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Canadian experts are calling on the government to act quickly to improve the state of early childhood education, saying there is no more effective and efficient investment that can be made to bolster Canadian prosperity after Canada was cited in a recent report as spending far less than other developed countries.
"The best single investment Canada can make for social justice and the optimal development of our children is to get them off to a good early start by building a high quality, evidence?based early child development system," Margaret McCain of the Toronto-based Council for Early Child Development told a Senate committee last week.
"The payoff comes in later life for adults who are healthier, have better life skills and life?long learning capacities, and are able to lead a better quality of life overall," she said. "The payoff is economic prosperity, built upon a base of strong human capital."
The Senate committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology began its study last week on early childhood education. Senators said this was initiated partly in response to a report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that found Canada's early childhood education programs lagging.
The 2006 OECD report, entitled Starting Strong II, found Canada spending less on early childhood education and care than its European counterparts, and lacking in national co-ordination.
The study placed Canada last among 14 nations, with total expenditures around 0.25 per cent of GDP on education for 0-6-year-olds. This is far behind Nordic countries like countries like Norway, Denmark and Sweden, who all spent over 1.5 per cent of GDP educating the very young, with excellent results.
Among other recommendations, the report suggests Canada substantially increase public funding of services for young children and fund a universal early childhood services for children between one and six years old.
Dr. Fraser Mustard, the founder of the Council for Early Child Development, is an internationally respected expert on early childhood education, and has helped countries such as China and Australia improve national and regional programs.
He told the committee that new breakthroughs in developmental neuroscience have made it clearer than ever that early education is a key determinant of a person's future.
Dr. Mustard said new studies have found critical developmental periods in the lives of children, if missed, cannot be made up for later in life.
"Once a child falls behind, he or she is likely to remain behind," he told the committee.
Besides lower educational achievement, he said, poor early education raises the likelihood of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, autism, anti?social depression and long?run unemployment.
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The way the brain learns to function, Dr. Mustard added, is similar to the way people learn sports.
"If you learn to ski when you're three, you're a better skier than if you learn to ski at 30," he said.
Ms. McCain called on the government to act quickly to improve early childhood education.
"In the past 15 years, a significant body of knowledge and understanding has been generated about the significance of early child development, but there is still, in Canada, a deficit of action," she said.
"The well?being of children is so critical it warrants the commitment of governments, institutions, service providers and, the number one driver, the general public," she added. "Our future and our national prosperity depend on it."
Senators, both Liberals and Conservatives, welcomed and supported the testimony. The committee will issue a report on early childhood education in the spring.
Liberal Senator Art Eggleton agreed investing in early childhood development was a good investment.
"It's a pay now or pay later situation," he said. "It's better to invest money now in early childhood development than it is to pay later trying to correct the problems that develop later in life."
Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Monte Solberg said the government is acting to improve early childhood education in Canada.
"We're absolutely putting resources into it," he told Embassy. "We provide a billion dollars per year in support of the provinces. We increased the amount by $250 million in the last budget to support the provinces when it comes to development of early childhood initiatives and space creation."
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion criticized the government's income support approach to child care provision. He attacked the $1,200 cash per year per child the government gives parents to use at their discretion.
"The government thinks that child care in the mailbox," he said.
Mr. Dion said a Liberal government would take a more institutional approach to improving national child care.
"We need strong child care facilities in Canada and we intend to be a strong partner for the provinces," he said, to create "child care of high quality all across the country."
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- reprinted from The Hill Times