Some municipalities in Greater Victoria have better access to licensed childcare centres than others - according to a study that finds many areas in Canada exist in a "childcare desert."
Research from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that coverage can range from 19 per cent coverage in Metchosin, to 264 per cent coverage in downtown Victoria.
Senior economist and researcher, Iglika Ivanova said although they were unable to measure unlicensed childcare options, they believe there is a shortage of those as well.
“The evidence is in looking at the wait lists that exist in many licensed childcare spaces,” Ivanova. “We have cities like Vancouver where 90 per cent of centres have wait lists. That means that people would like to use those services. They’re unable to get a space, and I think there’s a lot of evidence that wait lists are significant elsewhere in B.C.”
The centre used the first three digits of postal codes to determine how many children under four there are versus how many childcare spaces there are - any area with three children or more per licensed childcare space is classed as a childcare desert.