The City of Vancouver and YMCA held a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday for the new Kids at Marine YMCA daycare centre.
The new centre will provide 37 affordable childcare spaces for infants and toddlers. With a little help from provincial funding, the cost for a child enrolled at the centre ranges from $950 a month for children three to five years old to $1,100 per month for children under the age of three.
"I think people need to understand just how critically important the early years are," said the YMCA's Kim Adamson "Having access to quality accessible childcare for families makes the difference between them having able to get out and be employed in the community verses not being able to."
Basia Pakula has a four-year-old son at the centre and said getting care has been a struggle since "day one."
"Especially finding childcare that can meet the needs of your child. We are just so delighted to have found a space here and to have not only found a space but found an excellent quality space," Pakula said.
The City of Vancouver is hoping to have 1,000 new licensed childcare spaces by 2022.
