Summary#
Bill 25, the Early Years and Child Care Worker Advisory Commission Act, 2021, would create a new Act rather than amend an existing one. It would establish a Commission to recommend ways to support early years and child care workers and address staffing shortages; that is the bill’s stated goal, not a guaranteed result. The Act would start on Royal Assent if passed.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council (the provincial government acting formally) would appoint Commission members from the workforce, organizations representing it, and unions representing it.
- Appointments must ensure, to the extent possible, representation of Black, Indigenous and other racialized communities.
- The Commission must make recommendations, including on increased wages and improved working conditions.
- It must publish an annual report with its recommendations on a Government of Ontario website and send it to the Minister of Education.
- The Minister must meet with the Commission each year to discuss its report.
What it means for you#
- Early years and child care workers: The bill creates a Commission that must make recommendations about supporting the workforce and addressing staffing shortages. It does not itself raise wages, change working conditions, or require employers to change staffing.
- Workers’ organizations and unions: The bill names their members or designates as groups from which Commission members must be appointed. It does not set the number of seats for each group.
- Minister of Education: The Minister must meet the Commission annually to discuss each annual report.
- Families and the public: The reports must be public. The bill does not create a new child care service or directly change access to care, fees, or eligibility.
Money#
No cost estimate or funding amount is provided in the available material.
- The Commission must prepare and publish annual reports, and the Minister must meet with it each year.
- The bill does not specify Commission staffing, operating funds, or how these duties would be paid for.
What is unclear#
- The bill does not set the Commission’s size, members’ terms, or how it would operate.
- It does not define “early years and child care workforce” or “staffing shortages.”
- It does not say how the Commission must develop its recommendations or whether it must consult workers or the public.
- It requires the Minister to meet with the Commission, but does not require the Minister or government to accept or act on its recommendations.
- The bill does not state how the Commission would be funded or staffed.
Case for#
- A possible argument for the bill is that a Commission with workers, their representative organizations, and unions could bring workforce perspectives into recommendations on wages, working conditions, and staffing shortages.
- Public annual reports could make those recommendations available to workers and the public.
- A required annual meeting would give the Commission a regular opportunity to discuss its recommendations with the Minister.
Case against#
- The bill creates an advisory role, not a requirement to raise wages, improve working conditions, or address shortages through specific measures.
- It does not require the government to respond to recommendations or explain whether it will act on them.
- The bill leaves the Commission’s size, operation, and funding open, so the resources and practical influence it would have are unclear.
- Representation of Black, Indigenous, and other racialized communities is required only “to the extent possible,” not guaranteed.