West Shore Parks and Recreation was awarded a $1 million grant for the creation of licensed child care space in its facilities.
The grant, provided through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities’ Community Child Care Space Creation Program, will go towards converting existing facility space at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre into new licensed child care spaces.
“This funding will be welcome news for the growing number of West Shore families on waitlists for child care programs in our community,” said Geoff Welham, acting manager of West Shore Parks and Recreation.
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West Shore Parks and Recreation is in the process of applying for additional funding to expand the scope of the project through the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s Child Care BC New Spaced Fund, according to a news release.
The funding is provided through the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development under the Canada-British Columbia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. It will dole out $153 million over three years to improve child care services in BC.
The province recently announced an expansion of investment in the child care sector totaling $1 billion over three years. This includes $237 million to improve access to child care, including funding for the creation of 22,000 new licensed child care spaces, according to Union of BC Municipalities, which administers child care funding programs.
No timeline for the project has been set.
swikar.oli@goldstreamgazette.com
