Equipping City for Childcare (as amended)

Statement Watch

Thank you so much. Thank you, I would say Mayor and Council, but only Council today. Thank you especially to Lucy Maloney for your courage and leadership in advancing this motion. I am fully in support of this motion, and I urge Council to support it, and I'm a resident, a proud resident, a lifelong resident of Vancouver. Now, just a couple months ago, I spoke to neighbors in a neighborhood that just had their affordable out-of-school child care center close. I specifically spoke to a mother who held her baby in her hand, who was telling me that she couldn't find a space for her kids to go. She couldn't spend the money to afford the expensive childcare options, and she couldn't have the time to send her kids across town to get a more affordable childcare space. but they're not the only ones. Wait lists, especially for not-for-profit, $10 a day childcare are sky high. They're way too high than we need to have. Families should not be expected to either dull out money for more expensive childcare or wait years or drive the kids across town for childcare. As this motion recognizes, we need to use every single tool that we have to ensure that families and working families have the childcare that they need by changing zoning, to allow childcare by right across the city, by working with school board to advance out-of-school care, and by passing this motion. Working and everyday families need childcare in every neighborhood for all, not weightless and long drives. Again, I'd like to applaud Lucy and thank her again for this motion. And I urge council to support this motion. Thank you so much.

Statement Watch

Hello, council. My name is Devin Harlos. I live in East Van. And before becoming a mom last year, I was a member of the Planning Institute of British Columbia. Seeing this motion come forward from Councillor Maloney, I have to say, is extremely frustrating and frankly insulting to parents in the Joyce-Collingwood neighborhood. It doesn't actually do anything that we don't already do through Vancouver's existing childcare policies. What we really need now is for council to fight for childcare when it matters most, when real projects are in front of you, such as the 3360 Van Ness project at Joyce-Collingwood Station. This was the perfect case study and exactly what this motion seeks to do. Integrate child care into high density projects as part of the rezoning. The project was successfully rezoned with a turnkey 37 space child care to be owned by the city close to transit in a high density area and affordable with the Collingwood neighborhood house as the nonprofit operator. These are all the very goals you outline in your motion. However, when the developer came to you in February this year and asked for an amendment to get them out of their child care obligations, every single councillor, including Councillor Maloney, who's putting forward this motion, caved and approved the amendment. None of you asked staff or the developer if they had sought child care grants to help fund the space. None of you asked if there were other future development sites near the station that could host this child care. which there are not because none have a floor plate big enough to accommodate their required outdoor space and none of you proposed at the very least a covenant to secure a for-profit child care who would build out at their expense and operate the commercial space in the building this motion is absolutely useless if you do not stand behind and uphold the child care agreements that are already secured through these rezonings in my opinion this motion functions more as a political signal that council supports child care than actually does anything new to deliver child care and it attempts to mask a voting history that council favors developer interest over community needs for child care if you really want to do something with this motion I suggest putting forth an amendment that looks at securing child care spaces and projects that are already designed and intended for child care, such as the Van Ness Project, through the use of covenants. The developer would be required to lease to a for-profit child care so they'd get closer to their desired commercial market rent, and the community would at least still be able to get the child care that they lost after your February 17th decision, albeit not an affordable one. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Council, Abelardo Mayoral, Mayo, Vancouver resident from the Kitsilama neighborhood, owner of the Invisible Orange, a live music production company. I'm here to discuss the motion for sustaining summer 2026 festivals. More discussion that I'm bringing in principle is something that will just simply support, right? When I see sustaining summer 2026 festivals is something that I personally as well, I attend and enjoy. in vancouver uh but i as i kept reading the motion i had some uh questions that i wanted to bring in uh something like i think i have some assumptions around them like the because the first one is like how was the list of festivals uh selected i hear is they're reaching out because of um their they're in a crunch. So, yeah, whether a mechanism exists, there must be an opportunity to formalize something like that and to find those that are staples of Vancouver to help them out then. Because many of them might not know this exists like, I don't know, like two days ago. Then I kept reading and then also just had some questions around the amounts being determined. Because from the numbers in the motion, I saw something from $0.30 per attendee to $2.50 per attendee. So I just wondered if it was based on their capacity to fundraise or their operational efficiencies. I don't know. And also just calling summer festivals. And there's some in the list that are in the fall, which I like. I know the majority are in the summer. So then, I mean, I would just... think, uh, something that supports festivals in Vancouver in general for Yarsen culture, then it's something that will excite me. Um, but I was just curious about around, um, the, the naming of, of the summer festivals, but yeah. Um, yeah, it feels silly to discuss the disappointment of like just 200 and so a thousand dollars for festivals. Like I would like to see that happen. I would like to see the summer festivals, uh, being supported. I just wanted to, uh, say that, yeah, in principle, I support it. I just wonder if there is more to do to formalize and to bring more transparency as well and make sure we support those jewels that we have in the festivals in Vancouver as well. So thank you.

Statement Watch

Hi there. Good evening, Mayor and Councillors. My name is Elise Yukoski, and I'm calling in on behalf of the Gaston Business Improvement Society in support of this motion. First, I'd like to thank Councillor Dominato and Chris Young for bringing this motion forward. As Council is aware, over the past several years... businesses, and community partners to find the right balance for pedestrianization in Gastown. Together, we've learned that success isn't simply about closing a street. It's about creating a reason for people to come. Thoughtful programming and infrastructure, business billow, neighborhood character, local musicians, markets, performances, family activities, and festivals are all what make people want to stay. Many of those lessons have helped shape pedestrian zones elsewhere. INCREDIBLY PROUD THAT GASTON HAS PLAYED THAT ROLE. AFTER A SUCCESSFUL 2025 SEASON, AVERAGING MORE THAN 10,000 VISITORS EACH SUNDAY, WE WERE DISCOURAGED TO LEARN THAT PROGRAMMING FUNDING FOR WATER STREET HAD DECREASED WHILE ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES WERE BEING SHIFTED TO THE GBIS. AS A RESULT, WE'VE HAD TO REDUCE OUR CAR-FREE SUNDAYS FROM 12 TO 10 DAYS AND CUT COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING BY ABOUT 80%. That means fewer opportunities for local artists, makers, businesses, and community partners. The very elements that made the previous pilot successful and continue to make Gastown Sunday Set successful today. This risks jeopardizing the work that we have done to date. We're also seeing the condition of our temporary infrastructure decline at a time when Gastown is welcoming thousands of visitors each week. While we know this infrastructure was never intended to be permanent, it reinforced... as we work toward the long-term vision for Gastown. While we appreciate the city's continued investment in the Gastown Public Spaces Plan and are very proud to be a partner in that work, our concern now is really about certainty. As funding is reduced and operational responsibilities increase, it becomes harder to plan ahead, secure sponsors, book performers, and coordinate programming. It also means our team is spending more time managing operational responsibilities and less time directly focused on our core mandates. SUPPORTING OUR BUSINESSES. FOR ORGANIZATIONS LIKE OURS, LONG-TERM SUCCESS DEPENDS ON CONSISTENT INVESTMENT AS WELL AS CONFIDENCE THAT WE'RE BUILDING SOMETHING SUSTAINABLE TOGETHER. AS THE CITY CONTINUES INVESTING IN PUBLIC SPACES ACROSS VANCOUVER, WE HOPE IT ALSO CONTINUES INVESTING IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HELP SHAPE THE MODEL. THE GBIS REMAINS COMMITTED TO WORKING WITH THE CITY. WE BELIEVE IN WHAT WE'VE BUILT TOGETHER, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING BUILDING ON THAT SUCCESS. and finishing what we started together. Thank you so much.

Statement Watch

Finally. I don't know how you guys do.

Anyway. So, yeah, it was very important for me to be here. I am a Vancouver resident. My name is Paola Murillo, founder and director of Latin Queer and Carnival del Sol. And I wanted to be here because I wanted to express my sincere gratitude to bring forward this motion. because on behalf of Latin Cuba and many other cultural organizations that serve our city, thank you for recognizing how important is the festival to Vancouver. This motion couldn't come at a more important time for us. We just finished Carnival del Sol this past weekend. Once again, we witnessed the incredible impact that cultural festivals have in our city. For the past 18 years, Carnival del Sol has brought communities together while generating... Sorry. What generates economic and social value? This year alone, we estimate that it was an impact of $2.5 million in economic impact for the city of Vancouver, including suppliers, vendors, sponsors, artists, contractors, security, the Vancouver Police Department, and many others. Producing a festival like this now costs over $1.2 million, and each year it becomes increasingly difficult to make it financially sustainable. This year, it was quite unique having FIFA credit, even that it was here. And we know that it was a very exciting and historic moment for Vancouver. And we were very proud to welcome visitors from around this world. is also great, but however, it did create also pressure for our cultural festivals. We compete for media attention, experiencing increased supplier's costs, lost sponsors, vendors, and saw lower attendance compared to previous years. At the same time, operational costs continue to rise, particularly for policing and city services. Those services are so important. And after all we understand what happened on April 26, And for us, it was very shocking what happened in Toronto with Salsa Sinclair Festival, which was very shocking for us. And a lot of the people that was coming to the festival was more and more asking for how much police and support we had and security. So we understand more than ever that safety is a priority. We are grateful for the guidance and support of the city and Vancouver Police Department in helping us to create safe and welcoming space for everyone. And this is why this motion is so important right now. Support the festival is not simply funding an event. It's investing in community belonging, public safety, local business, tourists, and Vancouver's cultural identity. Finally, I would like to express my interest in participating in any festival advisory commitment or working group, because I believe this is very needed, working together to find a long-term solution that ensures festivals remain sustainable while adapting to new realities. and increasing costs, the higher safety requirements, and changing economic conditions. Festivals are where strangers become neighbors, culture connects, and communities feel they belong. I hope we can continue working together to make this happen. Once again, thank you so much. This is very important. Gracias. Obrigada.