Projects
Reimagining Care/Work Policies
The Vanier Institute has partnered with Brock University, and over 30 other partners (mainly non‑profit, charitable, community, and government) and 50 co‑investigators and collaborators, to work on a seven-year program focused on Reimagining Care/Work Policies.
The Vanier Institute has partnered with Brock University, and over 30 other partners (mainly non-profit, charitable, community, and government) and 50 co-investigators and collaborators, to work on a seven-year program focused on Reimagining Care/Work Policies.
The project team includes leading researchers from across Canada and around the world. The team studies how programs and policies (especially childcare, parental leave and employment policies) impact the everyday lives and the wellbeing of diverse Canadian families, including Indigenous, racialized, newcomer, solo-parent, LGBTQI2S+, and low-income families.
Research Focus
- How current Canadian childcare, parental leave, and employment policies are structured, financed, and delivered, and what we can learn from national and international research
- What impacts Canadian policies have on how diverse families live, work, and care for their children, and what we can learn from their lived experiences
- The approaches and data needed to measure the effectiveness and inclusiveness of these family policies
- What the best policy mixes are for Canada’s diverse families with young children
Funding
A $2.5 million grant was received from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), through their Partnership Grant program, which supports formal partnerships between academic researchers and a range of community, non-profit, public sector, and private sector partners. The project also raised 117% matching funds from partnering organizations.
Project Timeline
The project spans from 2020 to 2027.
Vanier Institute’s Role
Partner organization
Project Lead
Andrea Doucet, PhD
Canada Research Chair in Gender, Work and Care
Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies
Brock University
Project Co-Founders/Co-Investigators
Martha Friendly
Executive Director, Childcare Research and Resource Unit
Donna Lero, PhD
Professor Emerita, University of Guelph
Susan Prentice, PhD
Duff Roblin Professor of Government
University of Manitoba
Project Staff
- Jennifer Turner, Project Manager
Vanier Lead
Sophie Mathieu, PhD
Video resource: Childcare in Quebec
Dr. Sophie Mathieu explains childcare in Quebec in terms of affordability, quality, and accessibility. She identifies what lessons Canada can draw from it in developing a national childcare program.
Since 1997, Québec’s social policy regime—especially its affordable childcare program—has supported families. With Canada’s new childcare plan now in development, many within government are citing Quebec’s childcare network as a successful model to follow—however, it is not without challenges.
This video was created by team members working on the Reimagining Care/Work Policies project, funded by an SSHRC Partnership Grant (PI Andrea Doucet), to support teaching and learning on Canadian family policy.
Please cite as: Mathieu, S., Sasso, M., McKay, L., & Thompson, K. (2022). Childcare in Québec, Featuring Dr. Sophie Mathieu [Video]. Reimagining Care/Work Policies. https://rcwproject.ca/
Sources:
[1] Cleveland, G., Mathieu, S., & Japel, C. (2021, February 18). What is “the Quebec model” of early learning and child care? Policy Options. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/february-2021/what-is-the-quebec-model-of-early-learning-and-child-care/
[2] Fortin, P., Godbout, L. & St-Cerny, S. (2022) L’impact des services de garde à contribution réduite du Québec sur le taux d’activité féminin, le revenu intérieur et les budgets gouvernementaux [The Impact of Quebec’s Low-Cost Child Care on Women’s Participation Rates, Domestic Income and Government Budgets]. Interventions économiques / Papers in Political Economy. https://journals.openedition.org/interventionseconomiques/
[3] Japel, C., Tremblay, R. & Côté, S. (13 December, 2022). Quality Counts!: Assessing the Quality of Daycare Services Based on the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. IIRP Choices, 11(5). https://irpp.org/research-studies/quality-counts/
[4] Ministère de la Famille (2021). Major initiative for families : action plan to complete the educational childcare services network. Gouvernement du Québec. https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4462426
[5] Cleveland, G., Mathieu, S. & Japel, C. (2021, February 18). What is “the Quebec model” of early learning and child care? Policy Options. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/february-2021/what-is-the-quebec-model-of-early-learning-and-child-care/
[6] Whitehurst, G. (2017, March 9). Why the federal government should subsidize childcare and how to pay for it. Economic Studies at Brookings, 2(11). https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/es_20170309_whitehurst_evidence_speaks3.pdf
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