present situation for early learning and care in Edmonton is a patchwork of programs and services that is insufficient. What is needed is a coordinated system to meet the current and future needs of Edmonton’s growing population and diverse communities.

    An integrated system of high-quality, affordable, accessible, inclusive, and flexible early learning and care would support many children and families, contribute to economic and social recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and help to address some critical societal priorities.

    What Can the City of Edmonton Do?

    The City of Edmonton has identified early learning and care as an economic and social priority.

    • Affordable and quality child care is one of EndPovertyEdmonton’s six game changers that must be addressed if poverty is to be eliminated from Edmonton in a generation.
    • Enabling accessible child care facilities in a variety of locations throughout the city is a policy priority in the Edmonton City Plan.
    • Promoting affordable, accessible, high-quality, and inclusive early learning and child care is part of the Edmonton Economic Action Plan.

    Municipal governments are in a unique position to ensure that coordinated local planning and management of the early learning and care system is translated into programs and services that are responsive to the needs of children, families, and communities. The City of Edmonton can become a municipal leader in Alberta in support of early learning and care by implementing specific actions recommended by the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care.

    A municipal policy and strategy for early learning and care would represent a strong made-in-Edmonton approach to child care in the city. This policy could include various components to target some of the most pressing issues, grow the partnerships needed, and focus on strengthening capacities. The initial strategy could address issues and capitalize on opportunities through city planning, zoning, neighbourhood development, demonstration centres, and grant programs. Municipal advocacy to the provincial and federal governments could be important to begin the process of building an integrated early learning and care system.

    What Can Local School Boards Do?

    Local school boards in Alberta have some authority over decisions regarding the early education of children, as delegated to them by the provincial government’s Ministry of Education.

    School boards are well-positioned to be an integral part of the development, support, and sustainability of a system of early learning and care that will benefit children and families in their journey to and through the education system. Edmonton school boards can also strengthen their role in support of early learning and care by implementing specific actions recommended by the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care.

    School boards have a vital role to play. They can provide information about distribution of and access to early learning and care within school communities and neighbourhoods. They can help address issues in finding space, co-locating services, and addressing issues in early learning and care in or around schools. They can also advocate for early learning and care to other levels of government. Local schools can form partnerships with child care centres in the school attendance area to help serve children, families, and communities.

    What Can the Provincial and Federal Governments Do?

    In Alberta, the provincial government has explicit responsibilities to provide early learning and care services for Alberta’s children and their families. However, local governments and school boards can play important roles in providing services. Needs vary widely across the province and even within cities. Therefore, the provincial government would do well to collaborate closely with regional and municipal governments, school boards, and organizations that have expertise in early learning and care and that understand local conditions and requirements. The provincial government can shift focus toward building a system of early learning and care by implementing specific actions recommended by the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care.

    Recently the federal government has offered to help fund the cost of building a system of early learning and care in each province and territory. The provincial, territorial, and federal governments must agree on how to build such a system. This agreement will have implications for how provincial and territorial governments balance affordable care with quality, accessibility, inclusion, and flexibility that exceed what is currently available. Again, collaborating with regional and municipal governments, school boards, and organizations will be invaluable as the provincial government goes about the important task of building a system of early learning and care.fACTsheet – Who is Responsible for Early Learning and Care

    Who is Responsible for Change? Everyone!

    Building an integrated system of early learning and care that is high quality, affordable, accessible, inclusive, and flexible will require partnership and action. Responsibility to children and families lies at all levels of government and community.

    Without action, the lack of coordinated planning, management, and support will continue to result in missed opportunities, inefficiencies, and duplications. Barriers related to limited space, lack of affordable options, and inadequate assessment of needs, as well as challenges to ensure quality, inclusiveness, and cultural responsiveness will persist.

    With action, these issues can be addressed. Early learning and care is crucial to economic and social development. Access to child care is essential to workforce participation for parents, particularly women with younger children. Mothers are disproportionately affected by a lack of high quality, affordable child care, and this inequity is amplified during economic downturns and this pandemic. Experiences with high quality early learning and care are important for the learning, development, and well-being of children, as well as for reducing child poverty and educational disadvantage. Child care is a critical community service with a substantial social return on investment for communities.

    Citizens can play a significant role in supporting early learning and care! Advancing a long-term, coordinated solution can begin at the local level. Edmonton’s municipal election is an opportunity to put early learning and care on the agenda. Citizens can learn more about mayoral, city councillor, and school board trustee candidate views on early learning and care, and vote in the municipal election on October 18, 2021. In preparation for the federal election on September 20, 2021, citizens can also inform themselves about the notable differences in how federal political parties have decided to support early learning and care.

    Conclusion

    Federal, provincial, and municipal governments, school boards, community organizations, early learning and care programs, and citizens must work together. An integrated early learning and care system, with programs and services that meet the needs of Edmonton’s children, families, and communities is desperately needed.

    Special thanks to Jennifer Fischer-Summers, Jeff Bisanz, and the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care for helping to put together this fACT Sheet.

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  • Blog: Child Care in Alberta Today

    Blog: Child Care in Alberta Today

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    Written by Luis Murcia, ESPC volunteer

    A reality for most parents is the need for child care—whether it is care for an infant, pre-schooler, or an older child. In Canada, both the federal and provincial governments are responsible for establishing programs to create and sustain quality child care. Therefore, every province tackles this matter in a different way. This blog post will dive into the current status of child care in Alberta by summarising recent regulations the UCP government has introduced and reviewing recent funding efforts of the provincial government.

    The Government of Alberta has made controversial decisions regarding child care regulations on several occasions in recent years. In early 2020, the government announced the termination of the Accreditation Funding Program effective April 1, 2020. This program ensured quality standards that child care providers had to pursue and provided wage top-ups for centres that met those standards. It was removed in favour of the provincial Child Care Licensing Act since, according to the Minister of Children’s Services Rebecca Schulz, “[the accreditation program] was a duplicate program over and above basic licensing.” Minister Schulz supported the removal of accreditation stating that “childcare workers can focus their time supporting kids and families, as opposed to filling out government paperwork.” However, with the removal of the accreditation program, Alberta was left with only provincial licensing (under the Child Care Licensing Act) which simply lays out minimum standards and not standards for higher quality child care and education.

    More recently, in February, 2021, the new Early Learning and Child Care Act and Regulation came into effect. The new regulations have led to many changes. Some were minor, such as changing the name of the Act and clarifying certain terms. Other changes were much larger, such as strengthening licensed home-based child care options by allowing home-based child care providers to care for up to 6 children (not including their own) and expanding the use of outdoor spaces by allowing applications for exemptions to fencing requirements. Many of these changes are likely to have positive effects—especially to streamline some aspects of the licensing process and allowing greater flexibility for the types of care that can be provided. However, critics worry that some of the changes run the risk of creating loopholes that allow facilities to hide conflicts or disputes from the public through private appeals.

    Alberta has also encountered some challenges with funding for early learning and child care (ELCC) centres. In 2017, the NDP provincial government pushed forward a pilot plan that comprised 22 child care centres offering $25-a-day child care to help many Albertan families economically. The subsidy essentially ensured that parents would not spend more than $25 per day for child care at these facilities. After its first year in operation, the government published the Evaluation of Early Learning and Child Care Centres to assess the effectiveness of the program, inform potential investment, and highlight the social impact and sustainability of ELCC centres. One of the recommendations from this report was that Children’s Services should “continue to support ELCC centres to implement the ELCC curriculum” due to the enormous positive impact the program had. In 2018 the program was expanded by the federal government, which added 100 more federally funded ELCC centres throughout the province. However, after an initial extension, the provincially funded program was discontinued by the (recently elected) UCP government on July 31, 2020, leaving many families scrambling for affordable child care in the midst of a global pandemic. The federally funded program for ELCC centres—arranged by the previous NDP government—came to an end on March 31, 2021, as the UCP worked out a new deal for child care subsidies.

    A renewal of the Canada–Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Agreement was signed in July 2021. The agreement provides “over $290 million in [federal] funding over 4 years” and is considered by the UCP as an integral step in “provincial and federal governments coming together to negotiate a longer-term strategy”. However, as of August 2021, the governments have not signed a deal for a new federal program, which aims to reduce the cost of child care by half before next year and further reduce child care fees to an average of $10-a-day by 2026. The NDP Opposition argued that for every day this agreement is delayed, Albertans lose about $800 a month in savings per child.

    The UCP claims that they are victims of “dishonest, bad-faith negotiating” after the federal government approved a subsidy agreement with Quebec but rejected an Albertan proposal that had similar arrangements. Ottawa argues that Alberta is not willing to meet federal funding standards for ELCC centres, specifically regarding the requirement to support non-profit facilities. To compare: Quebec currently runs a program that provides affordable child care outside of the federal arrangement with fixed fees at $8.25/day, whereas Alberta has a large disparity between facilities, with for-profit centre fees exceeding not-for-profit fees by up to 85%. The federal government is requesting increased support of not-for-profit facilities, among other conditions, and has yet to come to an arrangement with the Alberta government. Regardless, now that the election writs have dropped, Albertans must wait until late September for any conclusion on the matter.

    Figure 1 – Source: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Child Care Fees in Canada 2019

    For more information on this topic:

    Thank you to members of the Edmonton Council for Early Learning & Care for their contributions to the development of this post. Stay tuned for the next post in this series, focusing on child care in a municipal context.

    About the volunteer

    Luis Murcia’s goal and passion is the pursuit of knowledge for the betterment of society. In 2013, he came to the University of Alberta from El Salvador and graduated with a BA in psychology and a minor in philosophy. He is striving to develop into a person that can help others become their best self.

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  • Executive Director Susan Morrissey’s Presentation to Edmonton City Council on the State of Immigration and Settlement’s Annual Report

    Executive Director Susan Morrissey’s Presentation to Edmonton City Council on the State of Immigration and Settlement’s Annual Report

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    On August 25, 2021, our Executive Director Susan Morrissey had the opportunity to present to Edmonton City Council’s Community and Public Services Committee to speak about the State of Immigration and Settlement’s 2021 Annual Report, which is titled Belonging: Stories of the Dignity and Resilience of Immigrants.

    Susan spoke about the importance of rigorous data collection in order to inform better decision-making.

    You can watch her presentation on City Council’s YouTube channel. Her remarks begin at the 40-minute mark.

    The written text of her speech can also be read below.

    “Thank you for the opportunity to speak today on the State of Immigration and Settlement report. 

    I am honoured to be a member of the Advisory Committee working on this project which started in 2019.

    I am also the Executive Director of the Edmonton Social Planning Council which is a social research and analysis organization with over 80 years of deep roots in Edmonton.

    EPSC’s role is to encourage the adoption of equitable social policy, support the work of other organizations striving to improve people’s lives in our community and educate the public about social issues that impact us all.

    I have decided to deviate from discussing data as it relates to the many systemic issues that create barriers to newcomers in our community. The report does a great job in using stories of how some individuals and families are not being afforded the same opportunities for a good life.

    On a personal level, my grandparents immigrated to Canada in the early 1890s from their homeland of the Ukraine. With the promise of a better life, through hard work they set out to build their home, literally, work their farmland, and eventually raise their nine children. 

    Times were very tough, and they built their home from scratch with neighbours helping neighbours.

    Fast forward to the present. The newcomers we see coming to our community often out of choice, but not always are coming for the same reasons – the aspiration of a better life for themselves and their families. Our report describes the roadblocks and obstacles that stand in their way of being fully valued, actively contributing members of our community: of feeling a sense of belonging. 

    Collecting and using accurately representative race-based data will lead us to better decision making and effective priorities and policies. We see a role for the City of Edmonton to champion and support the collection and sharing of both quantitative and qualitative local data in partnership with the immigrant community.

    I understand that the City has announced the end to our local census, last one taking place in 2019. I find this very troubling news because using national census data does not allow for a real-time snapshot of our local community, of our growing newcomer community.

    The Edmonton Social Planning Council has made it a priority to look at new approaches to address the gap of understanding when it comes to data especially as it relates to newcomers. Through recent blog posts, our quarterly newsletter that focused an entire edition to Race and Equity, and a special report entitled Confronting Racism with Data: Why Canada Needs Disaggregated Race-Based Data, we are working to reinforce the message that accurate race-based data needs to be collected to make informed policy.

    To quote a paragraph from our report:

    ‘History has shown that race-based data can be used to uphold racist systems and discriminatory practices; but data can also help to dismantle them. Currently, race-based data is collected in only a few key systems, and data collection strategies are woefully inadequate for current needs (in areas such as health, justice, and education). The limited data that is available does not provide adequate evidence to support targeted policy change and intervention. Race-based data is crucial to develop effective anti-racism frameworks, and to understand the diverse, intersectional, needs of racialized communities in Canada.’

    I commend the City of Edmonton for having the foresight to direct City Administration to provide an annual report on Settlements and Immigration. I respectfully encourage the committee to receive this report and presentation as the starting point to set in motion the policies, procedures, and practices to “open doors and create possibilities for people… to help them to realize their potential.”

    I believe it is in everyone’s best interest to find ways to work with the immigrant community so that everyone thrives.”

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  • Vital Topic: Small Business & Employment in Edmonton

    Vital Topic: Small Business & Employment in Edmonton

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    Edmonton Vital Signs is an annual checkup conducted by Edmonton Community Foundation, in partnership with Edmonton Social Planning Council, to measure how the community is doing. Vital Topics are a quick but comprehensive look at issues that are timely and important to Edmonton.

    For this edition, we take a look at small businesses and employment in Edmonton. This includes information and data related to small business ownership and employment, other employment opportunities, types of businesses, and the impact of the pandemic on businesses in the city.

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    Click on image to view online.

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  • fACT Sheet: What Are the Benefits of Early Learning and Care?

    fACT Sheet: What Are the Benefits of Early Learning and Care?

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    Introduction

    Early learning and care refers to the environments where young children who have not yet entered kindergarten spend a portion of their day without their parents. Also known as daycare or child care, early learning and care includes licensed child care centres, early education programs, preschools, and family day homes.

    Early learning and care is seen as a necessity by some and a privilege by others. The federal government envisions a “system” of early learning and care that is high quality, affordable, accessible, inclusive, and flexible. The government intends to increase its financial support toward child care and to negotiate with provincial governments and territories on what a system of child care might look like for each. So far, eight provinces and territories have reached agreements with the federal government. Alberta is not yet among them.

    But what, specifically, are the benefits of high quality early learning and care for young children, families, and society?

    Are There Benefits for Children?

    Studies show that centre-based, high quality early learning and care can have positive effects on children’s cognitive, emotional, and social development. In some cases, the impacts are long-term and far-reaching. In one well-controlled study, for example, at-risk children in a high quality preschool program showed a variety of long-term advantages over a comparison group, including better educational achievement, better behaviour in school, better employment opportunities as adults, and less involvement with the legal system. Some of these effects remained at 40 years of age! Not all outcomes are consistent across studies though, which we might expect when we consider that early learning and care programs vary widely in the children they serve and the approaches they use. Nevertheless, findings are generally positive. At-risk children tend to show greater gains than other children, but in many studies all categories of children show gains. Moreover, children typically experience greater benefits when they are in high quality programs; for example, programs with well-qualified early childhood educators and lower child-to-staff ratios have greater positive impacts.

    Are there benefits for children? Yes, children can benefit from early learning and care. If Albertans want as many children to benefit as possible, then early learning and care programs must be high quality.

    Are There Benefits for Families?

    Early learning and care has positive effects on families. For parents, especially mothers of young children, early learning and care allows parents to engage more fully in the workforce. Studies have found that the availability of quality, affordable early learning and care can lead to increases in women’s employment and income. For example, researchers cite increased participation of women in the labour force as one of the main achievements of Quebec’s system of early learning and care. Improving access to early learning and care can also lead to a reduction in social and economic equity gaps. Child care remains a barrier to paid work and the income it provides, which disproportionately impacts lower-income families and particularly lone parents. Affordable quality child care is a game changer for reducing and eliminating poverty, in part because it provides marginalized families with greater access to employment and educational opportunities.

    Early learning and care also impacts quality of life for families. Many parents, in particular those with precarious jobs and incomes, experience intense pressure because they lack child care. Without access to suitable child care, parents face challenges maintaining meaningful employment, workplace productivity, financial stability, and overall wellness. In addition, high quality early learning and care that meets the needs of families can lead to reduced parental stress.

    Are there benefits for families? Yes, families can benefit from early learning and care. If Albertans want as many families as possible to benefit, early learning and care must be available and affordable for all who want it.

    Are There Benefits for Society?

    If high quality early learning and care is good for children and for families, then it is bound to be good for communities and society. Nevertheless, high quality early learning and care costs money. Can Albertans afford it?

    Most analyses of the economic effects of early learning and care show that the benefits—short term and long-term—outweigh costs. The Conference Board of Canada has estimated a return of $1.67 to $5.83 for every dollar invested in a system of early learning and care. According to another economic study, Quebec’s low-cost, universally available system of early learning and care more than pays for itself, mostly as a result of women’s increased participation in the workforce and, therefore, higher taxes paid to governments. The Centre for the Future of Work estimates benefits of approximately $17 billion to $29 billion per year in 10 years from implementing a universal system of early learning and care across the country. These benefits would come from expanded economic activity and tax revenues—the estimate does not include the long-term benefits to children who receive high quality early learning and care.

    Are there benefits for society? Not only is early learning and care the smart thing to do for young children and their families, it is the smart thing to do for the economy!

    Who Benefits?

    What would a system of early learning and care that is high in quality, affordable, accessible, inclusive, and flexible mean for Edmontonians? It would mean everything to:

    • The young family that is trying to save money for a mortgage but cannot afford to do so as long as they have to pay for child care that costs as much as university tuition.
    • The single father who wants to upgrade his skills but has no good way to provide care for his child while attending classes.
    • The young immigrant family that struggles to make ends meet because the cost of barely adequate housing consumes more than half their income.
    • The single mother who needs to return to school so that she has options other than income support.
    • The child with physical disabilities who is turned away by most child care centres because there isn’t the capacity to accommodate their disabilities.
    • Children in all areas of the city who would benefit from access to learning environments with well-prepared, well-supported early childhood educators who have the necessary expertise to nurture the development of personal, social, and cognitive skills in young children.

    The benefits for individual children and parents can lead to economic benefits for communities and economy.

    The current system in Alberta is far from generating these benefits. The current approach does not differ much from what was in place decades ago. There is little support for working parents, especially single parents, beyond an inefficient subsidy system. There has been limited effort to ensure high quality care and little attention paid to children and families who fall through the cracks. Few supports are sent directly to centres that are high quality and affordable, and early childhood educators (mostly women)—who do the important and challenging work of providing care—continue to earn low wages. The world has changed; support for early learning and care has not kept pace.

    Just as many children need high quality child care, Alberta needs a high quality system of early learning and care to realize potential benefits. The federal government is offering the financial support necessary for such a system. It’s up to Alberta’s policy-makers to design it in a way that ensures the high quality necessary to help our children, families, and society thrive.

    The current approach does not differ much from what was in place decades ago. There has been limited effort to ensure high quality care and little attention paid to children and families who fall through the cracks.

     

    Special thanks to Jeff Bisanz, Jennifer Fischer-Summers, and the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care for helping to put together this fACT Sheet.

    References

    Alexander, C., Beckman, K., Macdonald, A., Renner, C., & Stewart, M. (2017). Ready for life: A socio-economic analysis of early childhood education and care. Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada. https://www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/abstract.aspx?did=9231

    Beach, J. (2021). An examination of regulatory and other measures to support quality early learning and care in Alberta. Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care and the Muttart Foundation. https://www.ecelc.ca/publications-archive/examination-of-regulatory-and-other-measures?rq=Beach

    Breitkreuz, R., Collins, D., Cook, K., and Gokiert, R. (2013). Child care policy and the experiences of employed Albertan families with pre-school children: Final Report. https://policywise.com/wp-content/uploads/resources/2016/07/11SGBreitkreuzFinalReportFebruary2013pdf.pdf

    Camilli, G., Vargas, S., Ryan, S., & Barnett, W. S. (2011). Meta-analysis of the effects of early education interventions on cognitive and social development. Teacher College Record, 112(3), 579-620.

    Deloitte. (2021).  Early learning and care as key economic infrastructure. http://mwmccain.ca/reports/2021/03/26/early-learning-and-childcare-key-economic-infrastructure/

    EndPovertyEdmonton. Affordable and quality child care. https://www.endpovertyedmonton.ca/affordable-quality-child-care

    Fortin, P. (2015).  A child care win-win: Quebec’s low-fee child care programme. In Shaker, E. Our Schools/Our Selves: Summer 2015 – Moving beyond baby steps: Building a child care plan for today’s families. https://www.policyalternatives.ca/our-schoolsour-selves-summer-2015

    Fortin, P. (2018).  Québec’s childcare program at 20.  Inroads: The Canadian Journal of Opinion, 42, 52-64.  Retrieved from http://inroadsjournal.ca/quebecs-childcare-program-20-2/

    Lafontaine-Émond, I. (2021).  Early childhood education and care in Canada. Library of Parliament, Publication No. 2021-07-E. https://lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebsite/default/en_CA/ResearchPublications/202107E

    Lesoway, M. (2021). Regulations can support quality early learning and care. Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care. https://www.ecelc.ca/publications-archive/quality-and-legislation?rq=Beach

    Malik, R. (2018). The effects of universal preschool in Washington, D.C.: Children’s learning and mothers’ earnings. Centre for American Progress. https://cdn.americanprogress.org/content/uploads/2018/09/14125635/Children-Learning-Mothers-Earning-report.pdf

    Manning, M., Garvis, S., Fleming, C., & Wong, T. W. G. 2017). The relationship between teacher qualification and the quality of the early childhood care and learning environment. Campbell Systematic Reviews. DOI: 10.4073/csr.2017.1[1]

    OECD. (2018). How does access to early childhood education services affect the participation of women in the labour market?, Education Indicators in Focus, No. 59, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/232211ca-en

    Schweinhart, L. J. (2013).  Long-term follow-up of a preschool experiment.  Journal of Experimental Criminology, 9, 389–409.  doi: 10.1007/s11292-013-9190-3

    Stanford, J. (2020). The role of early learning and child care in rebuilding Canada’s economy after COVID-19. The Centre for the Future of Work. https://centreforfuturework.ca/2020/11/25/child-care-expansion-would-boost-economic-recovery-study-finds/

    van Huizen, T., & Plantenga, J. (2018). Do children benefit from universal early childhood education and care? A meta-analysis of evidence from natural experiments. Economics of Education Review, 66, 206-222.

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  • Blog: Anti-Asian Hate: One Year After the Pandemic

    Blog: Anti-Asian Hate: One Year After the Pandemic

    [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.7.0″ custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” border_width_bottom=”1px” border_color_bottom=”#a6c942″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_post_title meta=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”||||||||” custom_margin=”||3px|||” border_color_bottom=”#a6c942″ global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_post_title][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https://edmontonsocialplanning.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/COLOUR-BLOCKS_spaced-300×51.png” title_text=”COLOUR BLOCKS_spaced” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”100%” max_height=”75px” custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” custom_padding=”10px|0px|20px|0px|false|false” global_module=”96648″ global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ make_equal=”on” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width=”100%” custom_margin=”0px|auto|0px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”30px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.5.6″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.5″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|||||||” text_text_color=”#2b303a” custom_padding=”||32px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9kYXRlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJkYXRlX2Zvcm1hdCI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJjdXN0b21fZGF0ZV9mb3JtYXQiOiIifX0=@[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.11″ text_text_color=”#2b303a” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_2_text_color=”#008ac1″ header_2_font_size=”24px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”justified” width=”100%” module_alignment=”left” custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” custom_padding=”25px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

    Written by Jayme Wong, ESPC volunteer

    In July 2021, The Learning Network, a Canadian group that develops resources for ending gender-based violence, published an article called Examining the Intersections of Anti-Asian Racism and Gender-Based Violence in Canada. At the article’s outset is a startling statistic: “More than 1000 cases of anti-Asian racism have been reported by community organizations in Canada, in which Asian women made up close to 60% of reported victims. Canada is now reported to have more anti-Asian racism reports per capita than the United States” (p. 1). The rise of racism and xenophobia — specifically against people of Asian descent — has been on the rise in North America since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

    In Edmonton, the number of police-reported hate crimes rose from 73 in 2019 to 79 in 2020

    Source: Statistics Canada

     These hate-fueled incidents have prompted the formation of activist groups in Canada and the United States, such as Stop Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) Hate. The coalition formed on March 19, 2020 in order to track and respond “to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.” Stop AAPI Hate was influenced by the anti-Asian-violence rallies held in protest of the increasing anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States, as well as the Atlanta spa shootings, which tragically claimed the lives of six Asian American women.

    Earlier this year, Stop AAPI Hate published a national report detailing the racially-motivated hate crimes that were reported to their organization from March 2020 to February 2021. Notable findings included women reporting hate incidents 2.3 times as often as men and people of Chinese descent reporting the most hate incidents.

    The Stop AAPI Hate report showed 42.2% of a total 3,795 reports were submitted by ethnically Chinese people.

    Source: Stop AAPI Hate National Report

    Reports of similar race-based violence have appeared in Canada. On June 7, 2021, a Muslim family of four was killed in a racially-motivated attack in London, Ontario. Less than a month later, on July 15, 2021, a mosque in Cambridge, Ontario was vandalized in another deliberate act of hate. These incidents are not isolated — Asian Canadians are experiencing hate everywhere. Between 2020–2021, Vancouver alone reported a 17% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.  

    The numbers illustrate a frightening reality. For newcomers who have just arrived in the country, it means feeling unwelcome and unsafe in a place that promotes multiculturalism and diversity. For Asian Canadians whose families have been in Canada for years, it means cultural isolation and marginalization from the place that they consider home. For others, it means a chasm of distrust and misunderstanding between neighbours, exacerbated by the pandemic and an increasingly dangerous “us vs. them” rhetoric. The issue affects all Canadians on a societal and cultural level.

    Solutions for ending racism in Canada have not been developed as quickly or efficiently as the COVID-19 vaccine. The Learning Network offers suggestions for individuals, communities, and governments to end racialized and gender-based violence against Asians in Canada. Some of their ideas include:

    • Standing with Asian women when they say they are fetishized or harmed;
    • Educating oneself on the historical and ongoing discrimination against Asian individuals and communities in Canada and how this fuels gender-based violence against Asian women;
    • Supporting interracial solidarity efforts to dismantle white supremacy, structural racism, bigotry, and xenophobia;
    • Applying a racial equity lens and/or racial equity impact analysis to workplace policies, procedures, and practices to ensure inclusion and safety;
    • Ensuring that anti-Asian racism is named and addressed explicitly in anti-racism strategies at municipal, provincial, and federal levels; and
    • Building an institutional support system to dismantle systemic racism substantially.

    While these suggestions are a good start, it will take much more to undo the harmful impact that racism and violence has had on Asian Canadians, especially throughout the pandemic.

    Racism is not a radical concept. Anti-Asian racism is not new in Canada. In fact, Chinese immigrants were banned from coming to Canada until 1947 — many people probably have living relatives who remember this time of government-promoted xenophobia. Race-based violence is deeply embedded into societal practices and institutional policies. Issues are only rising to the surface because of the boiling point catalyzed by COVID-19. Canadians must reconsider the racial attitudes and biases that they carried into the pandemic and treat them as seriously and effectively as they did their COVID symptoms.

    About the volunteer:

    Jayme Wong graduated from the University of Lethbridge in 2014 with a BA in English and Philosophy, and more recently graduated from the University of Alberta in 2020 with an MA in English and Film Studies. She currently works at a local non-profit, the Learning Centre Literacy Association.

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