Brampton city staff will report back to council with possible options to provide childcare services during council and committee of council meetings in hopes of encouraging parents to participate.

Wards 7 and 8 coun. Charmaine Williams forwarded the idea at the Jan. 16 committee of council meeting.

“We need to be as accommodating as possible to allow people with families to participate in our council decision-making process,” she said. “I’m hoping to eliminate one of the barriers to that participation.”

“Childcare offered through the city will allow parents with childcare needs to be able to come to our council meetings without worrying about the burden of childcare,” she added.

Williams, who has five children, made it clear she does not intend for the service to be used by councillors.

“This is intended for residents,” she said. “As a councillor, I’ve worked out my childcare, so (my kids) are good.”

City staff provided council with an initial report at its Jan. 30 meeting, indicating the cost to set up a space at city hall and hire the required staff would cost approximately $1,000 per meeting for a total of $38,000 throughout the year in addition to minor initial setup costs.

While there is an available space at city hall, council asked staff to report back with the cost of possibly partnering up with the nearby YMCA as an additional option.

If approved, the service would only run during council and committee of council meetings for a trial period of one year, and parents would be able to schedule a drop-off time through the city.

The idea had lots of support on council with the motion to refer the matter back to staff for more information passing unanimously, but some members of council raised concerns about the need for such a service and pointed to similar cancelled programs at community centres in the past due to lack of interest.