VICTORIA – Local families in Nanaimo – North Cowichan will soon be able to access 50 new licensed child-care spaces thanks to a $1 million investment through the province’s Child Care Major Capital Funding Program, announced New Democrat MLA for Nanaimo – North Cowichan, Doug Routley.

“Families from across the province have been telling us that under the previous B.C. Liberal government, it became more and more difficult to find affordable, quality child care,” said Routley. “Our government is committed to implementing universal, affordable child care in B.C., and I’m happy to announce these 50 new spaces as a first step towards keeping that promise.”

This investment includes $500,000 to the Penelakut Tribe for the Smun’eem Head Start Daycare in Chemainus, and $500,000 to the Verstraete Evangelistic Association of Ontario for the HOPE Centre on Gabriola Island. Altogether the investment will create 50 new child-care spaces in Nanaimo – North Cowichan.

This investment will allow child-care providers to:

• Build a new child-care facility, including the cost of buying land or a building.
• Purchase and assemble a modular building and develop a site.
• Renovate an existing building.
• Buy eligible equipment (including playground equipment) and furnishings as part of the above activities to support new child-care spaces in an existing facility.

The Province is now in the process of working with child-care providers to sign project agreements that include the specific requirements that providers have identified for each site, such as the need to lease or buy property, obtain local zoning permits and hire contractors to renovate the sites.

Accelerating the creation of new child-care spaces is part of the B.C. government’s commitment to improve accessibility for families and supports its long-term goal of implementing universal child-care in B.C. For more information, please visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare.