Burnaby activist to watch

Photo courtesy of Trevor Ritchie

Every city needs people who stand up and say what they think is wrong in their community. Burnaby has its share of people who speak their minds. Whether you agree with activists or not,  their opinions often spark healthy debate.

Trevor Ritchie is a 23 year old UBC student, activist, blogger and Burnaby resident. His opinions can be found in more than a few letter to the editor sections of local papers.

Lately, his dissatisfaction is with city council and its cancellation of plans for an Edmonds area childcare centre, slated for the current Value Village site.
I contacted Ritchie and asked him to elaborate on his issue.

Background

In February a report to Burnaby city council recommended that a 70 spot daycare be built at the corner of Kingsway and Edmonds Streets, to accommodate a growing need in the rapidly developing Edmonds area.

Council sent the recommendation back to the community development committee. On the committee's advice, council voted early in March not to go ahead with the planned daycare. Councillor Colleen Jordan said at council that the $5 million estimated for the centre was a lot of money to spend on only 70 daycare spots. She said the issue needed to be looked into further to see what the need actually is and the best way to go ahead.

Childcare is a provincial responsibility, though cities can fund centres.

Ritchie's opinion

"What I’ve been seeing in the past couple of years from Burnaby city Council is an unwillingness to delve into the issues that are most affecting Burnaby families. 

At this point, the lack of childcare spaces in Burnaby is a crisis.  According to the city’s own statistics, there are only 4,110 full time childcare spaces within the city, or enough for 15 out of every 100 children who require such care facilities.  What few facilities we do have in Burnaby are often quite costly to families, with the city also calculating that the average cost of the facilities being used as between $700-$1200 a month.  

 [This is] unacceptable, especially when the city has the ability to create some meaningful changes in policy that would alleviate at least some of the lack of facilities in the region.

Specifically, the Edmonds location could have been built. ...  If we are to create childcare that is that affordable, that is going to require additional spaces to be built. 

I’m appreciative of the fact that less expensive facilities could be created in greater numbers than the Edmonds location would have allowed for under existing bylaws and provincial legislation, but the problems associated with that one particular project should not preclude the municipal government from engaging in discussions with senior government and private developers about the creation of childcare spaces in other locations throughout the city. 

What Ritchie proposes

What I would like to see out of the municipal government is for council to be more assertive in the construction and zoning of childcare facilities in Burnaby  ... with funding coming from developer grants issued to the city in exchange for the zoning density bonus, in lieu of cash in hand or other specific community amenities that would otherwise have been required to increase the density of a specific zone.  Funding for a dedicated childcare facility fund could also be done in partnership with the federal government through the renewal of the infrastructure transfers for municipalities.  Both would be solid ways of creating a fund that could develop Burnaby’s childcare stock and provide stable funding for the maintenance of those facilities."

What do you think of Ritchie's proposal?  Share your views with us.