Twenty-five years ago to the day, Quebec made a historic choice: invest massively to create a network of early childhood centers and daycare centres. A choice that allows each child to develop their full potential and parents to enter the job market. It was a bold choice, which has since enabled Quebec to become a world leader in early childhood.
Thanks to our network and its educators, our little ones flourish. They are safe, benefit from an educational program and an environment that allows them to arrive better prepared for kindergarten. Thanks to our network, parents can fulfill themselves professionally. The impact is particularly marked among women: from being at the bottom of the class in 1997, Quebec is now one of the nations where women are the most present in the labor market.
The network is not terminated
After the spark blown by Lucien Bouchard and Pauline Marois in 1997, however, many storms have hit our educational childcare services. There have been budget cuts, divergent visions from successive governments, the desertion of young people from early childhood education training and the halt in the development of places, to name a few.
Result: This network is not yet complete. Tens of thousands of parents are still waiting for a place while some pay much more than others for theirs. Bureaucracy and lack of recognition in recent years have also scared away many educators.
Added to all this is a pandemic that is shaking up our lives and which has made all Quebecers realize as never before the importance of our network of educational childcare services and its staff, both for our children and for our economy.
In view of all these facts, only one conclusion stands out: we must finish what was started 25 years ago.
It is to achieve this that I tabled the Major worksite for families last October, an ambitious action plan with the objective of ensuring that every family that wants it has an affordable, quality place for their children. It is also a plan to improve the working conditions of educators and better care for disadvantaged children, by putting equal opportunities back at the heart of our action.
historic occasion
The Big Workcamp for Families is in fact a historic occasion. That of finally completing our network, which has been built by passionate people for a quarter of a century, of improving its quality and enabling Quebec to remain the world reference in terms of early childhood education.
But all of this is above all a great team effort. Today, I want to thank all the craftswomen in our network, especially our educators. They are at the heart of this great project launched 25 years ago, they are the ones who bring it to life every day and it is thanks to them that we will be able to continue to make it grow.
Let’s be proud of it!
– Mathieu Lacombe, Minister of the Family