Tories, NDP trade barbs as province tabs $260M for school projects

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This article was published 28/06/2023 (1146 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Tories touted upcoming capital projects as “non-partisan,” while accusing their predecessors of selecting school construction projects in a different manner — a claim the NDP dismissed as baseless — at a news conference held during the last week of classes.

Against the backdrop of a worksite Wednesday at École Regent Park, Education Minister Wayne Ewasko and James Teitsma, whose portfolio includes government services, released a list of K-12 upgrades and expansion projects for 2023-24.

The province has earmarked about $260 million for construction work, from new libraries to accessibility upgrades, across the sector. That sum includes $104 million for new schools, $90 million for renovations and additions, and $66 million for existing infrastructure renewal.

“These announcements are not necessarily those so-called ‘sexy’ announcements, whether it’s tarring a roof or window replacement or anything like that, but these are very important things that are necessities for our school communities,” Ewasko told reporters, as construction workers built a new gymnasium in the background.

The minister, a former teacher, indicated many schools will address deferred maintenance with their allotments.

Regent Park, slated to be a K-8 school once an ongoing expansion is finished, is one of 321 projects initiated by the Tory government between 2019 and 2024. To date, 157 of them have been completed.

Every recipient was selected based on division proposals outlining priorities, drawing on student, parent and community needs — including enrolment trends — rather than a government’s political motivations, Teitsma said Wednesday.

The Progressive Conservative MLA for Radisson alleged that was not always the case under the NDP government unseated by the Tories in 2016.

“I’m not sure if there’s any MLAs from our government in Winnipeg School Division — I don’t think there are — and yet 65 of the 321 projects that are on the backgrounder today, 65 of them are in Winnipeg School Division,” he said.

WSD, the most highly populated district in all of the province, has 79 schools. Many of its inner-city facilities are more than 100 years old.

When asked about evidence to support his allegations, Teitsma replied: “I don’t want to betray their confidences, but I’ve had conversations with school trustees that assured me that their highest priorities were sometimes rearranged for political reasons — and that was very disappointing and frustrating to me.”

The NDP education critic called the claims “an attempt to distract” from the government’s new funding model for public schools across the province he said will inevitably result in cuts if the PC party is re-elected in autumn.

Nello Altomare, NDP MLA for Transcona, noted his party built and replaced a total of 36 schools, including a new campus for Steinbach Regional Secondary School, elementary building in Deloraine and middle-years facility in Mitchell, during its tenure.

“The Stefanson PC government’s record on education is larger class sizes, firing teachers, cutting services, and less money in our kids’ classrooms. Today’s re-announcement rings hollow as school divisions struggle to do more with less after seven years of PC government cuts,” Altomare said in a statement.

Both a representative from the River East Transcona School Division and Winnipeg Construction Association applauded the province for its latest announcement Wednesday.

RETSD board chairwoman Colleen Carswell said renovations modernize schools, as well as increase their overall accessibility and safety. Regent Park’s renovations are anticipated to be completed by February.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie