Canada and Manitoba Governments Partner with C3P to Prevent Child Abuse

Always Local, Always Free

Child Care

Canada and Manitoba Governments Partner with C3P to Prevent Child Abuse

May 9, 2024

The governments of Canada and Manitoba have announced a partnership with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) to develop a model for early childhood educators to detect and prevent child abuse in Canada. The announcement was made by Jenna Sudds, Federal Families, Children and Social Development Minister, and Nello Altomare, Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister.

Sudds emphasized the importance of high-quality training for child-care professionals in building a Canada-wide early learning and child-care system. Altomare stated that the goal is to equip every child-care worker in Manitoba with the knowledge and tools necessary to keep children safe from abuse.

Starting today, the initiative will provide in-depth training, policies, and age-appropriate curriculum for safeguarding children in Canada. Over 7,500 staff from more than 1,150 facilities, including child-care centres and home-based child-care providers, as well as up to 750 students through eight post-secondary early childhood educator programs, will receive access to mandatory online training and a suite of supporting digital and print resources.

The training is funded under the Canada-Manitoba Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, a $98-million funding agreement over four years. The agreement aims to significantly improve early learning and child care for all children in Manitoba. To support this key priority, the governments of Canada and Manitoba are providing $250,000 to the C3P to launch this initiative.

Noni Classen, Director of Education at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, expressed hope that other provinces would follow this unprecedented level of comprehensive investment in early childhood education.

In addition to the mandatory training, the suite of C3P supports available to child-care professionals includes the Commit to Kids program kit, Teatree Tells: A Child Abuse Prevention Kit, and Kids in the Know: kindergarten to Grade 6 Lessons.

For more information on child care in Manitoba, visit www.manitoba.ca/childcare.