SECHELT – Local families in Sechelt will soon be able to access 72 new licensed child-care spaces thanks to a $500,000 investment through the Province’s Child Care Major Capital Funding Program, announced Nicholas Simons, MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast.

“Every family deserves access to quality child care,” said Simons. “This first step will make a difference in Sechelt and is a first step in achieving our government’s goal of implementing universal, affordable child care throughout the province.”

The Little Scholars Child Care Centre in Sechelt will add 72 spaces thanks to the grant. Throughout the province, $33 million is being provided for 103 projects, which will allow child-care providers to create 3,806 new licensed child-care spaces.

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.