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By CKPG Today

northern child care

New accessible child care for Gitga’at First Nation

Jun 26, 2020 | 11:27 AM

HARTLEY BAY–The Province is investing in 24 new licensed child care spaces to provide affordable and quality child care to families in Hartley Bay.

The Childcare B.C. New Spaces Fund is supporting the Gitga’at First Nation’s construction of a new standalone building where 15 school-aged child care spaces and nine spaces for children under the age of 12 will be made available for local families.

“A child’s early years are so important, and I am pleased that this new child care centre will offer culturally relevant, quality child care for Gitga’at children and play a positive role in helping them remain connected to their community, traditions and history as they grow older.”–Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development

Minister Conroy adds that having the centre is located near the local elementary school will help parents in having one location to drop-off and pick up their children.

“By making investments in child care, we are giving more parents the option to pursue their work or educational goals, knowing that their kids have a safe, nurturing environment to learn in,” said Jennifer Rice, MLA for North Coast. The curriculum will be created with input from Elders to provide children with culturally enriched learning, such as storytelling, language and traditional art. The existing centre currently provides morning and afternoon snacks for children at no additional cost to parents, and at the new building, which is located across from the local elementary school’s home economics building, the children will receive lunch as well.

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“The funding for this daycare is very important, as it is currently run from a small two-bedroom house, which makes it hard to have separate programs customized for different age groups.”–Teresa Robinson from Gitga’at First Nation

“Parents are welcome to join the children in the afternoon programming, but because of the limited space, that doesn’t often happen. The new building will be a great asset to the program and community, helping to bring families together and be more involved in their children’s early learning,” continued Robinson.

The centre will provide staff with the opportunity to upgrade their qualifications locally and become certified early childhood educators without having to travel for their certificates. In addition to the child care centre, the building will house an Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve, with seven spaces moving from another location. The project is part of the Gitga’at First Nation’s strategic plan, which includes building a hotel and restaurant, grocery store and commercial community kitchen.