BCBusiness

September/October 2020 – Making It Work

With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.

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G O F I G U R E SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 BCBUSINESS 17 THE B.C. GOVERNMENT HAS FUNDED 10,400+ NEW CHILD-CARE SPACES SINCE 2018 53 Prototype $10/day child-care sites now operating in B.C. Median monthly child- care fees for toddlers, according to a recent survey by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives KELOWNA $825 BURNABY $1,000 SURREY $1,000 VANCOUVER $1,112 RICHMOND $1,200 CHANGE IN RATES SINCE 2017: 3% to 6% INFLATION SINCE 2017: 4.8% Of 4,400 B.C. child-care centres responding to a recent government survey, 69% have a waiting list and 13% charge a fee ($20-$200) to list a child 1% gender employment gap between Canadian women and men with children under age 6 just before the start of lockdown, according to a UBC study published in July 2.5% gap by May 2020 SOURCES: STATISTICS CANADA, METRO VANCOUVER, COALITION OF CHILD CARE ADVOCATES OF BC, GOVERNMENT OF B.C., CANADIAN CENTRE FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES, VANCOUVER SUN, UBC, GALLUP T hrift stores are kind of my haven," says Tracy Stewart. And it makes sense—she found solace in them after going through breast cancer treatment a dozen years ago. There was chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and then post- mastectomy reconstruction. But the implants she got were causing health problems, so Stewart, a communications professional by trade, had them removed. Along with that came some challenges in terms of dress- ing. "I started, in the last year or so, especially, to connect with quite a few women who were doing advocacy around going flat, or not reconstruct- ing," Stewart recalls by phone from her New Westminster home. "Some of that led to me being involved in these Face- book groups that were support groups, and some that were fashion groups." With people going through the same ordeal she did asking for advice, Stewart decided to open a studio in Vancouver's Chinatown, and Going Flat Fashions was born last October. "I decided to source clothing that I thought would be suitable for people who are in this situation, but also offer free wardrobe styling for women who need a boost of confidence or don't know where to start," she says. Business was starting to pick up steam near the end of the year, with Stewart offering in-person wardrobe consulta- tions at her studio or taking customers thrifting with her. Of course, once the COVID-19 pan- demic came to Canada, those sessions moved online. "I can't be bringing people over to the studio; don't feel it's necessarily safe," the 49-year-old admits. "A lot of people are immuno- compromised, and I don't want to be in a situation where I'm putting anyone at risk." But the Alberta native hopes that her venture will gain some momentum again soon. She's doing a virtual seminar at the California-based charity event Flattie Ball (all funds go to Flat Closure, an advocacy group that aims to normalize going flat) this year, and the Salvation Army has asked her to be one of its style experts. "I guess the reason I started it was that I'd been through the experience and felt like I had a valuable thing to offer people," Stewart explains. "I felt I could help them boost their body confidence, and clothing is a big part of how you feel. Such a small thing can really change somebody's outlook on a situ- ation or how they feel about themselves." There may be a bigger goal on the horizon, too. "They don't really give you an option to opt out of reconstruction," Stewart says of the process she faced when she underwent surgery. "I'm involved a little bit in some advocacy work, and there's still this push to have women reconstruct no matter what." • ( the informer ) A P PA R E L Flattening the Curve Tracy Stewart turned surviving breast cancer into a business venture by Nathan Caddell "

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