On 7th April 2022, Québec officially passed Bill 1 which amends the Educational Childcare Services Act. The new legislation enacts major reforms, including recognizing child care as an entitlement and specifying the government’s legal obligation to ensure child care availability where it is needed. In addition, the amended legislation modifies the method of allocating spaces in order to speed up the expansion process by increasing the maximum capacity of child care facilities from 80 to 100 as well as integrating unregulated home child care providers into the network.
Relevant documents related to the public consultation and the passing of Bill 1, An Act to amend the Educational Childcare Act to improve access to the educational childcare services network and complete its development, are available on the National Assembly of Québec website in both French and English.
Press release
Adoption du projet de loi no 1: le Québec pourra enfin compléter son réseau des services de garde éducatifs à l'enfance
Gouvernement du Québec, 7 April 2022
Media coverage
Daycare bill gives Quebec 5 years to create 37,000 spaces (Available in English and French)
CTV News, 7 April 2022
Quebec daycare bill to be passed, PQ to vote against (Available in English and French)
CTV News, 3 April 2022