CORNER BROOK — More than $3.9 million in joint COVID-19 funding was announced on Thursday afternoon for six infrastructure projects in four west coast communities.
During a Zoom meeting that included representation from around the province, Gudie Hutchings, Liberal MP for the Long Range Mountains, announced $3.1 of that money will come from the federal government, with the province pitching in close to $800,000. The money is coming through the COVID-19 resiliency infrastructure stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
The money will be used to improve infrastructure at K-12 schools and college campuses in Stephenville, Stephenville Crossing, Corner Brook and Port aux Basques.
St. Michael’s Elementary in Stephenville Crossing and Stephenville High School in Stephenville will see money go to upgrades to their HVAC systems and lighting retrofit.
The roof at the provincial building in Stephenville will be replaced, and there will also be renovations to the Bay St. George Medical Clinic to improve building accessibility and allow for better utilization of the second floor of the building.
The roofs on the centre for energy and thermal systems at the College of the North Atlantic’s Corner Brook campus, and on the trades wing and a storage building at the Port aux Basques campus, will also be replaced.
“The people in Newfoundland and Labrador rely on modern municipal infrastructure to access their provincial services and as well they need safe and energy-efficient learning spaces to pursue their education,” Hutchings said in making the announcement.
The work at the two K-12 schools comes at a time when concerns over air quality in the province’s schools is at a high due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The retrofits and the upgrades are for HVAC work, so that is going to have a huge impact on quality of air, and, of course, making it more energy efficient is better for everyone,” said Hutchings.
Some of the buildings are aging and need to be upgraded.
“And now is a perfect time to address the air exchange and just make it healthier for all the students involved,” she said.
Derrick Bragg, provincial transportation and infrastructure minister, said it was a great day as six buildings will benefit from the funding.
Liz Kidd, president of the College of the North Atlantic, thanked both levels of government for the funding.
“Any time that we can improve our infrastructure it’s totally welcome. It’s going to make our students and staff working and learning in a much safer environment.”
Bragg said the tenders for the projects will go out soon, with work on most projects expected to begin in February or March. The roof work is more seasonal and will likely start in the early summer.
Diane Crocker reports on west coast news.
