Harper Government Supports Nunavummiut Children

May 14, 2013
For immediate release

Fact Sheet: To promote the health, well-being and school readiness of children

(OTTAWA) – The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health and Member of Parliament for Nunavut, announced funding for a project to provide capacity to expand the availability of preschool programs for children ages 3 to 5 years of age living in communities across Nunavut.

“We want children to achieve their full potential,” said Minister Aglukkaq. “That’s why we are investing to have qualified early childhood educators deliver culturally relevant programs that prepare Nunavut children for school and a good start in life.”

Today’s announcement will support the Capacity Building for Early Childhood Development Educators project led by the Nunavut Arctic College in partnership with the Government of Nunavut Department of Education and the Public Health Agency of Canada. This project will increase the number of early childhood educators to enhance programming under Aboriginal Head Start and potentially other educational initiatives.

“Today’s announcement is a positive step forward for Nunavummiut seeking training and careers in early childhood education,” said the Honourable Daniel Shewchuk, Minister Responsible for the Arctic College. “Early childhood development training opportunities will be made available across all three regions of Nunavut.”

“Early childhood educators play an important role in helping to promote a child’s health and social development,” said Michael Shouldice, President, Nunavut Arctic College. “Over the coming months, the College will work to expand its highly successful education program across the territory in time for the school year.”

This project is funded through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Aboriginal Head Start Strategic Fund which supports time-limited initiatives to expand program reach, improve access to training, and develop culturally and linguistically relevant tools and resources to enhance the quality and impact of the Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities (AHSUNC) program.

The AHSUNC program provides annual funding to 131 community-based sites across Canada focused on early childhood development for approximately 4,800 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and their families living in urban and northern communities across Canada.

For more information, please contact:

Health Canada
Cailin Rodgers
Office of the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq
Federal Minister of Health
(613) 957-0200

Public Health Agency of Canada
Media Relations
(613) 941-8189

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