$13.2M Investment will create 507 new elementary student spaces and 39 new licensed childcare spaces
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 2, 2021
OTTAWA—Goldie Ghamari, MPP for Carleton, announced today that that the Ontario government is investing $13.2 million to build Findlay Creek’s first Catholic elementary school to help support families and children in this rapidly growing community. This investment in the Ottawa Catholic District School Board will create 507 student spaces as part of the Ontario government’s commitment to building modern, accessible, and technologically connected schools for Ontario youth.
“This is excellent news for the growing community of Findlay Creek,” said MPP Ghamari. “Quality and accessible public education is very important to me. As someone who is a product of Ontario’s public education system, I believe giving students the opportunity to learn in a modern, and most importantly, a local environment helps prepare them for future success. This new catholic elementary school in Findlay Creek will add much need childcare spaces, flexibility for families, and alleviate pressure on surrounding schools. Thank you to everyone, especially the parents of Findlay Creek, who signed my petition in support of building the first Catholic elementary school in Findlay Creek. Your support for this local initiative was instrumental.”
Highlights of the new Catholic elementary school in Findlay Creek include:
- $13.2 million investment;
- 507 new elementary student spaces;
- 39 new licensed childcare spaces;
- 2 new childcare rooms;
- Location: Kelly Farm Drive & Findlay Creek Drive.
This new school is part of a province-wide investment of more than $600 million to build new as well as expand current school and childcare spaces that was recently announced by the Minister of Education. The overall investment will support 78 school and childcare related projects. As part of this investment, the province dedicated more than $565 million to create more than 19,700 new student spaces and 1,500 childcare spaces at schools across the province.
“In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made safer schools a priority, which is why we continue to invest in modern and accessible learning spaces with improved ventilation,” said the Minister of Education. “This investment is part of our multiyear plan to build, expand, and update schools and childcare spaces across our province. It will leave a lasting legacy that benefits working families for years to come.”
The investment is part of the Ontario government’s commitment to provide $14 billion to support school construction over ten years. There are currently more than 300 childcare and education building-related projects in development across Ontario with more than 100 actively under construction.
Ontario’s investment in new and updated schools will create the foundation for a modern learning environment for hundreds of students across the province.
“On behalf of a very grateful Findlay Creek community, I want to thank the Ministry of Education and the province for their continued support. MPP Goldie Ghamari, thank you for championing Catholic neighbourhood schools,” said Spencer Warren, Ottawa Catholic School Board Trustee for Zone 4. “This announcement is great news for busy working families who want their children to attend Catholic schools close to home. One of the reasons I became a School Board Trustee was to help ensure we built a Catholic elementary school in Findlay Creek. It is gratifying to see one of my priorities coming to fruition.”
The Ontario government has allocated more than $600 million to support ventilation improvements in schools across Ontario as part of its plans for a safer return to school. The Ottawa Catholic DSB has benefited from an investment of $15.1 million for ventilation improvements and has over 900 HEPA filter units in place.
“Our families, school board, and Zone 4 Trustee Spencer Warren have spent years lobbying for a new Catholic elementary school in Findlay Creek,” said Mark Mullan. “As Chair of the Ottawa Catholic School Board, I am delighted students will soon have a Catholic school located in their community. I am pleased our parent’s concerns have been listened to, and I am grateful local MPP Goldie Ghamari advocated on behalf of the Findlay Creek families. This is a good day for Catholic education in Ottawa.”
Findlay Creek (Leitrim ES) will be located at Kelly Farm Drive & Findlay Creek Drive in Ottawa.
Quick Facts:
- On November 4, the province released the 2021 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Build Ontario. The plan lays out how the government will build the foundation for Ontario’s recover and prosperity by getting shovels in the ground on projects like new schools and child care.
- Since 2018, the Ontario government has invested over $1.5 billion in capital projects in education, including 76 new schools, 75 additions and renovations to existing facilities and 4,908 new licensed child care places.
- For 2021-22, the province is also providing school boards with $1.4 billion in funding to renew and maintain existing schools.
- The governments of Canada and Ontario are providing $656.5 million in funding for critical infrastructure projects to protect students and staff from COVID-19 in the province’s schools through the COVID-19 Resilience stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
- The federal government provides 2.5 per cent of the total cost support for early learning and child care operating expenses in Ontario, with Ontario families, the provincial and municipal governments providing the remainder.
- Ontario has provided emergency child care for the school-aged children of frontline workers, including public safety and health care workers, as well as those working with vulnerable populations, at no out-of-pocket cost. In 2021, at its peak, this program provided over 12,000 children with high-quality child care each day across 717 sites province-wide.
- Ontario is providing a 20 per cent enhancement of the Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses (CARE) tax credit for 2021. This will increase support from $1,250 to $1,500 per family, on average, providing about $75 million in additional support for the 2021 child care expenses of over 300,000 families.
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MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Candice Coates, Executive Assistant
Office of Goldie Ghamari, MPP
candice.coates@pc.ola.org
613-257-9522
