Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Bill C-35, An Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada, as the official critic. I wish to also extend my gratitude to Senator Moodie, the sponsor of this bill, and to all senators who contributed to the debate in the chamber and at committee.

Let me begin by re-emphasizing the importance and need for early learning and child care for every child and family.

At the time of our need for child care, my husband and I were fortunate to be able to live with my parents, who provided child care to our daughter as we both worked as full-time teachers. My mother even timed her early retirement with my return to work after my maternity leave ended and our daughter was 14 months old. Under their loving care for more than a decade, our daughter enjoyed home-cooked meals; learned to understand, speak and read Korean, my heritage language; and enjoyed a range of experiences that all became a part of the foundation of her character, values and distinct identity.

While I support Bill C-35 in principle, I want to reiterate some of my concerns, along with the recommendations and compelling testimonies heard during the study of the bill at the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. Bill C-35 is set to legislate key principles, primarily from the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework. Importantly, it acknowledges the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework as a fundamental aspect for funding guidelines.

The Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework, which is a collaborative creation between the Government of Canada and Indigenous peoples, is a cornerstone of this legislation. It articulates principles that are essential for realizing a vision where all First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and families are empowered by an early learning and child care system that is not only comprehensive and coordinated but also deeply embedded in Indigenous knowledge, cultures and languages.

The need for this coordination was highlighted by the testimony of Natan Obed, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. His insights underscored the critical importance of respecting and integrating the unique practices and teaching forms of Indigenous communities. Mr. Obed’s testimony illustrated how these distinct cultural practices are not merely educational methods but are integral to the preservation and continuation of Indigenous heritage and identity.

I want to highlight my support for the proposed amendment put forward by Senator Cormier, which we adopted, that ensures commitment from the Canadian government to sustain long-term funding for early learning and child care programs, including those for Indigenous peoples and official language minority communities, primarily through agreements with provincial governments and Indigenous governing bodies.

As my colleague Senator Poirier aptly noted, our commitment to linguistic minorities is not just about funding; it’s about working together to ensure that, by the time of the next negotiations, we can enhance support for francophones and Indigenous communities to live and thrive in their chosen language and culture.

It’s important to note that this amendment does not seek additional funding or detract from Indigenous peoples’ rights. Instead, it aims to bring us closer to the reality and respect for linguistic minorities.

Senator Moncion highlighted the necessity of an effective funding mechanism in this amendment. It underscores the importance of agreements with provincial governments and Indigenous entities, ensuring that the funding for early learning and child care services, including for official language minority communities, is allocated effectively and respectfully. This approach respects the unique relationship between Indigenous governing bodies and the federal government while also catering to the needs of official language minority communities.

Yesterday was Senator Kingston’s first speech in the Senate Chamber, and through her support for this amendment, she echoed our collective goal in this chamber to give voice to equity-seeking groups, ensuring that our approach to early learning and child care is inclusive and equitable. Therefore, as we consider Bill C-35, it is imperative to ensure that the legislation not only acknowledges but actively respects and incorporates these individual practices and forms of teachings. Such an approach is vital for honouring the diverse cultures and languages of First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and families.

As I mentioned in my second-reading speech, it is crucial for the frameworks to be flexible in responding to the different regional and cultural needs of all Canadians from coast to coast to coast. In Canada’s history, we have seen the complexities of national frameworks and their implications for diverse communities, which emphasizes the need to turn our attention to the pressing challenges of demand and limited availability of early childhood educators.

This was further underscored by the briefings of the Canadian Federation of University Women to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. They focused on the critical issue of retaining early childhood educators, ECEs. Their recommendation for a national strategy on recruiting and retaining ECEs is a call to action that we cannot afford to ignore. This strategy is not just about ensuring quality care; it’s about supporting the backbone of the child care system: the educators, predominantly women, who dedicate their lives to nurturing our future generations.

While we’ve seen a decline in the ECE workforce across the country, we must acknowledge that this decline not only stresses the obstacles in fulfilling the need for more skilled personnel but also emphasizes the critical need to value and support our educators.

As highlighted in my second-reading speech, a fundamental aspect of Bill C-35 is the role of parents in their child’s upbringing. Parents serve as the cornerstone of emotional nurturing and attachment for a child. The deep connection established in the early stages of life profoundly influences the child’s emotional stability and overall well-being.

It is through parents that children first learn vital social and ethical principles. By exemplifying behaviours, imparting empathy and establishing limits, parents are instrumental in shaping their children’s ethical compass. These initial teachings are the foundation upon which children build their future interpersonal bonds and ethical choices.

In Bill C-35, the introduction of mandatory conditions for child care centres to be eligible to opt in for the government program remains a concern to me. I question how these conditions would cater to the rich diversity of beliefs and values that Canadian families hold dear. The Family Program Director of Cardus presented a compelling brief to the Social Affairs Committee, echoing the sentiments I initially expressed regarding the government’s preferred form of childcare. Cardus states that the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Plan is inherently unfair, focusing solely on the government’s preferred form of care, thereby neglecting the diversity of Canadian families.

Their assertion that funding parents directly would ensure fairness and offer families the flexibility to meet their unique requirements is a perspective that resonates deeply with our ongoing discourse.

In her briefing to the Social Affairs Committee, Beverley Smith presented a critical analysis of the child care system in Canada, particularly addressing the shortcomings of the proposed legislation in meeting the diverse needs of all Canadian families. Her briefing challenges the prevailing focus on institutional daycare, advocating for a broader understanding of child care that encompasses the ways families choose to raise their children, including at-home care and care by relatives. There were recommendations that emphasize the need to recognize and support parents as their children’s primary caregivers, whose roles are often undervalued in policy discussions.

Beverley Smith illustrated the disconnect between government subsidies for daycare and the lack of direct funding for parents who choose to care for their children at home, arguing that such policies may unintentionally discriminate against families that prefer non-institutional care settings.

The recommendations related to parental rights in this bill are calls to action for policy-makers to consider the full spectrum of child care preferences across Canada. We must support and respect all children, regardless of whether they are in daycare or cared for at home. We must respect the cultural, social and personal preferences of families in ensuring that all children have equal access to resources that support their unique development.

Bill C-35 favours public and non-profit child care providers. As I highlighted previously and now supported with witness testimonies, favouring public and non-profit child care providers potentially marginalizes the pivotal role played by private operators in the child care system.

Cardus called for a strengthened commitment to flexible care options, supporting all forms of care and eschewing preferential treatment of public and non-profit providers.

A brief from the Child Care Providers Resource Network has also been instrumental in highlighting challenges in child care. They draw attention to the labour shortages in the child care sector and the need for arrangements that cater to families requiring flexible hours beyond the traditional nine-to-five model. This insight echoes the concerns I raised in my initial speech, emphasizing the necessity of a child care system that adapts to the evolving dynamics of modern family life.

On December 5, 2023, Statistics Canada released the results of the Canadian Survey on Early Learning and Child Care and the 2023 Survey on Early Learning and Child Care Arrangements. The Child care arrangements, 2023, report provides insights on how child care use has evolved since 2019. The report found that a higher proportion of parents report difficulty finding child care in 2023.

The proportion of parents who used child care and who reported having difficulty finding it increased from 36% in 2019 to 49% in 2023. Difficulty finding available child care remained the top challenge for parents, and the proportion of those reporting this difficulty increased from 53% in 2019 to 62% in 2023. Finding affordable care also remained a common concern among parents, but the proportion of those reporting this declined from 48% in 2019 to 41% in 2023.

Difficulties in finding child care often resulted in negative impacts on the working life of families. For example, in 2023, similar to other years, the top impacts among these parents were having to change their work or study schedules, 34%; having to work fewer hours, 33%; or postponing a return to work, 31%.

On the question of the role private child care providers have, it’s important to note that for families with specific cultural or religious preferences, those providers can offer programs that align with these values and traditions, creating a culturally sensitive and nurturing environment. My colleague Member of Parliament Michelle Ferreri in the other place and myself have been firm on the importance of the role of private child care providers.

MP Ferreri put forward an amendment highlighting and emphasizing the need for Bill C-35 to allow for all types of child care providers — from traditional daycare centres to before- and after-school care centres — who meet or exceed the standards to be included in the system. In a country as vast as Canada, with 10 provinces and 3 territories, from rural to urban, with Indigenous communities, minority linguistic communities and all the wonderful cultures we have from coast to coast to coast, there is not a one-size-fits-all.

Quality daycare must be more affordable, but it cannot be done on the backs of private daycare providers, because at the end of the day, we must ensure parents have options to answer all the various priorities parents have for their child’s upbringing.

As I mentioned in my second-reading speech, the complexities of a national framework and the implications it will have for diverse communities, coupled with the pressing challenges of demand and limited availability of early childhood educators, must be considered carefully in Bill C-35. Ontario’s Financial Accountability Officer has estimated that demand for child care spaces will outpace the current expansion plans by a staggering 220,000 spaces by 2026, and that is just for one province.

This looming gap in availability is further exacerbated by a concerning decline in the workforce. Among early childhood educators who resigned their position in Ontario, the majority sought other employment outside of licensed child care.

We must therefore ask ourselves: Does Bill C-35 address the critical questions on how we adequately compensate a profession that historically receives lower wages compared to their counterparts in the K-12 system? How do we fix inadequate training and encourage professional development to ensure that individuals stay in the profession? It is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Honourable senators, upon my examination of Bill C-35 and through the compelling witness testimonies and briefings, it becomes evident that despite the government’s admirable goal to create a national child care framework, there are some issues that remain in question.

While Bill C-35 is a step in the right direction, we must ensure that its implementation fosters an inclusive, equitable and diverse child care system that honours the wishes of all Canadian families and respects the cultural and personal choices that they make for their child’s upbringing.

As we move forward, let us affirm our commitment to these principles, ensuring that Bill C-35 not only creates a framework for early learning and child care but also upholds the values and rights that are central to the well-being and identity of our children and families.

Thank you.

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): With leave of the Senate, I would like to adjourn the debate in the name of Senator MacDonald.