Mixed reviews on Vancouver’s childcare

Good morning,

Nate with you again. 

Are you feeling particularly positive or energetic today compared to your usual Friday mood? 

If so, it may be because you had a four day work week. Research shows that people report improved mental and physical health, higher job satisfaction, and reduced burnout when working fewer hours. 

From a manager and company perspective, it’s also good for the bottom line. One group’s research found participating companies increased revenue by 25%, found it much easier to attract qualified candidates, and benefited from increased employee productivity.   

In B.C., unionized employees are able to create modified four day work schedules by working slightly longer hours. The federal government has a similar opportunity for employees to compress their working hours into fewer days. 

While these policies aren’t exactly in line with four day work week principles (less work = more productivity), these arrangements certainly seem popular with folks I know. 

What do you think? Good idea or bad? Reply to this email, and we may feature some answers in the next newsletter!

With that, let’s get on to news and events for your weekend. 

— Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

WEATHER

Friday: 13 🌡️ 9 | 🌧️

Saturday: 16 🌡️ 8 | 🌧️

Sunday: 13 🌡️ 10 | 🌧️

Monday: 18 🌡️ 12 | 🌧️

CHILDCARE

Mixed reviews on Vancouver’s childcare options

What happened: Vancouver is celebrating a new childcare facility but still lacks spaces across the city. Good news first. The City of Vancouver, with support from the province, recently completed a new 69-space childcare facility at Marpole House in South Van. 

The problem: There is still a significant shortage of childcare spaces in the city. “It’s a desert everywhere,” a city planner told council last year, according to the Vancouver Sun. Vancouver’s 2022 childcare strategy identified a shortfall of 15,000 licensed childcare spaces for children up to the age of 12. 

Estimates show that over 70% of families in Vancouver don’t have adequate access to a daycare and before-and-after school care, according to Jennifer Reddy, a Vancouver School Board trustee, writing for Daily Hive. 

• Reddy wrote that the VSB could host out-of-school-care in Vancouver’s 89 public elementary schools, “immediately creat[ing] 6,000 to 7,000 spaces in approximately 12 months.”

Reddy tabled a motion to this effect, but was not supported by the school board’s ABC party majority. Another complicating issue is local pressure amongst some neighbourhood groups resisting new childcare spaces being licensed in their vicinity. 

Case study: Last summer, an application to expand a childcare facility in the Douglas Park neighbourhood was denied, after local residents mounted a campaign against the facility. One neighbour even threatened legal action should the daycare be expanded, according to the Sun.

• For the past two years, Douglas Park Academy has run an 8-space childcare facility out of a family home across from the Douglas Park Community Centre. An application to double their capacity was rejected last August by City Hall’s board of variance. 

Regional picture: Outside Vancouver, the City of Langley voted this week to ban childcare facilities in a two-block area downtown due to concerns that they don’t create an inviting good shopping experience in the area, according to CTV. There are currently five daycare centres in the neighbourhood. 

Overall, Metro Vancouver saw a substantial increase of over 20,000 childcare spots between 2019 and 2023, according to CBC. 

• With just over 25 spaces per 100 children, our region still lags behind the national average (29). However, the region is outperforming the province as a whole, with B.C. averaging 21 spots per 100 kids, according to the regional body’s report.

Provincial responsibility: Technically, childcare is a provincial responsibility, as school boards and city staff are quick to point out. But, of course, elected officials at all levels are exposed to the displeasure of their constituents, who are more concerned with lack of appropriate childcare than they are with jurisdictional arguments. 

• That being said, the province has instituted a number of policies in an attempt to improve the situation. 

For starters, they’ve removed waitlist fees for families trying to get their kids into government-funded childcare facilities, starting April 1, 2024. A small number of providers were previously charging non-refundable fees, ranging from $25 to $200+. 

• They’ve expanded the $10 a day ChildCareBC program, which now totals over 15,000 spaces across the province. In Vancouver, approximately 95 childcare facilities offer these rates.

The province is also funding a pilot program to provide “seamless” childcare in existing schools (along the lines of what Reddy was suggesting), starting with three school districts this fall.

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VANCOUVER NUMBERS

⛲ 71%: The portion of Vancouver’s decorative water features that are in poor or very poor condition. [Park Board]  

🏗️ 670: The number of below-market rental units at four sites in Metro Vancouver promised by the provincial government in an announcement on Thursday. The $226 million in funding will finance housing construction between 2026 and 2028. [BC Gov. News]

PALESTINE-ISRAEL WAR

UBC responds to protestor demands

What happened: UBC president Benoit-Antoine Bacon responded to demands from a Palestinian solidarity encampment at the university after protestors occupied an area of Koerner Library near Bacon’s office. 

Bacon provided a fulsome response, addressing four of the five demands made by organizers from People’s University UBC, a Palestinian solidarity group:

• Bacon wrote that UBC’s Endowment Fund does not directly own stocks in companies identified by the movement, that partnering with Israeli universities is a matter of academic freedom that should be decided by the relevant UBC council, that UBC could not take a position on events in Israel and Palestine due to the complexities of the issue and the values of universities writ large, and recommitted to asking law enforcement to “de-escalate where appropriate.” 

“This posting is a public statement and informs our community of our willingness to engage in reasoned dialogue with student representatives of the protest encampment,” Bacon wrote. “Like the rest of the world, we hope for a ceasefire and a lasting peaceful resolution in the Middle East.” 

Background: On April 29, People’s University UBC established an encampment on MacInnes Field, a relatively new turf field in central UBC wedged between the old student union building and the new one. 

Since then, the group has occupied the campus bookstore and Koerner Library, and held a vigil in the school’s Alumni Centre, and in front of the Life Sciences Building. Through these actions, the group said they were “increasing pressure” on the university to meet their demands.  

Specific to the bookstore occupation, UBC told The Ubyssey that “there has been theft, abuse of university property, erection of barricades, installation of cooking and toilet facilities on UBC property and the removal and possible theft of a Canadian flag from a UBC flag pole.” 

• People’s University UBC disputed the university’s statement on the bookstore occupation, describing it as peaceful in an Instagram post. 

Police on campus: RCMP, who have jurisdiction in the University Endowment Lands, have been called to these scenes but have not made any arrests so far. 

• “The university will continue to contact RCMP for assistance in the event of any future incidents of this kind,” UBC media relations told The Ubyssey. 

Police were also on scene earlier in the month when some 90 counter-protestors, in support of Israel, gathered around the encampment. 

Bigger picture: UBC’s response to the encampment and sit-ins on campus has been measured, something Bacon pointed out in his letter, compared to police crackdowns and arrests at Alberta universities, and Columbia University in the US. A similar encampment began at UBC Okanagan on May 13. 

THE AGENDA

⛴️ BC Ferries has secured a $75 million loan to purchase four zero-emissions electric vessels. But you won’t be taking these from Tsawwassen to Schwartz Bay anytime soon, as the new ships will be used for short, small-volume routes. The ferries and related charging upgrades at the terminals will be completed by mid-2027. [Newswire]

🤬 Disappointing (to say the least) news for Vancouver soccer fans… the Whitecaps announced late on Thursday that Inter Miami stars Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Sergio Busquets, would not travel with the team to Vancouver for their match on Saturday. [Whitecaps]

🛌 Two ABC Vancouver councillors are promoting the idea of rezoning and adapting former office spaces into pod hotels, prior to the 2026 World Cup. It’s an idea that’s seemingly worked out well in places like New York City, but in Vancouver, bylaws, and provincial building and fire codes (particularly around stairwells), would need to be updated before something similar could be attempted. [Vancouver Sun]

🚱 “Day Zero,” is how a 2023 book describes a major city’s water system when it goes dry. Lucky for us, Vancouver inhabits a very wet part of the world, and residents enjoy limited restrictions on its use. However, it’s a huge issue for major cities all over the world and, at the very least, will likely impact the cost and availability of our many imported foods. [The Tyee]

🌊 Tenants on Granville Island are concerned about the impact of rising sea levels and the possibility of flooding on the False Creek spit. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, who manage the island, agree, saying there’s “quite a bit of risk” to the area in the next 30 years. CMHC will hold a public meeting on the issue next week. [Vancouver Sun]

😮‍💨 It’s another twist in the Surrey policing saga. The B.C. Supreme Court has sided with the province, rejecting the City of Surrey’s petition to keep the RCMP rather than fully transition to the municipal Surrey Police Service. “People in Surrey want this to be over,” Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth, who has been duelling with Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke on the issue, said on Thursday. [CityNews]

🏪 Vancouver’s Business Improvement Associations held an economic summit yesterday, attended by Premier David Eby, to discuss city-wide issues impacting local businesses. [CityNews]

🚨 It’s a love-in for Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. Named NHL coach of the year on Wednesday, the former player is credited with “resurrecting” the franchise, with his transparent approach to an obfuscating position. [Sportsnet]

🕺 A new dance and block party event will be taking centre stage at Granville Island in early June. A non-profit public space events organizer will be taking over the empty lot behind Granville Island Brewing for a one-day Public Disco event, including vendors, food trucks, dance performances, and (of course) music. It’ll be a great event for parents in need of a drink, as it’s fully licensed for alcohol sales while also being kid-friendly. [Vancouver Is Awesome]

🏡 A research review at SFU found that rising home prices can harm peoples’ health. However, researchers also observed differential effects between high-income owners and low-income renters. The “wealth effect” of housing on health can, in part, be attributed to the importance of stable community connection, researchers said. [SFU News]

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A downed tree crushed a car share vehicle near Arbutus and 49th Ave. Stress caused by drought and disease, newly-sprouted foliage, and wind and rain storms, can interact to cause falling trees this time of year. 

WEEKEND GUIDE

The Hafu Project | May 25-26, 7:30 and 2 pm | Russian Hall | This concert project is an emotional journey of navigating identity through music, dialogue and media | Tickets $40 

Here’s Bowen Arts! Tour 2024 | May 25-26, 11 am to 4 pm | Bowen Island | Get out of the city this weekend for a tour of 21 art studios and hubs, featuring over 130 artists | Free

OURO Fest | May 25-28, various times and locations | A street dance festival showcasing national artists through performances, battles, and workshops | Event info 

2024 Walk for Alzheimer’s | May 26, 12 pm | Creekside Community Recreation Centre | This fundraising event aims to help communities support the over 85,000 British Columbians living with dementia | Register

Vancouver International Children’s Festival | May 27 - June 2, various performance times | Granville Island | The longest-running professional performing arts festival for young audiences, VICF presents a variety of performances and activities for kids | Ticket options

Murder is a Drag | May 30, various show times | The Show Cellar | Catch this murder mystery-themed dinner and drinks drag show | Tickets $30

Vancouver Farmers Markets | Saturday and Sunday, 10 am (time and day vary by location) | Nearly all of the summer markets are now open! Swing by the Kits, West End, Riley Park, Mount Pleasant, and Trout Lake markets this weekend for a taste of fresh local foodstuffs | Free admission

Dani Gal: Historical Records | Weekly until July 14 | The Polygon Gallery (note they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays) | This work is comprised of over 700 commercially issued vinyl LPs, which the artist has collected since the beginning of this century | By donation

Guys and Dolls | Daily (excluding Mondays) until June 30, various show times | Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage (Granville Island) | Revel in the laughs and romance of this timeless musical | Tickets $46

Richmond Night Market | Weekends, 7 pm | 8351 River Rd | Visit Metro Vancouver’s premiere Night Market for fantastical food and shopping offerings, open all summer long | Admission

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• A Vancouver photographer is dealing his own social anxiety by asking to take photos of strangers (and their dogs), with roughly 90% of people saying yes to a photo. [Vancouver Sun]

• Subscribe to The Starglow Weekly to get the TLDR on all things purposeful parenting, help lessen screentime, and find that balance we're all seeking. [Sponsored]

• 30 years after the Vancouver band Salvador Dream’s debut album, the band is making a comeback of sorts. [CBC]

• Canucks star Elias Pettersson, who struggled to perform in the latter half of the season, recently revealed that he’d been playing on a bad knee since January [Vancouver is Awesome]

• Evo Car Share’s home zone is expanding within Burnaby, and is adding a return area at the Hullo Ferry terminal in Nanaimo. [Daily Hive]

• Portugal, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom will compete in the 2024 Festival of Lights. [Georgia Straight]

GAME TIME

Congrats to Cedric and Alec who both correctly guessed the Vancouver Guesser on Wednesday was Nanaimo and Kitchener.

Today’s Vancouver Wordle is an important group of people who popped up a few times in today’s newsletter. Can you guess who I’m talking about?