The site at 510 Lorne Street that is set to become a new child care facility (Image Credit: Adam Donnelly / CFJC Today)

By Victor Kaisar

New Daycare Operator

New Lorne Street daycare expected to open this spring with YMCA BC as new operator

Feb 1, 2025 | 1:38 PM

KAMLOOPS — The City of Kamloops has partnered with the YMCA of British Columbia, which will operate a new 36-space child care facility in Station Plaza downtown.

Speaking at Thursday’s (Jan. 30) Livability and Sustainability select committee meeting, Natasha Hartson, the city’s Acting Social, Housing and Community Development Manager said the YMCA was chosen as the new operator after a request for proposals process in the fall.

“They have a longstanding history in our community and we’re really excited that they’re such a reputable organization,” Hartson said. “We’ve been working really well with them actively now.”

Hartson said officials from the YMCA were moving things into the facility at 510 Lorne Street as of last week.

“We’re really hopeful to see a spring opening,” she said. “Additional information on staff enrolment and that will be coming out in the coming days.”

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Originally expected to open in August of last year, the facility – which will focus on the families of City employees – was delayed indefinitely after the City of Kamloops cut ties with the Saltair Childcare Society in early September.

“Due to recent events…the City has lost confidence in the operator’s ability to meet their contractual obligations and provide the level of service we would expect from a partner in childcare,” a statement from the City of Kamloops said. “Therefore, we have opted to seek an alternative childcare operator.”

“Unfortunately, this will delay the opening of the childcare facility, however we are not willing to compromise on the level of care provided at our centre.”

While Interior Health substantiated allegations against Saltair, which was doing business as Inquiring Little Minds, the City of Kamloops said its decision to sever ties was “unrelated” to issues that were identified in those inspections.

“We didn’t look at any of the other relationships the vendor had with anybody else in the community,” the City’s Corporate Services Director David Hallinan told CFJC Today in September last year.

“This was really front and centre about the engagement or lack or engagement with us and the inability for us to seem to get clarity and timely information as to where we were in the process so that we could communicate that to people so that they would know what to do and by when.”