Excerpts 

Families across the Sunshine Coast are reeling after the YMCA announced the closure of its infant and toddler child care programs in West Sechelt and Gibsons, effective Oct. 1. The closure of the two programs is expected to eliminate approximately 16 to 24 child care spaces, based on typical YMCA class sizes and staffing ratios.

While care for children aged three to five will continue, dozens of families with infants and toddlers are now left without options in a region already facing a severe shortage of child care spaces.

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According to parents, many early childhood educators (ECEs) on the Coast are newcomers to Canada, working multiple jobs to make ends meet. “Our child care [educators] are working 35 hours a week, not a full 40 hours a week at the YMCA, and the majority of them have secondary jobs — McDonald’s, Independent, the pharmacy — that they are holding together as a community, in addition to their own young families,” Philip explained. “It certainly isn’t good mental health for anybody.”

The closures are already forcing families to reconfigure work schedules, with ripple effects across the local workforce. “When child care centres close, families — especially mothers — are forced out of the workforce. This has an immediate impact on local businesses, the health care system, and the broader economy,” Philip said in a release.

Parents are calling on the provincial and federal governments to take urgent action, including:

• Tying immigration programs to housing solutions for ECEs in rural and coastal communities.
• Fixing the immigration point system to better support regions like the Sunshine Coast.
• Accelerating the province-wide ECE wage grid.
• Funding targeted retention supports, such as housing subsidies and loan forgiveness.
• Protecting existing child care spaces, not just building new ones.

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Municipal advocacy letter calls for emergency action

A draft letter put forward by the Town of Gibsons, with support from the District of Sechelt, calls on federal and provincial ministers to urgently address the child care crisis on the Sunshine Coast. It outlines the impact of the upcoming YMCA closures.

The municipalities argue that the Sunshine Coast faces a “perfect storm” of challenges — including high housing costs tied to Vancouver’s market, geographic isolation, and exclusion from rural workforce incentives. They cite data showing that only 30 per cent of child care spaces and 22 per cent of ECE positions are filled locally, compared to much higher rates in Northern B.C.

The draft outlines four key requests:

• Fix immigration incentives to attract ECEs to the Sunshine Coast
• Protect existing child care spaces through an emergency stabilization fund
• Tie ECE recruitment to housing solutions such as staff housing or allowances
• Accelerate the ECE wage grid by implementing a universal, province-wide grid with competitive compensation.

The letter also notes that while both municipalities are actively pursuing new child care spaces and workforce housing, the sudden loss of existing programs undermines long-term progress. “Without urgent intervention, families will continue to scramble, essential services will be stretched, and our communities and economy will fall further behind,” the letter states.

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