Excerpts from the report:
In support of two federal/provincial/territorial initiatives focused on young children, the Early Childhood Development Agreement (September 2000) and the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care (March 2003), the Government of Canada provides annual cash transfers to the provinces and territories to support their investments in early childhood development and early learning and child care programs and services.
The objectives of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Agreement are to help Canada's children reach their potential and to help families support their young children in strong communities by improving and expanding programs and services. The Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care builds on that agreement to promote early childhood development and support the participation of parents in employment or training by improving access to affordable, quality early learning and child care programs and services.
All governments participating in these two initiatives have committed to report publicly on their investments for Canada's children under 6 and their families. Regular reporting allows Canadians to monitor progress in improving and expanding programs and services for young children and their families.
The two reports in this publication deliver on the Government of Canada's commitment to report to Canadians on federal activities and expenditures related to early childhood development (Section I) and early learning and child care (Section II) for 2004&em;2005 and 2005&em;2006. The activities and expenditures reported are for children living in Canada; they do not include activities and expenditures resulting from transfers to provincial and territorial governments or federal investments in international programs and aid to help young children and their families in other countries.