St. Clair College to receive $2.49 million from province toward repairs and upgrades

WINDSOR, ONT. -- St. Clair College will receive a $2.49 million boost from the province to help with “critical repairs” and campus upgrades. 

Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Rick Nicholls made the announcement Friday at St. Clair’s Chatham campus.

“Today’s announcement is one I’ve been very excited to have go public,” Nicholls said in a news release. “Investing in education only benefits everyone in the long run and with the increased number of high-school students pursuing post-secondary education, the $2.49 million will be extremely helpful towards needed maintenance and campus upgrades at St. Clair College.”

The province announced in its 2020 budget “Ontario's Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover”, an investment in critical maintenance, repairs, upgrades and renewals of $466 million in capital grants over three years for Ontario’s universities and colleges.

The investment under the Facilities Renewal Program includes $144 million in 2020-2021 — an increase of $73 million from last year, $144 million in 2021-2022 and $178 million in 2022-2023.

“We very much appreciate the ministry’s recognition that we need high-quality facilities to deliver high-quality education,” St. Clair College President Patti France said in a news release. “Given that the province-wide college system was founded in the late-1960s, many of our primary buildings are now over 50 years old. As anyone who has owned a half-century-old home knows, the maintenance list is a long and ongoing one. We’re very thankful that this funding will allow us to tackle our ‘to-do list’.”

As part of the Colleges Equipment and Renewal Fund (CERF), Ontario is also granting $20 million in capital funding to help colleges buy and renew instructional equipment and learning resources.

This year, some of the funding is being used toward equipment to support virtual learning during COVID-19.

St. Clair College will receive an additional $763,500 through the renewal fund.