Submission #2366

At Morell & Area Early Learning Centre, we, like the entire sector, are struggling to understand how the recent decision to reduce funding for Pedagogical Support Staff aligns with the Government of Prince Edward Island’s stated commitments to strengthen, grow, and sustain our early childhood sector. The Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island has consistently spoken about the importance of recruiting and retaining qualified Early Childhood Educators, recognizing that a strong workforce is essential to building a high-quality early learning system. Public messaging has emphasized supporting educators, reducing burnout, and ensuring the system can grow while maintaining quality.

Yet this decision to reduce funding for pedagogical support staff does the opposite!

At our centre, this reduction represents a 50% loss of pedagogical support hours. This is not simply a budget adjustment or a number reflected at the bottom of a spreadsheet. It is a significant loss of real, human support within our centre. This reduction impacts our ability to respond effectively to the needs of children within our Early Years Centre. It limits our capacity to support educators in meeting the increasing expectations of high-quality care and education. It reduces the time and space educators have to reflect, observe, and plan in meaningful ways, particularly for children who require additional support now more than ever. At the same time, it places added strain on a workforce already facing growing demands.

Most importantly, this reduction represents a direct loss of income for qualified Early Childhood Educators in Prince Edward Island. These are professionals who stepped into these roles in good faith, trusting in the Government of Prince Edward Island’s commitment to support this sector and its workforce. For several years, we have heard consistent messaging about the importance of recruiting and retaining qualified educators to meet the growing demand for high-quality, accessible, and affordable child care. We have heard that we are the envy of other provinces, spoken of at a national level. Why? Because we, the sector, are holding up our end of the agreement and providing quality, responsive care, helping recruit new educators, and mentoring Holland College students entering the field of early childhood education. We are, at the government’s request, providing families with expansions in regulated EYC spaces across the island. How do you think these important moves are being made? WITH SUPPORT, support from our qualified, experienced, pedagogical support staff! Decisions such as reductions in funding for these positions raise serious concerns across the sector about how our government chooses to uphold its end of agreements and commitments. These pedagogical support positions are not just an “extra” staff member. They are what allow our centres to remain high-quality, responsive to the increased needs of children and families, and to assist educators in doing their jobs to the high standards PEI families have become accustomed to. They provide the time needed for planning, documentation, and reflection. They support quality programming, responsive environments, and the ability to meet the diverse and evolving needs of children.

Let’s look at the larger picture here. There is strong evidence-based research demonstrating that investment in early childhood education yields long-term societal benefits. Countries such as Finland and Norway, which invest heavily in early years systems, see stronger outcomes in education, health, and overall well-being. These systems recognize that investing early reduces future strain on schools, healthcare systems, and social services. We understand that cuts need to be made, but making them in places like early childhood creates strains and dependence on other sectors in the near future. Educators experience higher levels of stress and burnout. Turnover increases. Quality becomes harder to maintain. And children, particularly those who would benefit most from strong early supports, are the ones who feel the impact. The early years are not a place to reduce investment. They are the foundation for everything that follows.

As a sector, Early Childhood Educators have always been resilient. We adapt. We show up. We make it work. But resilience should not be used as a reason to continue removing essential supports. There is a growing sense across the field that we are being asked to carry more, with less, simply because we always have. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Early Childhood Educators were deemed essential. Centres re-opened, and educators stepped up in extraordinary ways to ensure that essential workers could continue their jobs. We cared for children so that healthcare workers, emergency responders, and other essential services could keep this Island running.

That reality has not changed; we, the early childhood educators, are essential to ensuring that every other sector’s employees on Prince Edward Island can show up to work because we are showing up to support their children’s care and needs day in and day out. If Early Years Centres are no longer able to operate effectively due to burnout, staffing shortages, and a lack of support, the impact will not be isolated to our sector. It will ripple across the entire Island. Parents will not be able to work. Essential services will be disrupted. Communities will feel the strain. Child care is not separate from the economy. It is what allows the economy to function.

We are not asking for more than what has already been recognized as necessary. We are asking for alignment between commitment and action. How does reducing support for educators align with the Government of Prince Edward Island’s stated commitment to recruit, retain, and support qualified Early Childhood Educators?

The strongest way to build the future of this Island is to invest in its people when it matters most. That begins in the early years!

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on this matter! I hope you can reflect on how these decisions are impacting the early years sector and our precious next generation of leaders!

Paige MacLaren

Director of Morell and Area Early Learning Centre