The Fédération des parents Adds a New Service and Grows its Team

Le Phare C.-B.: a new team to support the development of Francophone child care centres

In an effort to address the lack of Francophone child care spaces in the province, the Fédération des parents francophones has set up Le Phare C.-B. Created at the request of its member associations and following consultations, this new entity within the Fédération will focus entirely on the development of Francophone child care in British Columbia.

As noted in the 2018 study “Francophone Child Care Centres for Early Childhood in British Columbia - Issues, Findings and Recommendations,”¹ many Francophone parents are unable to find a space in a Francophone child care centre for their child. This situation is an obstacle to the transmission of French to future generations, and a challenge to the long-term vitality of the Francophone community in British Columbia.

The Phare C.-B. team will work in synergy with various partners and develop expertise to mitigate the current shortage. It will support the development of Francophone child care centres across the province by supporting both the start-up of new child care centres and the expansion of existing ones. In this way, Le Phare C.-B. is set to become the point of reference for Francophone child care in British Columbia.

Le Phare C.-B. begins its mandate with a core of three employees: Jocelyne Ky, Child Care Coordinator; Rachel Hioba, Administration and Finance Officer; and Cécile Corbet, Human Resources Officer. Together, they will provide support and a range of services to existing Francophone child care centres, including staff recruitment, retention, and training, while working to create new child care centres as well.

The realization of this initiative supporting the Francophone community was made possible thanks to provincial funding for French language services from the Government of British Columbia; financial support from the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité (RDÉE) Canada, mandated by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to lead the Stratégie nationale en entrepreunariat pour la Petite enfance, with the collaboration of the Société de développement économique de la C.-B. and the Fédération des parents francophones; as well as the Formation et renforcement des capacités des éducatrices et des éducateurs de la petite enfance project, financed by the Government of Canada and administered by l’Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC), with the support of the Comité de gestion national en petite enfance.

More support for member associations and families

In addition, the Fédération des parents team recently welcomed two new recruits: Manon Golinvaux, Coordinator of the Family and Children's Support Centres (CAFEs), and a Member Liaison Officer (position held since January 2021 by Sarah Sudre). We look forward to benefitting from the skills of these new employees to enhance our services for the member associations of the Fédération des parents and Francophone families in British Columbia.

To reach our staff by email, visit the “Équipe” section of our website: fpfcb.bc.ca/equipe.

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¹ To look at this study, visit https://fpfcb.bc.ca/etude-garderies-francophones-en-cb/