COVID-19 Resources & Supports
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It’s been almost five months since provincial and territorial governments closed childcare services. Now they are allowing them to reopen. Reopening – like shuttering – has been chaotic, anxiety-... Read more
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The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the way of life for Canadian families, parents, and children. Physical distancing and the impact on employment has meant that parents have altered their... Read more
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The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has released a special Alternative Federal Budget Recovery Plan with child care front and centre. The 25th Alternative Federal Budget includes Child Care... Read more
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Re-opening child care centres during COVID-19: Provincial/territorial guidelines for minimizing riskChild care centres across Canada are beginning to re-open and details of opening provisions across provincial and territorial jurisdictions are being released. This table provides an overview of... Read more
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July 22, 2020 | Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care As Edmonton considers its COVID-19 recovery efforts, early learning and care should be front and center. There are at least three reasons... Read more
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Excerpt from executive summary: As jurisdictions continue to lift restrictions implemented to slow the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), they face major decisions about when and how to... Read more
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Experts propose full response plan, including key actions on child care and employment insurance reform OTTAWA—The federal government’s role as backstop during the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t end with... Read more
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"The COVID-19 crisis that has engulfed the world during 2020 challenges children’s education, care and well-being. Many parents struggle to balance their responsibilities for childcare and paid... Read more
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Brief from the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care (ECELC) "Affordability of early learning and care (ELC) has been a concern in Alberta even before the COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19 crisis... Read more
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OTTAWA — The federal minister in charge of the government's child-care agenda says the Liberals won't abandon the sector once urgent, pandemic-related funding runs out before the end of the economic... Read more
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The Childcare Resource and Research Unit, the Canadian Child Care Federation, and Child Care Now distributed an online survey to child care centres and family child care homes designed to gather... Read more
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Lawson Foundation shares recommendations for policy makers, early learning and child care, and post secondary early childhood education programs to implement to address the immediate and longer-term... Read more
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Across the world, inequality is growing and ordinary families are working harder and harder to keep up with escalating costs and falling supports. This is especially true in Alberta. Early Childhood... Read more
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One of the key things we have heard since reopening is that educators are unsure how to connect with parents and ensure they know that their children are safe when they aren't able to come into the... Read more
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OTTAWA -- Among the many findings of the federal government’s fiscal snapshot released Wednesday, is the glaring conclusion that women have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The... Read more
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In June 2020, the Child Care Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) published a Highlights report of a cross-Canada survey of regulated child care centres and family child care homes conducted in May 2020... Read more
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Education is a human right. But you would not know this in most of Canada, where lockdowns are ending, people are returning to work, and patios and nail salons are open, all while parents are hearing... Read more
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The Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant offers financial assistance to Alberta businesses, cooperatives, and non-profit organizations that were ordered to close or curtail operations, and that... Read more
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According to Statistics Canada, 74 per cent of families with young children have two parents who work outside the home and most of them depend on access to child-care services. Just how dependent has... Read more
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Some people in Alberta are calling for $25-a-day childcare to be extended because of COVID-19. As Christa Dao reports, those in support of the program say many parents weren`t able to take... Read more
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In 2015, the Mayor’s Task Force for the Elimination of Poverty identified affordable and quality child care as a game-changer for eliminating poverty in Edmonton. The Early Council for Early Learning... Read more
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On June 12, 2020 Alberta entered into stage 2 of our reopening. Available guidelines for the reopening of early learning and child care programs can be found below. DAY CARE/OSC REOPENING GUIDELINES ... Read more
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Media Release New grants will ease relaunch costs faced by businesses Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many small- and medium-sized businesses and non-profits in Alberta have shutdown, either completely... Read more
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The economic fallout of COVID-19 is stark — and women are feeling the brunt of it. Over 1.5 million women lost jobs in March and April, according to Statistics Canada. That’s a 17 per cent drop in... Read more
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Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have been working closely with our colleagues in early learning and have been actively following policy and governmental changes on the provincial and national... Read more
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The federal government has invested $350 million to improve the ability of community organizations to serve vulnerable Canadians during the COVID-19 crisis. The investment will flow through national... Read more
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The federal government has been quietly probing how to provide provinces with more money annually for child care, as part of what sources describe as an issue that is at, or near, the top of the... Read more
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On May 14 Nicki Dublenko, Vice Chair of the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta and Annalise Yuzda, Vice President of Child Care from the YMCA of Northern Alberta were invited to... Read more
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Cora Dernederlanden was worn down because she couldn't see her friends or go to school, was missing her usual activities and stuck in the house. It was a feeling many people can identify with. "When... Read more
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Early childhood educators (ECEs) in Alberta share common experiences, challenges, and joys. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, AECEA understands that you have a lot of concerns, both related to the... Read more
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On May 8, 2020 Alberta Children's Services sent the following documents to support the re-opening of child care and out-of-school care programs. At this time, they follow the same guidelines that... Read more
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Prior to the pandemic, the Alberta early learning and child care (ELCC) system was already deeply underfunded and lacked planning mechanisms for spaces, quality and workforce development. As details... Read more
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On May 7, 2020 AECEA sent a letter to the Minister of Children's Services, Rebecca Schulz, calling for further supports and investment in the child care sector. VIEW THE LETTER
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The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta (AECEA) is asking the Province of Alberta to work with and consult the Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) sector to address the complex... Read more
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The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta (AECEA) has been very concerned about the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the early learning and child care sector, its workforce as... Read more
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The Canadian Child Care Federation, the Childcare Resource and Research Unit and Child Care Now are seeking the help of Canada’s early learning and child care (ELCC) sector to distribute and complete... Read more
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To prepare for reopening, a team of teachers created this Social Story to offer to the children and families. It walks through things that will be different, as well as things that will be the same... Read more
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The YMCA, as the largest provider of high quality, licensed child care across Alberta and across the country, is offering the following questions and recommendations to the Government of Alberta to... Read more
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ARCQE May 2020 Blog PostPosted May 5th, 2020 Thoughts about child care as: “A real essential service…”by Naida Meghji It took a global pandemic for childcare to be deemed as an essential service by... Read more
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This document has been developed to support all business and sectors (excluding health care settings) in reducing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 among workers, volunteers and patrons. This... Read more
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The Government of Canada is taking immediate, significant and decisive action to support Canadians and businesses facing hardship as a result of the global COVID-19 outbreak. Unsure what benefits you... Read more
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The Alberta Resource Centre for Quality Enhancement (ARCQE) has pulled together a large amount of resources, including articles, videos, and journal articles on the virus and speaking with children... Read more
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The Alberta government will provide immediate financial relief to Alberta’s families and vulnerable populations. Over $7.7 billion has been committed so far, including: $500 million for our health... Read more
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A fantastic video on early learning and child care advocacy by NorQuest students, Maria Barbara San Jose and Pebbles Tominez.
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This table provides summary information about provincial/territorial initiatives and responses to child care in the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada All provinces and territories have provided some... Read more
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Early childhood educators (ECEs) in Alberta share common experiences, challenges, and joys. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, AECEA understands that you have a lot of concerns, both related to the... Read more
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Alberta Children’s Services has asked AECEA for information about how child care programs are paying for their child care premises (rent, lease, mortgage, other). Our poll results will help inform... Read more
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Social solidarity and childcare are at the centre of social and economic recovery April 15, 2020 Kate Bezanson, Andrew Bevan, Monica Lysack To read “From Stabilization to Stimulus and... Read more
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The Canadian Child Care Federation, along with Child Care Now and the Child Care Resource and Research Unit collaborated on a plan to sustain the sector through the COVID-19 crisis. It was submitted... Read more
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At some point in our lives we all have stressful times. We can be impacted by such things as financial pressures, unexpected difficulties, unemployment, or stressful situations such as the current... Read more
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Yesterday a letter was sent to Minister Schulz, Deputy Minister Darlene Bouwsema, leader of the opposition, Rachel Notley, and the NDP children services critic, MLA Rakhi Pancholi requesting urgent... Read more
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On March 23, 2020 select child care programs were allowed to open to support core service workers across Alberta. Core service workers include: front-line health-care workers critical infrastructure... Read more
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The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta (AECEA) is the professional organization that represents early childhood educators in the province of Alberta. We stand strong alongside our... Read more
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Childcare is an essential service in good times and bad and must be treated like one. Here’s what a smart COVID-19 childcare plan could look like. Manitoba announced last week that it would be... Read more