Join us in advocating for a high quality, universal, Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system
Categories: Ramona Alaggia
This March, as we celebrate Social Work Month — and International Women’s Day on March 8 — the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work is proud to join alumna Margaret McCain and Professor Ramona Alaggia in advocating for a universal, Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system that will ensure no child is left behind.
Over the past year, we have witnessed the havoc that COVID-19 has wreaked on families, exposing the gross inequities in our society. A high-quality universal Early Learning and Child Care system implemented Canada-wide is a vital step in addressing COVID-19 and longstanding inequities.
As social work practitioners, researchers and educators, we know that early childhood education and child care has the capacity to help children, their families — and, indeed, society as a whole — thrive. As such, FIFSW faculty have submitted a letter to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Ahmed Hussen and other Federal representatives, pressing them to honour their promise to formalize support in the Spring budget for a national Early Learning and Child Care system.
It is important that we harness this opportunity to permanently embed universal early childhood education in our valued systems of care. This initiative will go a long way to improve the health and wellbeing of children, families, and Canada’s diverse communities.
We encourage you to join us in reaching out to your federal representatives to show your support for a universal, Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system. We invite you to copy and paste, or better yet draw inspiration from/personalize, one of the letters below to send to Minister Hussen, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Deputy Prime Minster and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland along with your local representative.
Sample letters
> From a School/Faculty of Social Work
Contact information
Ahmed Hussen
Ahmed.Hussen@parl.gc.ca
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Employment and Social Development Canada
Justin Trudeau
pm@pm.gc.ca
Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
Chrystia Freeland
chrystia.freeland@canada.ca
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Enter your postal code here to find contact information for your Member of Parliament.
Show your support on social media
Let your friends, family and followers know that you sent a letter via social media and encourage them to send one, too! Use the hashtags #ECEforCanada #SocialWorkersforECE
Sample tweets
A universal Early Learning & Child Care system is a vital to addressing #COVID-19 & longstanding inequities. Join me in writing to the federal government to show your support. Find sample letters on @UofT_FIFSW’s website: https://socialwork.utoronto.ca#ECEforCanada #SocialWorkersforECE
Universally accessible Early Childhood Education supports parental workforce participation and pay for themselves through increased tax revenue and reduced social assistance costs. Help spread the word and support #ECEforCanada. Learn more at http://www.eceforcanada.ca @earlyyearsstudy
High-quality Early Childhood Education gives all children the opportunity to thrive. It gives them the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in later school years and beyond to succeed in our increasingly diverse and technological world. Show your support for universal ECE in Canada. http://www.eceforcanada.ca @earlyyearsstudy
Looking for more dynamic content to share?
Select from the downloadable graphics provided by The Early Years Study and share their video.
Prefer to make a phone call to share your support?
Ahmed Hussen: 613-995-0777
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Employment and Social Development Canada
Justin Trudeau: 613-992-4211
Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
Chrystia Freeland: 613-996-7862
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Resources
Early years study
Early Years Study is a series of reports that draw on academically rigorous studies about the impact of early experiences on lifelong learning, behaviour and health, and the public policies that influence these outcomes. It also has a graphics library, video and promotion package designed to help people spread the word on the need for universal early childhood education.
Early Years Study newsletters.
Subscribe to receive the latest updates from the Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation.
Centre for Future Work
Independent and non-partisan, the Centre is a unique centre of excellence on the full range of economic issues facing working people, which has researched the impact of a national early learning and child care program.
Media and Op-eds
A strong child-care system is essential to our recovery from the pandemic, Margaret Norrie McCain, Globe and Mail, 2020
MARGARET NORRIE McCAIN: Pre-primary McNeil’s most precious gift to Nova Scotians, Margaret Norrie McCain, The Chronicle Herald, 2021