Tri-City parents scrambling after Port Coquitlam daycare closes suddenly

By Tanya Beja Reporter  Global News May 1, 2019

Parents in the Tri-Cities are scrambling to find child care after a Port Coquitlam daycare closed suddenly.

Kendra Riley paid a $250 deposit in April to secure an after-school spot for her daughter at the Poco Dots Child Care Centre in September.

But three weeks after registering and paying, she shared the facility’s name in a Facebook group, and that’s when other parents reached out to warn her.

READ MORE: How Canadian provinces are taking on affordable child care — and how it compares to the world

“Within minutes, two or three parents responded to my message and said, ‘Oh that daycare is closed. Their last day was last Thursday, they went under.”

Shannon Derrick, whose child was registered for an after-school spot this fall, also discovered the bad news through social media.

WATCH: John Horgan on whats to come with the NDP’s child care plan

Launching first phases of universal child care policy through a $10-a-day pilot program

John Horgan / Apr. 18, 2019

Wherever I go, I meet people who have had to make difficult choices to help their family get ahead and thrive. Over the past decade British Columbians have struggled with rising costs and declining services, because of decisions that were made to benefit the few at the top.

Our government is making different choices and putting people first – and that’s starting to yield real benefits for people.

$10-a-day child care not in 2019 budget, but advocate not irked

Ashley Wadhwani / Feb. 20, 2019

The NDP’s $10-a-day child care may not have been directly mentioned in the government’s provincial budget, despite it being one of the party’s key election promises, but one advocate says the government is still on the right track with what was announced this week.

Sharon Gregson with the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C. called Tuesday’s budget “a funding envelope” that supports a move to $10-a-day care.

B.C. family wins child care lottery, another 'stuck in the middle'

David Molko / February 27, 2019

Susan Tran from Vancouver and Edith MacHattie from Port Moody are like many Metro Vancouver middle class parents. Both are married with multiple children, and both they and their spouses are juggling full-time jobs.

"If we don't follow a schedule, there's no way I'm going to survive," Tran says, describing her five-year-old son Jack and three-year-old twins Max and Charlie as "high energy."

"It takes a ton of energy every single day," MacHattie echoes, adding that her four-year-old daughter Aurora is "interested in everything, and wants to do it herself," while 19-month-old Theo is "a ray of sunshine."

City of Kamloops receives $25K grant for use in child-care space inventory

Jessica Wallace / March 22, 2019 

A Kamloops councillor who has been pushing the issue of a lack of child-care spaces in the city is delighted with news the city has received a $25,000 provincial grant to create an inventory of child-care spaces in the city.

“I’ve been pushing this issue, one that has been challenging to get some traction at city hall because childcare is not seen as a municipal issue,” city councillor and Deputy Mayor Dale Bass said, noting when it impacts parents’ wallets, it is, in fact, an “economic issue.”

How Canadian provinces are taking on affordable child care — and how it compares to the world

Maham Abedi / March 26, 2019

Alberta’s New Democrats have unveiled an election pledge that would expand its $25-a-day child care plan.

The province’s NDP Leader Rachel Notley said the price cap would apply no matter what a parent has been currently paying for child care, and expands a pilot program that capped daycare costs at $25 daily at 7,300 spaces in 122 locations.

“Anything that holds Alberta women back, holds Alberta back.” Notley said.

Child care study money a step towards $10 a day care — advocate

Diane Strandberg / March 22, 2019

Grants totaling $75,000 for child care planning in Port Moody, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam won’t solve the daycare crisis today but will go a long way towards the implementation of a $10-a-day plan, says a B.C. advocate.

“It’s another important step towards it,” said Sharon Gregson of the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C. “We have to make sure taxpayers’ money is spent wisely and the way to do that is to have public parties and cities and school districts plan for a daycare system so we move from a crazy patchwork of what happens now towards a well-planned system of where we expand and how we expand.”

Federal funding aims to help women’s movement in Metro Vancouver

Jessica Kerr / March 28, 2019

Fourteen women’s organizations in the Lower Mainland are among more than 250 from across Canada receiving a financial shot in the arm from Ottawa.

Back on March 8, which is International Women’s Day, Minister for Women and Gender Equality Maryam Monsef announced that more than 250 women’s organizations across the country would receive funding through the ministry’s Capacity-building Fund, with the aim of helping organizations that advance the women’s movement and gender equity in Canada.

Clues for fixing King County’s child care woes may be found in British Columbia

Ashley Hiruko and Aaron Kunkler / March 30, 2019

Vancouver, British Columbia’s child care issues look painfully similar to those experienced by parents in King County and across Washington state. British Columbia, Canada saw 16 years of worsening child care payoff fees, leaving child care unaffordable for the majority of people except the province’s wealthiest of families. A recent report from King County found that the median monthly cost for full-time infant care is more than $1,500, and many families pay more.

Even for those who could afford it, a long waitlist meant parents would spend months, and sometimes years, stuck in limbo before a spot would open up.

British Columbia was in the same situation as King County and Washington state until its last provincial election. And then something changed.

COLUMN: Millennials need more government support

Wayne Stetski / Apr. 3, 2019

As a Member of Parliament, I represent people in all stages of life and think it’s important to consider the impact of government policies and investments across age brackets. As a parent and grandparent, I hope my children and granddaughter will have the same opportunities and quality of life I have been fortunate to have.

Unfortunately, young Canadians are graduating school with record amounts of student debt only to be faced with precarious work, stagnant wages, and rising housing costs. Many are worried about how they will reach milestones like buying a home, starting a family, or retiring. Those who do have children encounter the added burden of astronomical childcare costs. One of my millennial staff members explains the situation facing her generation saying, “Canada is eating its young.”