William Azaroff (along with Amanda Burrows) is seeking OneCity’s nomination as their mayoral candidate in the next election. William just came out with a policy proposal to make it easier to build childcare in Vancouver:
“We will make childcare a permitted use by right in every residential and commercial zone in Vancouver. That means if you have your health and safety approvals, criminal record checks, and provincial licenses in place, you can open or expand a daycare — without needing discretionary approval from City Hall and without being blocked by neighbour objections.”
You can read more about this issue, and William’s proposal, at this article by Dan Fumano at the Vancouver Sun. And you can learn more about William on his webpage.
The daycare shortage is a huge issue in Vancouver–it’s estimated that we need at least 15,000 more spots. You, or someone you know, is probably being forced to drive across the city, or even to the suburbs (I know someone who takes their kid to daycare in Richmond because it’s all they could get!), just for daycare. It’s one of the reasons why it’s so hard for families to get ahead in Vancouver, and is a huge barrier for women looking to maintain their careers after starting a family. Every day, thousands of people in Vancouver are forced to add extra time commuting and huge inconvenience because of this shortage.
Why is it so hard to find daycare? In part, for the same reason it’s so hard to find housing: city hall has totally lost the plot. It is INCREDIBLY difficult to open up a new daycare in Vancouver. And it’s not about the health or safety or licensing standards–that’s all taken care of by the provincial government. But the city adds a whole bunch of extra rules on top of that, and worst of all, makes virtually all daycare require special, discretionary approval from the Director of Planning.
That’s right: even if you comply with all of the licensing and safety rules, the City can still say “no”…for example, if neighbours complain. And this actually happens!
In August 2023 an existing daycare by Douglas Park had to apply for this special, discretionary permission to add 8 new spots. But a small handful of neighbours complained, and you got it, the city said NO.
No new daycare spots, despite a massive shortage. No to families to trying to build a life in Vancouver. Yes to long commutes and wasted time. Yes to a status quo that isn’t working.
That’s why I organized a little protest around Douglas Park. Some friends and supporters got together and spent an afternoon passing around this pamphlet:
We had a lot of great conversations, and a lot of people were rightfully upset at how ludicrous it was that the city had rejected desperately needed daycare spots.
But…not everyone! Global News came out to do a story about our little action, and while I was being interviewed a neighbour came up and started debating with me! It was pretty remarkable, and thankfully a bit of it ended up in the story, which you can watch here:
Sadly, the story doesn’t have a happy ending. The Douglas Park daycare was never approved and, despite some big talk from the governing party, Ken Sim’s ABC, over two years later nothing at all has changed.
Still, I’m proud to have helped raise awareness about this important issue. Vancouver SHOULD be a family where people can start a family and thrive. It can be, but it will take political leadership and commitment to break the shackles of a stifling status quo.
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