What are LFS's Options?
Fraser Health Licensing identified on August 10 2026, after 10 years of being licensed, inspected and deemed low risk with no safety, hygiene or other violations, that our license had automatically expired. LFS obtained legal council which identified that
a. there is literally no legal recourse to appeal
b. there is no legal pathway to have children in a care situation that falls under the Childcare Licensing Act
c. to run a programme it would need to fall under a recreational banner
d. we would need to suspend operations until this can be remedied
Option 1
Alter the programme from a play-based, child led, 4 hr outdoor forest pedagogy to a recreational programme which allows for 2 hr sessions or less, fundamentally changes our focus and alters our ratio
Option 2
Get re-licensed which will require an indoor space which meets regulations (637 sq.ft. of activity space suitable for children, which must be available while we are in session, has 2 washrooms on the same floor, climate regulated) and is within walking distance of an outdoor space that serves the forest pedagogy (i.e not a parking lot, playground or concrete pad). Once secured and inspected for fire safety and licensing needs, the process could take 6-12mths
Option 3
Lobby the government to help us
Lobby for a change in regulations
Lobby for the rights of children, especially those who cannot be successful in other childcare models
Unlikely to help in the short term but might help LFS to be the only programme that gets shut down
Option 4
Suspend Operations until we can find a legal path to getting back into the forest., including terminating 10 staff, of whom 9 are ECEs and eliminating 32 childcare spaces. Devastating for children, families, staff and the school.,
Currently the only immediately viable option