National Day of Action 2023

Thursday, November 30th is the National Day of Action. The Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontarion (AECEO) and Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC) continue to advocate for child care in Ontario. They have developed a Position Paper to look at how to tackle the child care workforce crisis.

ELQI continues to look for ways to advocate for our local early learning and childcare community in the City of Kawartha Lakes and County of Haliburton. We are aware we need to increase the number of licensed childcare spaces available to families in our local community, while we are also aware that we need to address the shortage of RECEs and staff needed to meet the minimum ratio requirements.

The infographic included on this post is information the Data Analyst Coordinator (City of Kawartha Lakes) put together based on statistics for our local community. The following information is highlighted on this infographic:

• just over half (53%) of educators working in our local community are a RECE
• 18% of RECEs have left the sector since 2019
• 57% of Child Care and Early Years Professionals may be ineligible for workforce compensation
• the median wage for a RECE ranks low when compared to other women-dominated professions with similar education requirements
• with the current demand and availability, there is a 5.8 year wait for new childcare waitlist applicants

Now, more than ever, we need to continue advocating for our profession. We need to share our stories; while we can focus on the strengths and successes of our profession, we can also share the challenges faced when there is a continued staffing shortage.

You can still register to attend the AECEO’s virtual rally taking place on Thursday, November 30th from 7-8 pm.

If you have stories ELQI can help to share and highlight on any of our platforms, please send me an emai.

Child care is worth more – this includes each and every person working in this profession! Children and families also deserve to have access to affordable, quality childcare and early learning programs.

You will see this same infographic shared on the ELQI Facebook and Instagram accounts on the National Day of Action. You can help to advocate for our local early learning and childcare community by sharing it directly from one of those accounts.