VANCOUVER – Local families across Vancouver will soon be able to access new licensed child-care spaces thanks to a $3.46 million investment through the Province’s Child Care Major Capital Funding Program.

This funding will create a total of 453 new licensed child-care spaces, including 132 for children under 36 months old and 205 for children between the ages of 3 to 5.

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

Here is what New Democrat MLAs had to say about new child-care spaces in their communities:

“From listening to parents in Vancouver-Fraserview, I know finding safe and local child-care can be very difficult and put strain on families.  I am excited that people in my community will benefit from the creation of 106 new child-care spaces while our government continues to find solutions to the child-care crisis,” Hon. George Chow, MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview

“Our government understands that families need safe, reliable child-care and a lack of available spaces is only making matters worse.  This increase is just the beginning of our plan to bring affordable and accessible child-care to British Columbians and we look forward to creating more positive changes for families in the coming months and years,” Mable Elmore, MLA for Vancouver-Kensington

“For years, the previous government chose to ignore the hard realities that parents and guardians face when trying to find affordable child-care for their families.  We believe every family deserves to be able to access quality child-care and these increases are just the beginning of making life better for British Columbian kids and parents,” Hon. George Heyman, MLA for Vancouver-Fairview

“Investing in child-care is investing in our future, and this investment is long overdue. Creating these new spaces in Vancouver is a great start toward universal child-care, and a relief for desperate parents and guardians struggling to find high-demand space for their kids,” Hon. Melanie Mark, MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant

“More licensed child-care spaces in Vancouver-Hastings will help reduce the enormous stress that families often encounter when trying to find safe and local child-care in Vancouver.  There is much more to do and we are moving as quickly as possible to deliver on our commitment of creating an accessible and affordable child-care system that works for British Columbians,” Hon. Shane Simpson, MLA for Vancouver-Hastings