Canada-Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Agreement – 2021 to 2025

2.1 Objectives

2.1.1 Alberta is responsible for planning, determining the objectives of, defining the contents of, setting the priorities for and evaluating their programs in early learning and child care.

2.1.2 Canada and Alberta agree that over the period of this Agreement, with financial support from Canada, Alberta will address local, regional and program priorities with consideration for those families more in need by increasing the affordability, accessibility, quality and inclusivity of early learning and child care and by promoting, defining and delivering innovative approaches. The action plan, attached as Annex 2, aims achieving the objectives of:

• developing and implementing innovative approaches to address early learning and child care challenges in the areas of access, affordability, flexibility, quality and inclusiveness
• Alberta's objectives are set out in the action plan attached as Annex 2. Canada and Alberta agree that the funds provided under this agreement will be used to support this action plan and will follow the intent of the Framework

2.1.3 Canada and Alberta agree that in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, Canada will provide a one-time contribution to Alberta that will be used to support the recruitment and retention of the early childhood workforce, in accordance with Annex 3.

2.2 Eligible areas of investment

2.2.1 Alberta agrees to prioritize funds provided by Canada under this Agreement in regulated early learning and child care programs and services for children under the age of 6 where:

1. regulated programs and services are defined as those that meet standards that are established and/or monitored by Alberta
2. early learning and child care programs and services are defined as those supporting direct care and early learning for children in settings including, but not limited to, regulated child care centres, regulated family child care homes, early learning centres, preschools and nursery schools

2.2.2 Types of investments, though not limited to, include:

• fee subsidies
• training, professional development and support for the early childhood workforce
• cultural and linguistic supports
• quality supports
• parent information and referral, and
• administration costs (consistent with section 4.5.1) incurred by Alberta in implementing and administering this Agreement

2.2.3 Canada and Alberta agree that funding will be targeted to improve quality, accessibility and affordability for children under the age of 6, with consideration for those families more in need such as lower-income families, Indigenous families, lone-parent families, families in underserved communities; those families with caregivers who work non-standard hours; and racialized Canadian families including Black Canadian families; and children with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports.

2.2.4 In developing and delivering its programs and services in early learning and child care, Alberta agrees to take into account the needs of official language minority communities in Alberta.

2.2.5 In fiscal year 2021 to 2022, Alberta may allocate funding under this agreement to support short-term measures to minimize the impacts of COVID-19 on Alberta's ELCC system. These measures must be aligned with the principles of the Multilateral ELCC Framework and be used to sustain ELCC programs and services.

3.2 Extension of bilateral agreements

3.2.1 Subject to Parliamentary approval of appropriations, Canada commits that the total annual allocation for the period of fiscal year 2025 to 2026 to fiscal year 2027 to 2028 will be no less than the total annual allocation for all provinces and territories for the fiscal year covered under the fiscal year 2020 to 2021 agreement. Funding during the fiscal year 2025 to 2026 to fiscal year 2027 to 2028 period will be provided upon the mutually agreed extension of bilateral agreements and Alberta and Canada's agreement on new action plans and informed by the results achieved under the action plan set out in Annex 2.

3.2.2 The extension will provide Alberta and Canada the opportunity to review, and if necessary, reassess priorities based on emerging local and regional early learning and child care priorities and on progress made to date.

3.2.3 In the event this bilateral agreement is extended in accordance with the terms of section 3.2.1, Alberta may continue to use funding provided thereunder to cover the same eligible areas of investment as those covered through funding received for the period of 2021 to 2025 subject to the terms and conditions of that extended agreement.

4.2 Allocation to Alberta

4.2.1 Canada has designated the following maximum amounts to be transferred in total to all provinces and territories under this initiative with a fixed base rate of $2 million per year for each province and territory and the balance of the funding on a per capita basis for the period starting on April 1, 2021 and ending on March 31, 2025.

• $399,347,694 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2021
• $524,347,694 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2022
• $565,847,694 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2023
• $565,847,694 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2024

4.2.2 Subject to annual adjustment based on the formula described in section 4.2.3, Alberta's estimated share of the amounts described in section 4.2.1 will be as follows.

*Amount represents annual estimates based on Statistics Canada population estimates.

4.2.3 The final yearly amount to be paid to provinces and territories will be calculated using the following formula F x K/L, where:

• F is the annual total funding amount transferred to provinces and territories minus the base funding provided
• K is the total population of Alberta, as determined using annual population estimates from Statistics Canada, and
• L is the total population of Canada, as determined using annual population estimates from Statistics Canada

4.2.4 For the purposes of the formula in section 4.2.3, the population of Alberta for each fiscal year and the total population of all provinces and territories for that fiscal year are the respective populations as determined on the basis of the quarterly preliminary estimates of the respective populations on July 1 of that fiscal year released in September of that fiscal year by Statistics Canada.

4.3 In this Agreement, "fiscal year" means the period commencing on April 1 of any calendar year and terminating on March 31 of the immediately following calendar year.

4.4 Payment

4.4.1 Subject to Parliamentary approval of appropriations, Canada's contribution will be paid in approximately equal semi-annual installments as outlined in sections 4.4.2 to 4.4.9.

4.4.2 In the event that federal contributions are reduced beyond annual adjustments articulated in 4.2.3, the Parties will amend the action plan in accordance with section 10.

4.4.3 In fiscal year 2021 to 2022, the first installment will be paid, on or about June 15, or alternatively, within 30 days after the signatures from both Parties are affixed to the Agreement. The second installment will be paid on the later of: on or about November 15; or, on or about the date on which Alberta provides its annual audited financial statement of the last fiscal year covered by the Agreement signed in 2020 in accordance with section 5.2.2 (c) of that Agreement.

4.4.4 Beginning in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, the first installment will be paid on the later of: on or about June 15 of each fiscal year; or on or about the date on which Alberta and Canada agree on Alberta's annual action plan in respect of that fiscal year in accordance with section 5.1.3. The second installment will be paid on the later of on or about November 15 of each fiscal year; or on or about the date on which Alberta provides its annual audited financial statement for the previous year in accordance with section 5.2.1 (c).

4.4.5 The amount of the first installment will be an amount equal to 50% of the notional amount of Canada's maximum contribution to Alberta for the fiscal year, which will be calculated in the manner described in sections 4.2.3 and 4.2.4.

4.4.6 The amount of the second installment will be an amount equal to the balance of Canada's contribution to Alberta for the fiscal year based on the actual amount of the contribution determined under sections 4.2.3 and 4.2.4 for the fiscal year.

4.4.7 Canada will notify Alberta at the beginning of the fiscal year of their notional amount. The notional amount will be based on the Statistics Canada quarterly preliminary population estimates on July 1 of the preceding fiscal year. Canada will notify Alberta of the actual amount of the second installment in each fiscal year as determined under the formula set out in section 4.2.3 as soon as possible following the release in September of each year of the Statistics Canada quarterly preliminary population estimates referred to in section 4.2.4.

4.4.8 The sum of both semi-annual installments constitutes a final payment and is not subject to any further adjustment once the second installment of that fiscal year has been paid.

4.4.9 Payment of Canada's funding for each fiscal year of this Agreement is subject to an annual appropriation by the Parliament of Canada for this purpose. Likewise, use of the funding by Alberta is subject to an annual appropriation by Alberta's Legislature.

4.5 Maximum annual contribution in respect of administration costs

4.5.1 Canada's contribution in respect of Alberta's administration costs referred to in section 2.2.2 and 2.3 of Annex 3 shall not exceed:

• in the fiscal years covered under this agreement an amount up to or equal to 10% of the maximum amount payable for that fiscal year

4.6 Carry forward

4.6.1 At the request of Alberta, and subject to Employment and Social Development Canada receiving approval of Canada's Treasury Board, Alberta may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year any unexpended funds remaining from Alberta's annual contribution payable under section 4.2, up to a maximum of 10% of the contribution payable. Any unexpended funds in excess of 10% of the contribution payable represents an overpayment subject to section 4.7.

4.6.2 Alberta may only use the amount carried forward to the following fiscal year for expenditures on eligible areas of investment made under section 2.2 incurred that fiscal year.

4.6.3 For greater certainty, any unexpended funds remaining from Alberta's annual contribution payable under section 4.2, up to a maximum of 10% of the contribution payable to Alberta in the last year of the Agreement signed in 2020, is eligible for carry forward to the first year of this Agreement.

4.6.4 For greater certainty, any amount carried forward under section 4.6.1 is supplementary to the maximum amount payable to Alberta under section 4.2 of this Agreement during the fiscal year in which the funding is carried forward.

4.6.5 All amounts carried forward to the next fiscal year, pursuant to section 4.6.1 must be spent by the end of that fiscal year. Alberta is not entitled to retain any such carried forward amounts that remain unexpended after the end of that fiscal year, nor is it entitled to retain any balance of Canada's contribution payable pursuant to section 4.2 that remains unexpended at the end of that fiscal year and is not carried forward in accordance with section 4.6.1. Such amounts are considered debts due to Canada and shall be repaid to Canada in accordance with section 4.7.

4.7 Repayment of overpayment

4.7.1 In the event payments made to Alberta exceed the amount to which Alberta is entitled under the Agreement, the amount of the excess is a debt due to Canada and shall be repaid to Canada upon receipt of notice to do so. Alberta agrees to, unless otherwise agreed, repay the amount within 60 calendar days of written notice from Canada.

4.7.2 Canada shall, in addition to any other remedies available, have the right to recover the debt by deducting or setting-off the amount of the debt from any future contribution payable to Alberta under this Agreement.

4.8 Use of funds

4.8.1 Canada and Alberta agree that funds provided by Canada under this Agreement will only be used by Alberta in accordance with the areas for investment outlined in section 2.2 of this Agreement, and in Annex 2.

5.1 Action plan

5.1.1 Alberta has completed and shared its action plan for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 of federal funding with Canada as set out in this Agreement in Annex 2. Upon signature of this Agreement by both Parties, Alberta will publicly release their action plan which:

1. identifies priority areas for investment and objectives, within the Framework's parameters, which builds upon the progress to date, including maintaining affordable spaces created under the 2017 to 2021 Agreement, and further enhancing the quality, accessibility, affordability, flexibility and/or inclusivity of their early learning and child care system, with consideration for those more in need
2. describes how Alberta plans to address the early learning and child care needs of its children/families more in need, including those identified in 2.2.3
3. outlines Alberta's planned innovation spending
4. demonstrates that federal investments will not displace existing Alberta early learning and child care spending
5. outlines the indicators that will be reported on annually according to their planned investments
6. identifies specific targets for each indicator that will be reported on annually for tracking progress in relation to the objectives of the Agreement
7. identifies additional targets for jurisdiction-specific indicators in relation to the objectives of the Agreement for tracking progress, and
8. includes the description and results of consultations, and the stakeholder groups consulted as referred to in section 5.1.2

5.1.2 Alberta will share with Canada the results of any consultations undertaken during the development of its action plan. Alberta consults regularly and acknowledges that the needs and perspectives of its stakeholders necessarily shape its action plan.

5.1.3 Each fiscal year during the period of this Agreement, starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, Alberta agrees to share with Canada an annual action plan. The annual action plan shall include the elements described in section 5.1.1 a) to h). Once the Parties agree that the annual action plan is final, Canada will provide Alberta with its first payment for the fiscal year as per section 4.4.1, and the action plan may be published by 1 or both of the Parties.

5.2 Reporting

5.2.1 By no later than October 1 of each fiscal year during the Term, commencing in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, Alberta agrees to:

1. report to the people of Alberta and share with Canada the results and expenditures of early learning and child care programs and services resulting from funding provided by Canada under this Agreement. The report shall include the:
   • number of children benefiting from subsidies or other financial supports
   • number of licensed or regulated early learning and child care spaces broken down by age of child and type of setting, and
   • the report shall demonstrate the results attributable to the funding provided by Canada under this Agreement
2. share with Canada an annual report in the format and manner agreed upon jointly by Alberta and Canada. The report shall demonstrate the results attributable to the action plan and the funding provided by Canada under this Agreement and will include:
   1. brief description of the activities, expenditures and results of the Agreement as set out in Annex 2
   2. results achieved according to the indicators and targets referred to in Annex 2
   3. impact on families as described in section 2.2.3
   4. description of consultation processes as relevant
   5. innovation spending referred to in Annex 2, and
   6. any additional results of evaluation activities undertaken in the fiscal year, as available
3. Alberta agrees to share with Canada an audited financial statement of revenues received from Canada under this Agreement:
   1. the revenue section of the statement shall show the amount received from Canada under this Agreement during the fiscal year
   2. the total amount of funding used for ELCC programs and services under section 2.2
   3. the administration costs incurred by Alberta in developing and administering ELCC programs under section 2.2.2
   4. if applicable, the amount of any surplus funds that are carried forward by Alberta, as agreed to by Canada under section 4.6, and
   5. if applicable, the amount of any surplus funds that are to be repaid to Canada under section 4.7

   The financial statement shall be prepared in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and the audit shall be performed by the Alberta Auditor General or his/her delegate, or by an independent public accounting firm registered under the laws of Alberta and shall be conducted in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Auditing Standards.

5.2.2 Upon agreement by Alberta and Canada, Canada may incorporate all or any part or parts of the said report into any public report that Canada may prepare for its own purposes, including any reports to the Parliament of Canada or reports that may be made public.

5.3 Audit

5.3.1 Alberta will ensure that expenditure information presented in the annual report is, in accordance with Alberta's standard accounting practices, complete and accurate.

5.4 Evaluation

5.4.1 Alberta is responsible for evaluating its early learning and child care programs and services. As per established policies and processes with respect to program effectiveness, Alberta will evaluate programs and services receiving funds provided under this Agreement and will make public the results of any such evaluation.

10.2 Waiver

10.2.1 Failure by any Party to exercise any of its rights, powers, or remedies under this Agreement or its delay to do so does not constitute a waiver of those rights, powers, or remedies. Any waiver by either Party of any of its rights, powers, or remedies under this Agreement must be in writing; and, such a waiver does not constitute a continuing waiver unless it is so explicitly stated.

Government of Alberta's commitment to child care

Alberta recognizes that accessible, affordable quality child care is essential to positive early childhood development, labour force participation of parents, promoting women's equality, supporting social integration and inclusion of newcomers, and poverty reduction- all aspects of social and economic growth.

A child's future health, learning, employment, and social well-being is impacted by early childhood experiences. Children who have a strong start in life are more likely to be healthy and engaged learners and citizens, and more likely to become independent, resilient and productive adults.

In the wake of the pandemic and provincial economic challenges, Alberta's parents need access to high quality, flexible, affordable child care options so they can to work and grow our economy knowing their children are also growing and thriving. In short, child care is critical to growing Alberta's future.

The Early Learning and Child Care Act and regulation came into force February 1, 2021 to enshrine quality requirements, increase flexibility, and reduce red tape. One major change in the legislation was to create 1 license for child care programs to care for children between the ages of 0 to 12 in the same program.

Alberta's child care system - overview

As of December 2020, approximately 75,490 children were enrolled in approximately 143,651 licensed child care spaces across Alberta in licensed daycares, group family, pre-school, and out-of-school care programs and family day homes overseen by a licensed agency. There are approximately 2,973 licensed child care programs across the province. Approximately 33,595 children ages 0 to 5 attend childcare programs full time, and 23,454 children ages 0 to 5 are attending part time. For children grade 1 and older, there are 6,043 children attending a child care program full time and 12,398 attending child care part time. During the COVID-19 pandemic programs have had approximately 50% of children enrolled in programs.

Approximately 15,570 certified child care staff work in these programs. All staff working directly with children in licensed facility-based child care programs (day cares, out-of-school care programs and pre-school programs must be certified at 1 of the 3 levels of certification:

• Level 1 Early Childhood Educator (ECE) (3 credit course in early learning and child care (ELCC) or equivalent; 50 hours of training)
• Level 2 ECE (1-year ELCC Certificate or equivalent 720 hours of training)
• Level 3 ECE (2-year ELCC Diploma or equivalent 1,445 hours of training)

The Government of Alberta supports Alberta's regulated child care system through 2 main programs: the Child Care Subsidy Program and the Child Care Grant Funding Program. The Child Care Subsidy Program provides funding to low-income families to offset the cost of child care in licensed child care programs. Of the 75,490 number of children enrolled in licensed child care, the provincial government provides child care subsidies to the parents or guardians of 20,473 children. Of those, approximately 82% received full subsidy and 18% a partial subsidy. Families earning less than $50,000 per year are eligible for a full subsidy. Families earning less than $75,000 amount are eligible for a partial subsidy.

Working together

On June 12, 2017, federal-provincial-territorial ministers signed the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework ("Multilateral Framework"). Alberta's action plan, in full respect of Alberta's roles and responsibilities in this area of provincial jurisdiction, sets out how the federal contributions will be used to advance the principles and objectives outlined in the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care. This will be achieved through Alberta's existing system of programs and services and aligned with Alberta's priorities.

In keeping with the principles of the Multilateral Framework, Alberta will use Government of Canada investments to support access to affordable early learning and child care in Alberta, while encouraging innovative approaches.

The ELCC bilateral agreement template includes a placeholder for a new Annex 3 addressing the federal government's one-time fiscal year 2021 to 2022 investment of $420 million to support the attraction and retention of the early childhood workforce, as announced in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement. Alberta's action plan for the allocation of 56.04 million dollars has been incorporated here along with the Annex 2 action plan.

Priority areas of investment

Summary of investments

The 45.4 million dollars allocation for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 would be used to achieve Multilateral Framework goals (for example, Alberta Child Care Subsidy).

The 56.04 million dollars early childhood workforce funding for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to develop the child care workforce, as staff are required to facilitate access, and quality staff provide quality programs.

* Enhancing child care programs' understanding of the important role of culture and heritage, particularly Indigenous cultures, will improve access to child care for diverse communities. Enhancements to cultural resources include offering professional development in this area, with a particular focus on Indigenous cultures in Alberta, as well as related resources to support implementation of culturally appropriate child care.

Impact of Alberta child care transformation plan

Evaluation and Indicators

Children's Services will monitor the impact of the changes to the child care system to ensure they are having the expected impacts for quality, affordability, and accessibility for children, families and educators.

* Total funding for "Increased quality in child care" is $40.4 million. The amount was repeated in each cell for accessibility reasons.

Preamble

Whereas, Canada and Alberta agree that the early childhood workforce is integral to providing high-quality ELCC.

Whereas, the Multilateral ELCC Framework is based on 5 key principles, 1 of which is ensuring ELCC systems are of high quality.

Whereas, the Multilateral ELCC Framework recognizes the importance of qualifications and training for the early childhood workforce as part of a high quality ELCC system.

Now therefore, the Parties agree as follows.

1.0 Purpose

1.1 Canada and Alberta agree that in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, a one-time financial support from Canada to Alberta will be used to support the recruitment and retention of the early childhood workforce.

2.0 Area of focus

2.1 Alberta agrees to utilize funding in licensed or regulated settings to support the attraction and retention of a qualified workforce, including through training, professional development, wages, bursary programs, tuition support and grants.

2.2 For greater clarity, activities that may support the objective of attracting and retaining a qualified workforce include but are not limited to:

• providing employment and training supports
• supporting the workforce in providing quality ELCC, and
• improving the ability to provide support to families more in need, including:
  • lower-income families
  • Indigenous families
  • lone-parent families
  • families with children with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports
  • Black and racialized children
  • families from official language minority communities
  • families in underserved communities
  • those working non-standard hours
  • needs also include having limited or no access to programs and services in the children's official language

2.3 Alberta may use up to or equal to 10% of its workforce funding allocation towards administration costs.

3.0 Financial provisions

3.1 In fiscal year 2021 to 2022, to be paid concurrently with the contribution provided under section 4.2.3 of the Agreement, Canada has designated the following maximum amount to be transferred in total to all provinces and territories under this initiative with a fixed base rate of $2 million per year for each province and territory, and the balance of the funding on a per child (0 to 12) basis:

1. $420,000,000 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2021

3.2 The final amount to be paid to Alberta is determined by the formula F x K/L, where:

• F is the total funding amount transferred to provinces and territories minus the base funding
• K is the population of children aged 0 to 12 in Alberta in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, as determined using population estimates from Statistics Canada, and
• L is the total population of children aged 0 to 12 in Canada in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, as determined using population estimates from Statistics Canada

3.3 Subject to adjustment based on the formula described in section 3.2, Alberta's estimated share of the amount described in section 3.1 (a) will be as follows.

For the purposes of the formula in section 3.2, the population of children aged 0 to 12 in Alberta for the fiscal year 2021 to 2022 and the population of children aged 0 to 12 in all provinces and territories for that fiscal year are the respective populations as determined on the basis of the quarterly preliminary estimates of the respective populations on July 1 of that fiscal year. These estimates are released by Statistics Canada in September of each fiscal year.

3.4 Sections 4.6.1 to 4.6.5 of the Agreement, respecting carry forward, apply to funds provided under this annex.

4.0 Planning and Reporting