Replacement secured for 'unsafe' Port Renfrew school with tiny population
A remote community on the west coast of Vancouver Island has secured a replacement for its seismically unsafe elementary school.
The Sooke School District says the provincial government has agreed to set aside money to replace Port Renfrew Elementary.
Before the province hands over the cash, the district must present a business case for the project. It’s projected to cost $10 million.
“It is one of the most seismically unsafe schools in the province,” SD62 board of education chair Ravi Parmar told CTV News last month.
The school was built in 1970. With 18 students enrolled there this year, it’s one of the least-populated schools on Vancouver Island.
“I’m assuming that with a massive seismic event, it’s not going to stand at all, so it needs a major upgrade,” Tracy Charlie, a councillor at the neighbouring Pacheedaht First Nation, said in a recent interview.
CAMPUS DREAM
If all goes to plan, the new school will be one of the first buildings people see when they drive north into Port Renfrew.
The community does not have a middle nor high school, so older students spend hours commuting to Sooke every day.
Late last month, Pacheedaht First Nation asked Infrastructure Canada for $24 million to build a school for grades 6 to 12. If approved, the hope is to build the high school next to the new elementary school.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Slovakia's populist prime minister shot multiple times in attempted assassination
Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.
Transport Canada's UFO 'lead' planned to meet with U.S. intel officials, called info requests a 'wild goose chase'
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?
A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.
BREAKING Ontario's 'crypto king' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed 'crypto king' from Whitby, Ont., has been arrested in Durham Region after allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
BREAKING Barge hits a bridge in Texas, damaging the structure and causing an oil spill
A barge hit a bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a small island, officials said.
Person responsible for 1996 drugging of 'Titanic' crew likely not a local: Halifax police
Halifax Regional Police believe a non-resident could be responsible for the infamous drugging of numerous crew members of the 'Titanic' movie with a hallucinogenic in 1996.
Latest updates on the biggest wildfires burning in Canada
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
OPINION Your attention span is shrinking, studies say. Here's how to stay focused: Sandee LaMotte
Regaining your focus requires you to be mindful of how you are using technology -- a daunting task if you consider the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.