16 child care spaces on Capilano Reserve approved

Province is investing in 16 new child care spaces at a new facility on the Capilano Reserve. The child care spaces will open in September 2020.

The Squamish Nation will be creating the 16 new licensed child care spaces for children aged three to five years at a new centre.

The centre follows a community-based approach, allowing children to learn from and develop connections with Elders and members of the local community through storytelling, oral teachings, language, drumming and singing.

The programs will align Indigenous knowledge with how children learn and develop during their early years, focusing on nurturing connections to the land and environment through outdoor cultural practices.

These spaces are in addition to 40 spaces the Squamish Nation previously created with the help of provincial funding.

Kristen Rivers, co-chair, Squamish Nation Council, said the Nation will be offering community-based child care with the philosophy and practices developed through a Squamish Nation lens.

Bowinn Ma, MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale, said these new spaces are good for families, the community and the local economy.

“More parents will have the option to return to work or school, knowing their kids are being nurtured in setting that embraces their culture and local Indigenous knowledge.”