Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Curtis Goodrum

CHILDCARE SUPPORT

City surveys to show gaps in childcare support across Kamloops

Sep 16, 2025 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS – The City of Kamloops will seek feedback via a pair of surveys this fall as it works on a child care action plan.

Details about that plan – and the status of childcare in the city – will be presented at Thursday’s (Sept. 18) Livability and Sustainability Select Committee meeting. The surveys will launch this month, and staff hope it will provide a clear picture of how the city can improve child care in Kamloops.

The YMCA Station Plaza Care and Learning Centre is a project staff hopes will show council and the province that more childcare support is needed.

“We will be releasing two surveys to the public. One of which will focus on parents and caregivers, so trying to understand the challenges parents are facing in in accessing child care, as well,” said Natasha Hartson, the social, housing and community development manager at the City of Kamloops.

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“We will also surveying childcare providers, so those people who are working in the childcare field, to get a better understanding of the challenges they faced in either opening their establishments or maybe growing their businesses.”

The YMCA – which was also picked to operate a new child care centre at Parkcrest Elementary School – has been a big proponent of child care, and as important as it is to adults, it is equally so to their children.

“It’s also a great investment in early childhood development so that when children reach school age, they’re ready and able to get the most out of their time in school,” said Colin Reid, vice-president at the YMCA BC Kamloops.

The action plan will include ways for the municipality to improve child care through changing local bylaws or by putting pressure on the province.

“There’s just a lack of child care. There are lots of people on the waitlist. I know parents who have been on waitlists for multiple years. The desire for child care is there and the need for child care is there. We are embarking on a childcare action plan,” added Hartson.

As employers try to attract working families to Kamloops, access to child care makes a difference.

“Partly, it’s because both parents are working and with the young populations, the importance of good quality child care resonates with a lot of families,” said Reid.

“I think child care is critical. We often forget how much child care plays into the economy as a whole,” said Hartson

Staff will deliver their plans to the committee on Thursday and have an action plan ready by 2026.

“The final report will clarify the City’s role in supporting child care, identifying strategies for community coordination and information sharing,” a city of Kamloops staff report said. “It will also highlight opportunities for advocacy with other levels of government responsible for child care funding and regulation.”

“Additionally, the plan will outline specific action items that the City can implement, focusing on areas where local government has direct control or influence.”

More information about the two planned surveys can be found here.