A child care strategy being developed by the city of Coquitlam will look at ways of increasing the number of daycare spaces.
According to a staff report, a high-level review of the current practices is being conducted, with the development of an overall strategy expected in 2019 or 2020.
Currently, Coquitlam has 19.8 child care spaces for every 100 children, slightly higher than the Metro Vancouver average of 18.6.
But staff noted it is difficult to determine whether the number of spaces is meeting local needs. Many facilities no longer keep waiting lists, the report said, and there is a lack of geographically specific data to assess demand at a neighbourhood level.
The development of a strategy has been prompted by several key changes in the child care sector. Earlier this month, the provincial government announced it would be committing $221 million to support the creation of 22,000 daycare spaces over the next three years.
The federal government is also looking at ways of improving access to child care spaces and developers, including Concert Properties, which is developing a site in Burquitlam, have expressed an interest in including daycare spaces in their projects.
| City | Number of Children | Number of Childcare Spaces |
| Coquitlam | 18,800 | 3,719 |
| Port Coquitlam | 8,400 | 1,998 |
| Port Moody | 5,300 | 797 |
-City of Coquitlam
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