Background

The Child Day Care Act sets the standards for child care centres in Nunavut. Minimum standards outlined in the Act include licensing and operator requirements, appeals processes, and investigations. The Act, which was inherited from the Northwest Territories, has not been updated since 1988.

New legislation is needed that reflects Nunavut’s vision of early learning and child care (ELCC) programs and services that build on Inuit land, culture and languages to ensure that the ELCC sector meets the needs of Nunavummiut.

The Government of Nunavut (GN) is developing new Nunavut-made legislation for ELCC. This legislation will focus on enhancing the quality, inclusivity, and accessibility of child care programs and services, as well as promoting the overall school readiness and well-being of children. The new legislation will be grounded in Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) and align with the Inuit Language Protection Act to promote early childhood Inuit Language development and learning.

To inform the development of this legislation, public consultations were held across the territory to engage Nunavummiut and seek input and feedback on the proposed legislation.