May 1, 2024
Excerpt: "Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House to highlight our government’s efforts to improve access to early learning and child care in the province. These efforts have been recognized in a recent report by the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development, which ranks Newfoundland and Labrador fourth in the country amongst all provinces and territories when comparing governance, funding, access, the early learning environment, and accountability. Speaker, our government has been listening and responding to the needs of families, service providers, and the early learning workforce. We have implemented recruitment and retention initiatives for early childhood educators; we have provided incentives and funding to increase the number of early learning and child care spaces; and we are continuing to ensure that regulated child care is high quality, affordable and inclusive."