Brandon college $100-M project hangs in balance
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/06/2016 (2551 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Assiniboine Community College president Mark Frison is holding his breath — close to $100 million is at stake for the redevelopment of a 103-year-old Brandon building into a gleaming new campus.
The NDP promised hundreds of millions of dollars for post-secondary education projects — but the Pallister government is reviewing every project.
Whether it’s $150 million for the University of Manitoba’s $500-million Front and Centre capital campaign, or $66.7-million for the redevelopment of Assiniboine Community College, schools will have to wait and hope.
“The previous administration handed us a $1-billion deficit,” Premier Brian Pallister said Tuesday.
If the province funds all of them, there’ll be no money for projects next year and the years after that, he said.
Frison said he has yet to hear from the new Conservative government about the college project. Education Minister Ian Wishart was at ACC’s convocation recently, but that was ceremonial, not business, Frison said.
Frison’s hopes are up because the college has applied for $31 million under the federal Build Canada fund, whose approved projects are expected to be named by June 30. Ottawa needs to know provinces back the projects, Frison said — Ottawa has told the ACC it’s getting good signals from the province.
“The (federal) government said the province has signalled that it remains a priority,” Frison said.
“The feds can contribute up to one-third. We’ve received word that our project remains a priority.”
The NDP said Assiniboine’s redevelopment meets the Tories’ own criteria of a return on investment by creating jobs.
The project will redevelop the Parkland Building, which will be home to a new Centre for Health, Energy and Environment, serving as a hub for learning and research innovation.
— Nick Martin
