Families throughout British Columbia will have better access to closer-to-home child care, thanks to new provincial guidelines that allow local governments to pair funding programs and purchase land to create new child care spaces.
Municipalities and regional districts can now apply for up to $4 million to buy land for child care centres and create new licensed child care spaces in their communities.
Previously, the maximum funding available was $1 million and local governments had only one fund to draw from, leaving them to cover the costs of land purchases and additional spaces for new child care projects.
“We hear from local leaders about how important it is to have good quality child care to create a family-friendly community and attract employers to their cities and towns,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development. “We want to work with municipalities and regional districts to help make affordable quality child care accessible throughout the province. These grants are a strategic investment to ensure spaces are created where they’re needed most, strengthening communities and our economy.”
Last year, the town of Osoyoos received $900,000 to add 18 new licensed child care spaces to the Osoyoos Child Care Centre — the first expansion since the centre opened more than 20 years ago.
“This partnership means parents in our community will no longer have to drive to nearby towns to find quality child care for their children,” said Sue McKortoff, mayor of the Town of Osoyoos. “We are putting this funding to work expanding a facility to meet our local needs and to ensure our community is an attractive place to work, live and raise a family.”
Like last year, planning grants of up to $25,000 are available to help municipalities and regional districts identify needs and create new child care spaces over the next 10 years.
“We know we can create hundreds of new child care spaces if we work together,” said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care. “I encourage local governments to apply for this funding, so child care can be in reach for their residents. Next year we hope to have a lot more success stories to share.”
Investing in child care and early childhood education is a shared priority between government and the BC Green Party caucus, and is part of the Confidence and Supply Agreement.