'To protect our children': Alberta unveils new bill aimed at child-care sector

The Alberta government is looking to increase oversight of the child-care sector.

The Alberta government is looking to increase oversight of the child-care sector.

The province tabled the Early Learning and Child Care Amendment Act, 2024 – Bill 25 – on Wednesday.

The bill makes changes to the Public Health Act and Safety Codes Act.

The legislation is guided by recommendations made by a child-care and food-safety review panel established after hundreds of children fell ill last September's during an outbreak of E.coli at Calgary daycares

"We found that Alberta's legislation needed to be strengthened and streamlined to ensure that every child-care operator understands the regulations that apply to them," said Dr. Lynn McMullen, a retired University of Alberta professor.

McMullen sat on the review panel. She believes the most significant change is the clarification of current language around food safety.

"(Existing legislation) wasn't clear on what the expectations were for operators," McMullen said. "One of the recommendations was that (it) gets cleaned up so it's clear to operators what they are responsible for and what they need to do to protect our children."