In 2019 CUPW and UPCE-PSAC partnered with Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre to host our fastforwardchildcare.com portal. This portal provides childcare and children’s services information to CUPW and UPCE-PSAC members (Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster; Tri-Cities – Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Belcarra and Anmore, White Rock, Delta, and Surrey).
Since the launch in 2019 we have not had a lot of members using the portal and we want to find out why. We thought the best way to do this would be through a survey.
In the coming week we will launch a short online survey to help us find out from you, if this is a useful resource when searching for child care or other children’s services.
What has changed that makes this important now?
The 2021 federal budget allocated $30 billion over the next five years, and a minimum of $92 billion annually after 2025-26, to build universal, publicly funded systems of licensed childcare for all families. Parent fees will be capped at $10 a day.
The Canada-British Columbia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement was signed on July 7th, 2021, and commits the province of BC to:
- ❖ A long-term vision and objectives for licensed childcare that includes all families having access to high-quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive early learning and childcare no matter where they live.
- ❖ A typical parent fee of $10/day for all regulated childcare spaces for children aged 0 – 5 in British Columbia by the end of this five-year agreement
- ❖ The creation of more high-quality, affordable childcare spaces, primarily through not-for-profit and public childcare providers.
With the promised expansion of child care in British Colombia, we want to make sure you know about the portal so you can get your name on waiting lists of centres that are located near you and that fit your family’s needs.
What is this portal all about?
The fastforwardchildcare.com portal brings together three Child Care Resource Centres (Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre, TriCities Resource Centre and Child Care Options Resource Centre) to provide easy access to child care information and resources for CUPW and UPCE families working and living in the Lower Mainland of BC.
CUPW and UPCE-PSAC know that finding childcare near to where you live and work is a challenge at the best of times, and downright impossible if you work early mornings, late evening or shift work. We also know that many postal workers rely on family members and friends for their childcare arrangements. That is why we partnered with, Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre to launch fastforwardchildcare.com. If you haven’t already – please check it out and help us to spread the word to others in your workplace: www.fastforwardchildcare.com
You can also call or email our childcare support navigator:
Contact: 604-359-0955 / 1-877-207-3420 Email: FASTFORWARD@wstcoast.org
In Solidarity,
Dave Bleakney
2nd National Vice-President