Long awaited child-care spaces are about to come to the city of Vancouver.
The B.C. government announced on Thursday plans to bring around 2,300 new child care spaces to the city’s schools, community centres and other public facilities.
“When families have access to quality child care, they thrive and so do our communities and our economy,” B.C. Premier John Horgan said.
“Working with the City of Vancouver, we are creating more affordable child-care spaces for more families. These new spaces will help families across the city, lifting them up and helping them to get ahead.
“It also allows families to realize their full economic potential. We wanted to do what we could to reduce the critical, important cost of child care.”
The spaces will be rolled out over the next three years. A lack of child-care spaces has been a growing concern in Vancouver, with many parents experiencing years-long wait-lists.
The City of Vancouver will receive $33 million from the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund to fund new licensed child-care spaces, which will include a mix of spaces for children under the age of five, as well as spaces for school-age children.
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“Increasing access to affordable child care is an important step in ensuring the city works for everyone,” Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart said.
“Today’s news sends a powerful message that the province of B.C. and the City of Vancouver are working to make life a little easier for you.”
The city is still working with the Vancouver School Board, Vancouver Park Board and others to offer additional spaces for school-age children. More details will be available from the City of Vancouver as projects are confirmed.
Under the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund, child-care providers can apply for funding to create new child-care spaces at any time throughout the year under a new continuous application process.
“Vancouver parents have already seen the cost of living drop due to our affordability measures and now we’re taking strides to make it easier to find child care,” Minister of State for Child Care Katrina Chen said.
“We know that child care is incredibly hard to find. By taking advantage of public spaces such as schools, libraries and community centres, these new facilities will offer a one-stop shop for parents, providing access to quality child care, as well as other essential services families need.”
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