Excerpt from preface:
In September 2000, the Government of Canada, provincial and territorial governments reached an agreement to improve and expand the services and programs they provide for children under 6 years of age and their families. Under the ECD Agreement, governments have committed to report annually to Canadians on their progress in enhancing early childhood development programs and services. As a first step, all governments established a "baseline" of their early childhood development activities and spending, against which their future progress could be measured.
The Government of Canada released its baseline report in November 2001. As a second step, governments agreed to begin building on the information provided to the public in their baseline reports, by reporting individually in the fall of 2002 on their progress in enhancing early childhood development programs and services, and by reporting annually thereafter. Governments have agreed on a "shared framework" - a common set of principles and guidelines - to guide this annual reporting and to help ensure consistency in the type of information that they provide to the public about their activities and investments through the ECD Agreement. The full text of the "Shared Framework for Reporting on Progress in Improving and Expanding Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programs and Services" is found in Annex A.
This document is the Government of Canada's fulfillment of the commitment to build on the information in its baseline report by reporting on the progress it has made in enhancing early childhood development programs and services since the ECD Agreement was put in place.