Whereas access to high quality affordable childcare is vital to the social wellbeing and economic prosperity of communities and provides a strong foundation for greater social sustainability in the future; And whereas the availability of childcare spaces and the costs associated with such care continues to present a challenge to working families in British Columbia: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the federal and provincial governments make access to childcare a top priority and work together to develop and implement the new National Early Learning and Child Care Framework proposed by the federal government to deliver affordable, high quality flexible and inclusive child care.
Ministry of Children and Family Development Government has been actively collaborating on the development of the new multilateral Early Learning and Child Care ELCC Framework. In doing so, government has been working to ensure that an ELCC Framework is aligned with the needs and priorities of BC families, and that it supports the current work and vision for supporting early learning and child care in this province under the BC Early Years Strategy. It is important that the multilateral ELCC Framework supports the principles of High Quality; Accessible, Affordable and Flexible; and Inclusive early learning and child care. It is also important that the ELCC focus on those families more in need. This is a welcomed and needed investment in early learning and child care that can augment our current approach, thus giving parents more choice and support.