Faced with the obvious shortage of spaces for Francophone child care in British Columbia, the Fédération des parents, supported by its members, has initiated efforts intended to target the creation of new spaces as well as enhanced support to existing Francophone child care centres.

This project will be a long process that requires the participation of many financial, community, and other partners. Indeed, the opening of new child care centres and the expansion of existing ones often take many months to materialize, and require major investments in terms of time, energy, and money.

The first stages of this important project for the BC Francophone community took place between April 2016 and November 2018, thanks to the financial support from the Commission nationale des parents francophones (CNPF), through the initiative Ensemble pour le développement social des communautés francophones et acadiennes du Canada.

As part of this national initiative, the CNPF was able to support its 11 member organizations through a strategy called VOIR LOIN: Parents outillés, parents engagés pour le développement social. To learn about the various projects that have come from the CNPF network, visit: http://cnpf.ca/initiatives/projet-ppds (in French only). You can also view a video highlighting the results attained in each province and territory (the video, in French only, is on the CNPF website as well as at the end of this article).

In this way, the Fédération des parents francophones de C.-B. was able to establish a new child care facility that operates before and after school at l’école Beausoleil in Victoria. Called "Les rigolos", it includes 30 spaces, currently serving 24 families, and has also allowed the creation of three jobs. It’s the first child care centre to be managed by the Fédération des parents.

The start-up of a second child care centre is currently underway. The facility, called "La garderie Les étoiles de mer", will be located at l’école Océane in Nanaimo. Child care services will be offered before and after school; they’re expected to become available in the spring of 2019. As well, there will be a child care centre for preschool-aged children, which is scheduled to open in September 2019.

The creation of this second child care centre represents a major undertaking, requiring the installation of a portable classroom at the school site. It was made possible through the financial support of the Child Care Major Capital Funding program of BC’s Ministry of Children and Family Development, and the start-up and assistance funds granted by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) that are part of a national strategy on early childhood. This strategy is led jointly by the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité (RDÉE Canada), the CNPF, and the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC). The Conseil scolaire francophone de la C.-B. is also a partner in this project.

The objective of the Fédération des parents in the medium term is to open two child care centres per year over the next five years. Of course, this objective will be achievable only if the necessary funding is obtained; implementing these start-ups will require hiring a team entirely dedicated to the task -- as was noted in the study of Francophone child care in British Columbia published by the Fédération des parents in February 2018. It should be noted that several partners are working in collaboration with the Fédération des parents in this regard, including la Société de développement économique de la Colombie-Britannique, Collège Éducacentre, and Réseau-Femmes Colombie-Britannique.

This important project, which is very promising for the future, will directly contribute to the economic, social, and educational development of Francophones in BC. The needs of parents regarding child care spaces for their children are very real; the Fédération des parents is working together with its members and partners to respond to them.