City of Vancouver says they’ve met target of 500 new childcare spaces

WATCH: The city of Vancouver has unveiled its latest child care space numbers and they say parents now have more options than ever. Grace Ke has that story.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson says the city has hit its three-year target of creating 500 new childcare spaces.

A press conference was held today to announce 599 spaces have been built or committed to since 2012, with the city investing $62 million to the project.

“The City is committed to investing in childcare as a way to improve early childhood education and make Vancouver more affordable for young families,” said Robertson in a statement.

“Too many Vancouver families struggle every day to find affordable childcare, which puts a strain on hard-working parents and grandparents in our city.”

In total 751 childcare spaces have been built since 2009.

Robertson made the announcement surrounded by childcare advocates, who commended childcare workers in the city.

According to the City of Vancouver, 301 spaces have been built since 2012, while 298 have been committed to. Specific details on the cost of those committed spaces, and which level of government will be financing them, are unavailable.

In their 2011 platform, Vision Vancouver promised to “set of goal of a minimum of 500 new daycare spaces over the course of the next term.”

NPA councillor George Affleck said the announcement, coming six months before a municipal election, was premature.

“It’s all standard electioneering, so you’re going to have to be skeptical on numbers,” argued Affleck.

“It’s standard Vision procedure to say they’ve achieved goals when they haven’t. On every issue they’ve campaigned on, this is just another one of those mathematical PR spins.”