Press release:
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario
(AMO) today welcomed the release of the report of the Early Learning and Child Care Advisor Charles Pascal.
"AMO looks forward to reviewing the report in detail and to learning more about the Province's response to the report's recommendations," said AMO President Peter Hume.
The report calls for a new provincially funded, school-based system of early learning and child care for four and five year olds. Children under four years of age would continue to be served in the municipally managed system. By removing four and five year olds from the municipal system, the existing resources in that system would be used to better serve children under four, with the hope of increasing access to child care for families with young children.
"A strong early learning and child care system supports a strong and competitive economy. This report calls on the province to make a significant investment in our children and in Ontario's future prosperity," said Hume.
The report calls municipalities, "leaders among leaders", recognizing the need for municipalities to manage and deliver the early learning and child care system for children under the age of four. It also recommends that municipalities have a key role in working with school boards and other partners in the community to develop an integrated early years and child care system for all children in Ontario.
The report contains 20 recommendations for the transformation of early learning and child care in Ontario, many with significant implications for municipalities. Understanding these implications more fully in conjunction with the province's commitment to investing needed additional resources will ultimately determine the municipal sector's support for the proposed changes.
AMO is a non-profit organization representing almost all of Ontario's 444 municipal governments. AMO supports strong and effective municipal government in Ontario and promotes the value of municipal government as a vital and essential component of Ontario and Canada's political system.
- reprinted from the CNW Group