372 new licensed child-care spaces are on their way in Surrey

SURREY – Local families in Surrey will soon be able to access 372 new licensed child-care spaces thanks to a $1.1 million investment through the Province’s Child Care Major Capital Funding Program, announced Surrey’s New Democrat MLAs.

“I’m happy that 372 new child-care spaces will be coming to families in Surrey, 97 of which will be in Surrey-Guildford. This is a great step forward from our government, making life more affordable for B.C. families,” said Garry Begg, MLA for Surrey-Guildford.

“Under the previous B.C. Liberal government, the child-care crisis in B.C. was getting worse, not better. This new New Democrat government is committed to changing that. The 92 new spaces coming into Surrey-Fleetwood will make a difference to local families, and that’s important,” said Jagrup Brar, MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood

“I’m thrilled that our government is creating 114 new child-care spaces in Surrey-Panorama, 20 of which will be specialized for children under 36 months –the most vulnerable age.  This is an important step towards our commitment to implementing universal, affordable child care,” said Surrey-Panorama MLA Jinny Sims.

“This government believes that every family deserves access to affordable, quality child care when they need it. That is why our government has funded the creation of 16 mixed-age child-care spaces in Surrey-Green Timbers,” said Rachna Singh, MLA for Surrey-Green Timbers

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.