The province and the federal government have teamed up to hand out $13 million in funding for four local school boards to help upgraded local schools in their battle frighting COVID-19.
The funding is being provided through the COVID-19 Reliance Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
“Supporting air-quality and other infrastructure projects in Nipissing schools helps to protect our communities, making them stronger, healthier, and safer today, and for years to come,” said MPP Vic Fedeli in a release.
“These are extremely important investments that will upgrade our school's infrastructure and systems -- all part of the Covid-19 response," he added.
“I am happy to see schools in Nipissing-Timiskaming taking the opportunity to become more energy-efficient. Energy-efficient schools will support better indoor air quality, leading to better health outcomes for Ontario students and educators, something that has become particularly important with the COVID-19 pandemic. Energy-efficient buildings also pollute less and help schools save on energy costs while fighting climate change,” said Anthony Rota, MP for Nipissing-Timiskaming.
The Near North Board will receive $6,223,200 in funding, while the Nipissing Parry Sound Catholic District School Board will get $4,583,000. The two french boards, Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord will receive $1,877,000 and Conseil scolaire public du Nord-Est de l'Ontario acquires $755,500 in funding.
Jay Aspin, Chair of the Near North School Board welcomes the funding that will help to improve things such as air quality in some of the board's aging buildings.
“Our Near North District School Board is grateful to receive this investment into optimizing air quality in our schools,’ said Jay Aspin, Board Chair of Near North District School Board.
“The receipt of over $6 million dollars will have a meaningful impact on the well-being and safety of our staff and students.”
Leo de Jourdan, board chair of the Nipissing Parry Sound Catholic District School Board believes the additions will have a lasting impact on their schools well after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
“This provides a timely opportunity to make improvements that will have a lasting impact on our learning environments and ensure the continued health and well-being of our students and staff," said de Jourdan in a release.
“The additional funding received will help us improve teaching and learning environments and range from water stations to ventilation improvement. They represent a significant investment in the health and safety and well-being of our school communities and create jobs in our area,” said Ronald Demers, Board Chair of Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord.
The funding for these school boards will support building retrofits, updates, and upgrades to their schools and co-located child care facilities. Projects can include HVAC renovations to improve air quality, installing water bottle refilling stations to improve access to safe drinking water, and space reconfigurations such as new walls and doors to enhance physical distancing.
The spending builds on the more than $1 billion the Ontario government has invested since 2019 in new schools and child care spaces and additions to provide working families with access to quality, safe, and state-of-the-art learning spaces. Supported by provincial funding, 95 per cent of Ontario schools have reported upgrades or enhancements to their air filtration systems, with over 40,000 HEPA filters and other ventilation devices in classrooms.
The Government of Canada is investing up to $525.2 million toward these projects through the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The Government of Ontario is contributing $131.3 million to the projects.
Annually, the Ontario government invests $1.4 billion in continuous maintenance and improvements to school facilities.
