Over 50,000 Children Lack Daycare Spaces in Francophone Minority Communities

early-childhoodOTTAWA – October 12, 2016 – The Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité (RDÉE Canada) and the Commission nationale des parents francophones (CNPF) will sign a memorandum of collaboration on October 14, 2016, for joint exploration of innovative solutions to the recurring challenge of access for Francophone children to high-quality daycare services and programs in French in Canada’s Francophone minority communities. This issue has drawn the attention of the Commissioner of Official Languages, who published on October 3, 2016, a report entitled “Early Childhood: Fostering the Vitality of Francophone Minority Communities”, in which he recommends that the government of Canada prioritize early childhood development in Francophone minority communities.

RDÉE Canada and the CNPF have been working on this initiative since 2015. The first stage was the preparation of a report entitled État des lieux : l’entrepreneuriat au service de la petite enfance, led by the CNPF in collaboration with RDÉE Canada.

A strategic linkage between the priority sector of early childhood development and the economy will be an opportunity to target Francophone childcare as a value-added service, including a professional component (competences of human resources) and an entrepreneurial component suited to different types of enterprises (private, social, cooperative, independent), especially in the case of home-based daycares.

“By including entrepreneurial and labour force strategies, we want to transform the issue of access to early childhood services in French into an opportunity, because there is a large Canadian market,” said Jean-Guy Bigeau, President and CEO of RDÉE Canada.

For Véronique Légault, President of the CNPF, “the ultimate goal of this initiative is to make it easier to access more spaces in high-quality early childhood development services in French, in Francophone minority communities, and to provide adequate support to the development of labour force and entrepreneurial capacities in the industry.”

COLLABORATION

Under the memorandum, both partners agree to create opportunities for collaboration appropriate to their respective mandates and networks. They recognize that:
CNPF has expertise in the area of Francophone early childhood development;
RDÉE Canada has expertise related to the Francophone economy;
Both partners will join forces to find a solution to the issue;
RDÉE Canada provides support to the CNPF network, which takes the lead on the issue of Francophone early childhood development.
RDÉE Canada and the CNPF are both national organizations, present in 12 provinces and territories except Québec, through provincial and territorial organizations that belong to their respective networks.

About RDÉE Canada

For nearly 20 years, RDÉE Canada has depended on the expertise and support of its provincial and territorial members in its role as leader of economic development in Francophone and Acadian communities. RDÉE Canada supports long- and short-term commercial projects and initiatives by maintaining lasting partnerships and encouraging the leadership and innovation that the country needs.

About the CNPF

The Commission nationale des parents francophones (CNPF) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring together, represent and support provincial and territorial organizations and strengthen their capacity to partner with parents at home and in the community. The CNPF works closely with a large number of national partners that work in the fields of education and early childhood development and represent the Francophone and Acadian communities of Canada.

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Contact Person:
Fatoumata Barry
Project Officer, RDÉE Canada
613-244-7308, extension 209