Feds deny funds for Ecole Allain St-Cyr
Additional money would have allowed for larger court ordered gymnasium
Kirsten Fenn
Northern News Services
Friday, May 5, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The federal government has rejected a GNWT funding application that would have provided extra money for the construction of a court-ordered gymnasium at Ecole Allain St-Cyr.
Yvonne Careen, superintendent of the Commission Scolaire Francophone Territoires du Nord-Ouest, said the school district will keep pushing for the changes it wants to see in the construction of a gym at Ecole Allain St-Cyr. - Kirsten Fenn/NNSL photo
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"(Heritage Canada) will not be providing any funding for the Ecole Allain St-Cyr construction project for the 2016-17 fiscal year," stated Jacqueline McKinnon, spokesperson at the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, in an e-mail to Yellowknifer. "We have requested ... that our application for funding be rolled over to the 2017-18 fiscal year."
The NWT Court of Appeal ordered the territorial government to build a new gym at the French school in 2015.
The renovations were also to include teaching space for students with special needs.
While the plan is to build a gym that is at least 404 square metres and seven feet high, additional funding from Heritage Canada could have increased the size of the gym to 478 square metres.
A request for proposals seeking architects and contractors for the project closed on March 24, with construction expected to break ground this spring.
But the education department and the Commission Scolaire Francophone Territoires du Nord-Ouest are keeping quiet on whether the funding decision will affect the construction timeline.
"Obviously we're disappointed," said Yvonne Careen, superintendent at the commission scolaire. "The commission scolaire has had a very good relationship with (Heritage Canada) and they did fund a portion of both the original school and the addition that went on in 2008."
She said she understands the funding was not granted because the education department's proposal was for a multi-year project and Heritage Canada is currently at the end of a five-year funding envelope.
That means the federal department's focus has been on funding one-year projects, Careen explained.
"We understand the predicament," she said. "I believe what they told (the department) was that they'd keep the project on file and next year, if they found out what their budget or their envelope would be for the next five years, they could revisit it."
The education department would not grant an interview to discuss the funding rejection.
But Careen said an announcement is expected in a few weeks about the project at Ecole Allain St-Cyr.
"It's disappointing for sure, but we'll keep trying," she said, adding there are still changes the school wanted to see.
The commission had hoped for the gym to be larger than the 404-square-metre plan so it could offer students a better facility that is comparable to other schools in the city.
In March, Careen had also expressed concern that the school district hadn't been consulted enough on the project design.
"Because this expansion that would be going ahead right now does not include everything that we have asked for, we will continue to work with (the education department) and (Heritage Canada) on future projects," Careen said.
