Completion of Victoria High School upgrades delayed until 2023
The expansion and completion of seismic safety upgrades at the historic Victoria High School have been delayed by one year, until September 2023.
The Greater Victoria School District says the delay is due to unexpected construction challenges, including the pandemic, labour availability and resource availability.
"There have been several challenges over the past year that have extended the seismic project’s timeline, including labour and material pressures due to COVID-19 and a building boom in Victoria," said SD61 superintendent Shelley Green in a statement Monday.
"We expected there to be a few surprises when we started opening the walls of a school built over a century ago but we did not anticipate the market pressures on resources and labour availability," she said.
The roughly $79.7 million upgrades were originally expected to be completed by September 2022. The upgrades include seismic safety improvements, a 200-seat expansion, and the preservation of certain building elements, such as exterior granite and brick, and interior marble and stained glass.
Students enrolled at Victoria High have been temporarily re-located to the former SJ Willis school building at 923 Topaz Ave. According to SD61, students will remain at this temporary site until June 2023 before returning to the upgraded Victoria High School.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Being harassed at work? What to consider when deciding what to do next
If you've been the victim of workplace harassment, it can be difficult to feel you're not alone - and even more difficult to know where to go with a complaint.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Half of Canadians support TikTok ban, with U.S. concerns 'trickling' north: poll
A new poll indicates 51 per cent of Canadians support banning the social media app TikTok, after a U.S. bill aiming to do just that passed in the House of Representatives.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.