Nelson Sergerie, LJI

GASPÉ – After nearly four years of significant effort, construction of the Voyage de mon enfance early childhood centre in Gaspé officially began on June 2. The new facility located near Carrefour Gaspé, will offer 100 daycare spaces. 

“The preparations were a lot more difficult than initially anticipated. All in all, we’re pretty proud of the results,” notes Executive Director Gilles Chapados. 

The daycare spaces were allocated by the Quebec government on August 21, 2021. “The longest part was finding the opportunity, the land that would allow for this project, which, let’s face it, is quite large. Having a site located downtown with public services made it more difficult to find the ideal site,” comments the director. 

The initiative is part of a pilot project that was first spearheaded by the Association of Early Childhood Centres and taken over by the Ministry of Families when project costs exploded. “It’s truly a completely prefabricated daycare. It’s a new thing in Quebec. Overall, for now, from a theoretical point of view, and we’ve seen it in practice, it’s much faster and more efficient, even if it comes with its share of challenges. However, there are several advantages to this type of construction,” maintains Mr. Chapados. 

There are still a few details to be worked out. “Building access, managing public services, electricity, and building this project is pretty well organized, but there are definitely technical details to be worked out,” says Mr. Chapados. 

Habitations Mont-Carleton has been awarded the contract to build the modular unit. If all goes well, the building will be completed around November or December with the new centre opening no later than February 2026. 

“If people call us, we’ll automatically redirect them to the Place 0-5 year old (an organization taking reservations). That’s where we’ll draw children (waiting list) when we need to fill spaces,” says the director.