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Excerpt: "Nova Scotia will develop a new provincial organization that will manage all regulated child care in the province. A provincial executive director, regional directors and centre based managers/pedagogical leaders will lead the organization and be responsible for meeting mandated objectives as determined by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD). The Province will provide the organization with an annual funding agreement to support all regulated child care centres and licensed family home child care agencies that fall under their mandate. Current regulated child care centres will transition from individual contracts with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to a new governance and infrastructure model on April 1, 2022. The organization will oversee contracts for or manage the overall delivery of provincial child care including managing child care spaces and need in community, ECE compensation and wages/benefits (labour relations), daily parent fees, and centre finances."

Excerpt: "Announced today, February 18, the additional funding will offset the 25 per cent fee reductions for parents. It also includes a one-time grant to support the freeze on parent fees. The new agreement will be offered to all child-care providers, including licensed centres that were previously unfunded or partially funded. By accepting the new agreement, centres will have access to the additional supports from the Province. The government’s total investment in the one-time grant is $1 million. The fee reductions have led to increased interest from families in child care, and the new agreement contains a commitment from operators to accept children where they can."

Excerpt: "Families will see their fees for accessing licensed, funded child care reduced by 25 per cent, on average, starting Friday, April 1. Through the Nova Scotia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, parents will save anywhere between $3 and $10.50 per day, per child, based on the child’s age."

Excerpt: "The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is forecast to be $49.6 million higher than Budget primarily due to $33.0 million for fully recoverable expenses related to the 5-year agreement with the federal government for universal childcare, $10.9 million in fully recoverable Early Childhood Workforce training initiatives, and $6.1 million in COVID-19 related expenses mainly in operating support grants to the childcare sector."

Excerpt: "Today, Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, joined Becky Druhan, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, at East Preston Day Care to announce that 1,500 new licensed child care spaces will be created across Nova Scotia by December 31, 2022. The focus will be on creating spaces in areas of the province with limited access to child care services. The ministers also noted that, as of January 1, families in Nova Scotia with children in licensed child care are benefiting from a 25% reduction in fees, and that they will receive an additional 25% reduction by the end of 2022."

Excerpt: "The Province is helping Nova Scotian families with lower incomes by increasing their Nova Scotia Child Benefit effective Friday, July 1. The benefit is a tax-free payment to eligible families to help with the cost of raising children under 18. Depending on household income and the number of children, families will now receive as much as $1,275 per child annually, at least $350 more than the previous year."

Excerpt: "Through the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-wide agreement, the province has reduced average child care fees for licensed centres that are part of the Canada-Wide and Early Learning Childcare System in Nova Scotia by 25 per cent, retroactive to January 1, 2022, representing a significant step in reaching a 50 per cent reduction in average fees by the end of 2022. The province has also recently announced that 1,500 new licensed early learning and child care spaces will be created across Nova Scotia by December 31, 2022. These spaces are part of the plan for 9,500 new licensed child care spaces expected to be created across Nova Scotia by March 31, 2026."

Excerpt: "Highlights of the announcement include: a new wage scale for Level 1, 2 and 3 early childhood educators and directors working in licensed centres and family home child-care agencies that receive funding from the Province; wage increases retroactive to July 4, 2022; the wage increases will be between 14 and 43 per cent, depending on classification level and experience; wage increases will flow through employers (licensed, funded centres and agencies); the cost is estimated at about $100 million a year, cost-shared through the Canada–Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement; the Province currently pays about $25 million a year in wages to operators and the total additional new investment is about $75.4 million."

Excerpt: "Now more than ever, Nova Scotians need a child-care system that delivers. Children deserve care that gives them the best start in life. Parents deserve care that is affordable regardless of financial means and available where they live and when they work. Nova Scotia deserves childcare that supports our workplaces and our economy. Early childhood educators (ECEs) and operators who nurture and care for our children deserve sustainable funding and support. To meet these needs, our government is transforming child care in Nova Scotia: For families: We have reduced fees to make life more affordable, with a 25 per cent reduction already in place and a further reduction on its way. By the end of this year, families will pay 50 per cent less on average than they did at the start of the year. For communities: We have announced and delivered on the opening of spaces across the province, with 1,500 new child-care spaces coming this winter and new spaces already open in communities like Oxford, Hubbards, Windsor, Lower Sackville, and Lower Onslow, Colchester County."

Excerpt: "A $76-million contribution through the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement will reduce child-care fees for Nova Scotians, effective December 31. Most families will see a decrease in fees, which follows a previous reduction in the spring. The result will be fees that are 50 per cent lower on average than in 2019 for infants, toddlers and preschoolers."

Excerpt: "The Province is investing more in the child-care system that thousands of Nova Scotia families rely on to care for their young children. Child-care operators will receive more funding for infant spaces, rising operational costs and staff wages under new annual agreements with the Province. “It’s important that young children have the best start, and Nova Scotia’s child-care operators are doing their best to provide quality care while also facing rising operating costs,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Becky Druhan. “This agreement increases funding for the year and follows the recent three per cent wage boost for early childhood educators as part of our promise made last fall for regular public sector wage increases.”"

Excerpt: "To continue to make early learning and child care accessible, affordable, and inclusive for all families, in 2023-24 EECD will: Continue to take steps to implement the Canada – Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement by developing a 2023-2026 Action Plan and outlining the approach to move toward a $10 a day on average child care by 2025-2026; Develop a space expansion strategy to inform the next stage of growth within the sector; Evaluate and expand the Quality Matters initiative, with a plan for full rollout across the sector, including family home child care and before-and-after care, by 2025-2026; Release the revised Early Learning Curriculum Framework and Educators’ Guide in English and French in fall 2023; Continue to develop and transition to a certification model for Early Childhood Educators (ECEs); Fully roll-out the Advanced Practitioners’ Program; a post-diploma certificate program to advance ECE knowledge and competence in a specialized area of practice, such as infants and toddlers, young children, outdoor play, or pedagogical leadership; Extend professional development opportunities currently being provided through EECD and support sites to family home child care providers; Launch the first in-person French-language ECE diploma program through Université Sainte Anne; Work with the sector to establish a standardized level of health benefits and retirement benefits for ECEs in 2023."