Investment will Support Access to Quality Education Opportunities for Working Families
Pickering, ON —The Ontario government is investing $17 million to build a new Unnamed Seaton #1 Catholic Elementary School to help working families in Pickering. This investment in Durham Catholic District School Board, announced by Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education and Peter Bethlenfalvy, MPP for Pickering-Uxbridge, will support the creation of 622 elementary student spaces 88 child care spaces as part of the Ford Government’s commitment to building modern, accessible, and technologically connected schools for Ontario youth.
The Ontario government is also investing $1.6 million to create 49 child care spaces at Rosebank Road Public School to help working families in Durham. Once complete, the project will provide one infant room, one toddler room and one preschool room through the province’s Early Years Capital Program.
Finally, the Ontario government is also investing $368,000 to improve École secondaire publique Ronald-Marion to help working families in Durham. This investment in Conseil scolaire Viamonde will support the creation of 69 student spaces for students in Grades 7-12.
These projects are part of a provincewide investment of more than $600 million to support new school and child care spaces that were recently announced by Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. The overall investment will support 78 school and child care 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 child care spaces at schools across the province.
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 child care 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.
Highlights of the projects include:
For the Unnamed Seaton Catholic Elementary School:
- 622 elementary student spaces.
- 88 new licensed child care spaces.
- 5 new child care rooms.
For the Rosebank Road Public School project:
For the retrofit at ÉSP Ronald-Marion:
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 Durham Catholic District School Board has benefited from an investment of $7.4 million for ventilation improvements and has over 1000 HEPA filter units in place. The Durham District School Board has benefited from an investment of $9.6 million for ventilation improvements and has over 600 HEPA filter units in place. Finally, Conseil scolaire Viamonde has benefited from an investment of $12.2 million for ventilation improvements and has over 1,800 HEPA filter units in place.
Unnamed Seaton #1 Catholic Elementary School will be located in Pickering at a site to be acquired. Rosebank Road Public School is located at 591 Rosebank Road, Pickering. ÉSP Ronald-Marion is located at 2235 Brock Road, Pickering.
Quotes:
“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. This investment is part of our multiyear plan to build, expand, and update schools and child care spaces across our province. It will leave a lasting legacy that benefits working families for years to come.” –Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education
“The new Seaton Catholic Elementary School, the retrofit at ÉSP Ronald-Marion and the additional childcare spaces are great news for our community. This investment will provide choice and flexibility for families and new opportunities for the children of Pickering.” –Peter Bethlenfalvy, MPP for Pickering-Uxbridge.
“This is a tremendous investment in Catholic education in the highest growth area of Pickering. We are grateful to the Ministry of Education for approving the funding of this new school and child care that is estimated to open for the 2024-2025 school year.” –Morgan Ste. Marie, Chair of the Durham Catholic District School Board.
« En investissant dans des travaux qui permettront la création de nouvelles places élèves à l’école Ronald-Marion, le gouvernement de l’Ontario reconnait la croissance de la communauté francophone dans la région de Durham et l’importance de répondre à ses besoins spécifiques. Ces sommes contribueront également à nos efforts constants en vue de garder les jeunes dans notre système jusqu’en douzième année. » –Benoit Fortin, vice-président du Conseil scolaire Viamonde
"By investing in the creation of new student spaces at Ronald Marion School, the Ontario government recognizes the growth of the Francophone community in Durham Region and the importance of meeting its specific needs. This funding will also contribute to Viamonde’s ongoing efforts to keep students in our system until graduation.” –Benoit Fortin, vice-chair of Conseil scolaire Viamonde
“On behalf of the DDSB Board of Trustees, I want to thank the Province of Ontario for making this important investment, increasing infant, toddler, and preschool childcare spaces for Durham Region families.” – Carolyn Morton, Chair of the Durham District School Board
“On behalf of the City of Pickering, I sincerely thank the Government of Ontario for this significant investment in both Pickering’s education and childcare. As one of the fastest growing municipalities in the province, it’s critical that we continue to augment and enhance our local schools, while also creating additional child care spaces to help our young families.” – Dave Ryan, Mayor of City of Pickering
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 recovery 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.
Back to Search