Overview 

The Association québécoise des centres de la petite enfance (AQCPE) and the Institut du Nouveau Monde (INM) have announced the launch of an Early Childhood Education Commission.

To ensure the Commission's neutrality, AQCPE asked l'Institut du Nouveau Monde (INM)—an NPO supporting citizen participation in democratic governance—to oversee Commission operations and provide it with office space.

"Through this process, we shall seek the widest possible range of views on subjects under consideration, along with participation by the public, specialists and groups of all backgrounds," said INM Director Michel Venne. "We will assist commission members in applying best practices and public participation ethics throughout the consultation process."

Commission Chair André Lebon will also ensure the project's independence. He will be assisted by two commission members—Ms. Martine Desjardins and Me. Pierre Landry—in fulfilling his functions and in producing a report that includes a survey of the situation and recommendations on early childhood education in Québec. "Our role is to listen, encourage broad public participation, consider what is said and draw up proposals that will serve as a foundation for discussion on our approach to early childhood education over the next 20 years."

All Commission documents and its tour schedule may be found at: www.commissionpetiteenfance.com [2] The Commission will officially begin consultation activities this October 12.

The Association québécoise des centres de la petite enfance (AQCPE) has also collected media coverage of the launch of the commission which can be found here [4]. 

Background information on the circumstances leading up to the Commission were previocusly collected by the CRRU and can be found here [5].