Longer Licences and New Child Care Portal

Summary#

• This bill updates New Brunswick’s Early Childhood Services Act and several related regulations. It mainly modernizes language, clarifies what a “facility” and “premises” mean, and sets up a government “portal” to replace the current online registry.

• It also lets the Minister approve pilot projects for child care services, lengthens how long licences can last, updates fee-related terms, and cleans up old or outdated rules. The changes take effect June 30, 2026.

• Key changes:

  • Allows the Minister to approve pilot projects for services offered by licensed child care operators.
  • Extends the possible licence term for facilities from up to one year to up to three years.
  • Replaces “on-line registry” with “portal” across laws and regulations; aligns data and reporting to this portal.
  • Moves and clarifies definitions of full-time, part-time, and home-based child care in regulation (using clear hour and day thresholds).
  • Replaces the term “market fee threshold” with “maximum daily rate” in fee and grant rules.
  • Increases one numerical limit in the facilities section from 10 to 13 (the Act text does not explain the context here).
  • Removes an expired, date-limited designation rule from 2022 and updates many references to say “licensed facility.”

What it means for you#

• Parents and guardians

  • You will continue to use a provincial portal to find licensed child care and see key information. Labels and terms should be clearer.
  • Pilot projects may test new service models (for example, different hours or types of care), but nothing changes until 2026.
  • The bill changes fee language to “maximum daily rate,” but it does not set actual prices. Rates will still be set in regulations and programs.

• Child care operators

  • Licences may be valid for up to three years, which can reduce paperwork if you stay in good standing.
  • You will use the provincial portal for required information and updates. Several rules now clearly refer to a “licensed facility” and to the “premises” where you operate.
  • Categories are clarified in regulation:
    • Full-time centre: more than four consecutive hours a day, at least three days a week.
    • Part-time centre: four hours or fewer a day or fewer than three days a week (or as defined for specific groups).
    • Home-based: services in a home setting, more than four consecutive hours a day and at least three days a week.
  • You may apply to run a pilot project with approval from the Minister.
  • Fee-related rules now refer to a “maximum daily rate,” which may affect how grants or subsidies are calculated, but the bill itself does not change dollar amounts.

• Early childhood educators and staff

  • Day-to-day work rules do not change in a major way. Most updates are wording, definitions, and data/reporting via the portal.
  • No direct changes to wages or staffing ratios are in this bill text.

• Local governments and other agencies

  • Terms are aligned across the Local Governance Act, Public Health Act, Child and Youth Well-Being Act, and other regulations to use “child care” and the new “portal” language.
  • Public health and safety references now point to “early learning and child care” facilities licensed by the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Expenses#

• No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Updates outdated wording and definitions so parents and operators have clearer, more consistent rules.
• Extending licences up to three years cuts red tape for stable, compliant facilities.
• Pilot projects allow innovation to meet family needs (such as hours, locations, or program types) before making wider changes.
• A single, modern portal should improve data quality, transparency, and access to information for families.
• Using “maximum daily rate” makes fee and subsidy rules clearer and easier to administer.

Opponents' View#

• Most changes are administrative and may not address big issues like waitlists, affordability, or worker pay.
• The pilot project power is broad and light on details, which could allow programs to change without enough public input.
• Moving key definitions into regulations gives the government more flexibility but less legislative oversight.
• The increase from 10 to 13 in one facility rule is not explained in the bill text, which could affect ages served or group sizes without clear rationale.
• Renaming the online system a “portal” may be cosmetic if service quality and access do not improve.