Its another 112 childcare spaces for Kamloops, according to the B.C. government as it says it marks a new milestone in its Childcare BC plan.
Seventy-five of those spaces will be at the Gateway Children’s Centre, while the other 37 will be created by the Cariboo Childcare Society.
“Despite the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, our goal to create new child care spaces throughout the province continues to gain momentum,” Minister of State for Child Care Katrina Chen said in a statement.
“We’ve been able to fund nearly 16,800 new spaces in the past two years, helping to fulfill our promise of better, more affordable child care options for children and families throughout B.C.”
The province says since it announced a child care milestone of more than 13,000 new licensed spaces in March, an additional 3,160 new licensed child care spaces have been funded throughout the province under the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund – an average of 700 new spaces approved for funding each month.
It also says recent changes made to the School Act will make it easier for school boards to create and operate before and after school care. The changes require that school boards prioritize space that is not being used for K-12 students for child care.
“For too long, families throughout B.C. have struggled to find quality, affordable child care close to home,” Education Minister Rob Fleming said.
“We’re making it easier for child care to be delivered on school properties, because children benefit when they spend more time in spaces that are already designed for enrichment and play, and families save time and money with one central drop-off location in their neighbourhoods.”
The province adds an additional 4,110 spaces funded through the 2017 Budget Update and the Early Learning and Child Care agreement with the Government of Canada, takes the total to nearly 20,900 spaces since July 2017.
In addition to Kamloops, there are 52 new spaces coming to the Simpcw Early Learning and Child Care Centre in Barriere, and another eight spaces at the Sahhaltkum Daycare in Chase, which will be created by the Adams Lake Indian Band.
