CANADA, November 16 - Families and children living in the Kelowna area now have access to child care at the Kelowna Airport YMCA Child Care centre, making pickup and dropoff easy for parents and caregivers working at the airport or living nearby.

“Kelowna children, their families and the growing local economy are benefiting from this new child care centre built with ChildCareBC New Spaces funding,” said Grace Lore, Minister of State for Child Care. “We’ve partnered with the City of Kelowna on their innovative plan to co-locate child care at the expanding Kelowna International Airport where hundreds of people work each day.”  

The Province, in partnership with the City of Kelowna and KF Aerospace, developed the new standalone child care centre located at the Kelowna International Airport. The centre can accommodate 86 five-year-old and younger children. The City of Kelowna received approximately $3.8 million in ChildCareBC New Spaces funding to build the facility operated by YMCA of Southern Interior.

“The Okanagan is a great place to raise kids, which is why more and more families are choosing to move here, resulting in an increased demand for child care,” said Harwinder Sandhu, MLA for Vernon-Monashee. “Having access to affordable, quality child care helps families, our society and the community. Our government is investing in this new child care centre at the airport which will be an asset for years.”

Since 2018, through the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund, more than 33,000 new licensed child care spaces have been funded in B.C., with more than 1,700 of these spaces located in the Kelowna area.

Applications are still being accepted for the 2023-24 ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund from public and not-for-profit child care operators and providers, and Indigenous governments, and will do so until there is no more budget.

Quotes:

Tom Dyas, mayor of Kelowna –  

“Quality child care supports the well-being of children, families and communities. This is a great example of how being innovative in our approach to partnerships between government and community can benefit our residents. I would like to thank the Province of British Columbia and our project partners for their contributions and dedication to creating an enriching space where kids can have fun, make friends and reach their full potential.” 

Bryana, employee, KF Aerospace – 

“The addition of the Kelowna Airport YMCA Child Care centre has provided ease of access to quality care for my three children, enabling me to continue my career in aviation.”  

Sam Samaddar, CEO, Kelowna International Airport –  

“I want to thank all the partners who came together to make it possible to provide a child care facility at the Kelowna airport, supporting our employees and surrounding community. This is an important step to retain and grow a diverse aviation workforce in the Okanagan.” 

Allyson Graf, president and CEO, YMCA of Southern Interior BC – 

“We applaud our partners, the City of Kelowna, Kelowna International Airport and KF Aerospace, for their vision and support to non-profit sector organizations like the YMCA as we work together to support our community. Together, we have increased the number of high-quality, safe, affordable non-profit child care spaces, which is not only good for children and families, but also for local economy.”

Grant Stevens, chief corporate services officer, KF Aerospace –  

“KF was thrilled to collaborate with YMCA and Kelowna Airport to establish this new and urgently needed child care centre. Not only will this centre enable us to support our employees with young families by providing quality, on-site daycare options, but we’re proud to continue investing in the local community in Kelowna.”    

Learn More: 

For information about the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund, visit: https://www.gov.bc.ca/childcare/newspacesfund    

For information about ChildCareBC, visit: https://www.gov.bc.ca/childcare