Beaver Staff
Amherstview’s bid to get a new elementary school was given a huge boost on Friday.
The Ontario government announced it would be providing $12.1 million so the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board can build a new Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School in Amherstview on the site of the current aging and smaller school of the same name.
Province-wide, the Ministry of Education is investing $550 million in accelerated funding in 2020 to build 20 new schools in the province and make significant upgrades to eight existing facilities.
“These are not just investments in bricks and mortar, our government is investing in the future of our children by creating a better learning environment,” said Hastings-Lennox and Addington MPP Daryl Kramp in a release. “We are providing students with access to modern classroom settings and the latest technology which will lead to new opportunities and lifelong success.”
The new Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School will have an improved, quality learning environment for 449 pupils and also contain three new child care rooms, enabling day care for 49 children. This new school is part of the province’s 2020-21 Capital Priorities Program to build better and more modern learning spaces. The program is funding nearly 900 new licensed childcare spaces in school buildings across the province.
In a separate announcement, the province also announced it would be providing municipalities and Indigenous community partners with over $241 million to help protect the province’s most vulnerable from COVID-19, including those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Of that funding, Hastings will receive $954,853 in social services relief funding to fund operations of a housing allowance program. Lennox and Addington will receive $499,757 to purchase and retrofit a building that will provide transitional housing and longer-term housing solutions.
“Our government is investing in important projects like this to help protect our most vulnerable citizens from COVID-19,” said Kramp. “We’re working hand-in-hand with our partners to make sure they have the tools and flexibility they need to keep people safe.”
The provincial funding is part of the government’s $510 million investment to help protect the health and safety of the province’s most vulnerable people. Funding will be delivered through the Social Services Relief Fund and will go towards protecting and supporting homeless shelter staff and residents, creating or renovating over 1,500 housing units, expanding rent support programs and creating longer-term housing solutions.
The Social Services Relief Fund is part of the up to $4 billion being provided to Ontario municipalities under the federal-provincial Safe Restart Agreement. It will help municipalities protect the health and well being of the people of Ontario while delivering critical public services, such as public transit and shelters, as the province continues down the path of economic recovery.