The B.C. Government says it is adding a second Kamloops facility to the $10-a-day childcare program.

There will be 92 spaces at the Kamloops Christian School’s Early Learning Centre with 32 preschool spaces, 21 spaces for kids aged three to five, 20 school-aged spaces, 11 spaces for kids under three years of age, and eight spaces in the “multi-age” group.

“Kamloops Christian School Association is excited to be chosen to be part of the $10 a Day ChildCareBC initiative,” Sandro Cuzzetto, the CEO of the Kamloops Christian School Association said, in a statement.

“As is well known by most residents of B.C., affordable child care is vital to moving our economy forward and this is especially true as we transition out of a pandemic situation. We feel this is an important move that helps us fulfil part of our mission and mandate at KCSA to serve our local Kamloops community.”

At these sites, the government says families will pay no more than $200 per month per child for full-time enrolment during regular business hours.

“The difference affordable child care can make for a family is incredible,” said Harwinder Sandhu, the NDP MLA for Vernon-Monashee.

“I’m excited that our government is offering these spaces to more and more parents throughout the Thompson-Okanagan. We all want our children to have a good foundational start, and this allows parents, especially women, to rejoin the workforce in greater numbers and support our economic prosperity.”

The Kamloops Child Development Centre is the other site in Kamloops offering the $10-a-day childcare program, with 117 spaces in total.

The government says this latest expansion – which also includes new spaces in Clearwater, Kelowna, Lumby, and Penticton – increases the number of $10 a Day ChildCareBC spaces from 2,500 in 2018 to more than 6,500.

And it says by partnering with the Government of Canada, these spaces will more than double to 12,500 by December.