Less than one month before Vancouver's municipal election, the ruling party has pledged to create 500 new daycare spaces and fund more officers and staff for the city's police department.
Vision Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said the city will deliver the daycare spaces over the next three years, with priority placed on slots for infants, toddlers and after-school care.
"Of the 15,000 kids under three in Vancouver, only three per cent have access to childcare spaces," Robertson said Sunday in Memorial South Park. "We have to put a priority on safety and livability and the services have to be provided."
He also promised to increase funding for both the Vancouver Police Department and Vancouver Fire and Rescue.
The mayor also announced plans to help seniors by training city staff and community organizations to identify signs of dementia and Alzheimers so they can intervene and assist seniors who have wandered away from home.
One in eight Vancouverites is over the age of 65, he said, and nearly a third of those over 85 have dementia.
The mayor added that he wants the Occupy Vancouver protesters camped out behind the Vancouver Art Gallery to leave, and that city staff are negotiating a peaceful end to the protest.
More than 100 people have been camped out since the Occupy Wall Street movement came to Vancouver on Oct. 15.
Vancouver's municipal election takes place Nov. 19.
