Education Minister Krista Lynn Howell will provide an update today on early learning and child care training, staffing and the expansion of child care spaces in the province.

A report released in May by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives indicated that access to regulated child care remained a problem, with Newfoundland and Labrador coming in second to last in terms of access.

Fifty-six per cent of those who responded to a recent VOCM Question of the Day indicated that they, or someone they knew was still having trouble accessing child care.

The province has set a target of 700 new child care spaces in the province in 2023, while a recruitment drive for ECEs was launched last year in anticipation of the introduction of a pre-kindergarten pilot program and the introduction of $10-a-day child care.

Today’s update is scheduled for 11:30 at the YMCA’s Pre-K site at East Point Elementary. VOCM News will be there.