The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred critical and much needed attention to childcare services as well as to wider sets of policies that address people’s paid work and unpaid care work. This panel explores three intra-connected critical pillars of Canada’s (federal, provincial, territorial) social policy architectures; childcare services, parental leave, and employment policies. The panel examines these in the context of COVID-19 and its long-term impacts on the lives of families and parents. They draw on research and analysis, including work-in-progress, that has been taken on, partly or wholly in response to the pandemic. They also highlight key issues that need to be considered in research, advocacy and policy development as we look ahead to the policy supports that families will need in order to live equitable, flourishing, and sustainable lives.

Chair

• Andrea Doucet, Brock University

Panelists