The proposed Early Learning and Child Care Act (ELCC) and the Early Childhood Educators (ECE) Act support the delivery of an inclusive, universal early learning and child care system for B.C. families.
The proposed Early Learning and Child Care Act combines the Child Care BC Act (CCBCA) and the Child Care Subsidy Act (CCSA) into a single Act to signal government’s commitment to inclusive, universal child care and Indigenous peoples. The proposed Early Childhood Educators Act takes the existing provisions from the Community Care and Assisted Living Act (CCALA) and Child Care Licensing Regulation (CCLR) governing ECEs and post-secondary ECE programs and puts them in a new statute dedicated to the ECE workforce and under the responsibility of the Minister responsible for child care. Once enacted, this legislation will move the province further along the path to achieving a child care system that meets the needs of B.C. families. These Acts are part of the foundation for an inclusive, universal child care system in B.C. and will be adapted based on input from the child care sector, including advocates, families, First Nations leaders and Indigenous partners as we build B.C.’s early learning and child care system.