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Free childcare during City of North Vancouver council meetings launches this month

City of North Vancouver council meetings are set to become more kid-friendly later this month. The municipality is kicking off its six-month free childcare pilot project during its Monday, Feb. 24 council meeting.
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City of North Vancouver council meetings are set to become more kid-friendly later this month.

The municipality is kicking off its six-month free childcare pilot project during its Monday, Feb. 24 council meeting.

This means that parents of kids eight months to 12 years of age will be able to drop their kids off in the atrium community room at city hall for up to two hours per council meeting, from between 5:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. Parents would be required to stay in the building and attend the council meeting while their child is in care.

The pilot project was spearheaded by Coun. Jessica McIlroy, who proposed the motion in June 2019 as a way to make it easier for people to participate in local government by attending a council meeting without having to worry about the barrier of not being able to afford childcare.

Pre-registration is not required to use the service, though it is encouraged because only a limited number of drop-in space will be available, according to the City of North Vancouver website. A childcare spot during a meeting can be reserved by emailing North Shore Neighbourhood House at Alesage@nsnh.bc.ca.

The city is also offering child-minding reimbursements for those who wish to attend a council meeting but are unable to bring their kids to city hall. A subsidy of up to $40 per meeting is available to cover those individual childcare costs, and can be requested by going to cnv.org/your-government/council-meetings/council-kids and clicking on the link for a reimbursement form.

A schedule of upcoming council meetings can be found by visiting cnv.org/your-government/council-meetings/council-meeting-schedule.