North Bay, Ontario, April 28th, 2021—Schools in Nipissing-Timiskaming will have the opportunity to provide a safer learning environment for their students, teachers and staff thanks to new joint federal and provincial funding.
“I am happy to see schools in Nipissing-Timiskaming taking the opportunity to become more energy-efficient,” says the Honourable Anthony Rota, Member of Parliament for Nipissing-Timiskaming.
“Energy-efficient schools will support better indoor air quality, leading to better health outcomes for Ontario students and educators, something that has become particularly important with the COVID-19 pandemic. Energy-efficient buildings also pollute less and help schools save on energy costs while fighting climate change.”
$13,438,700 was invested in the four area school boards (Near North Near North District School Board, Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de disctrict du Nord-Est de l'Ontario, Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord) through the COVID-19 Resilience stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
The majority of funding will support ventilation projects that improve air quality in classrooms across the province. Projects include HVAC renovations to improve air quality, installing water bottle refilling stations to improve access to safe drinking water, investing in network and broadband infrastructure to support remote learning, and space reconfigurations such as new walls and doors to enhance physical distancing.
The COVID-19 stream, implemented in response to the pandemic, allows the Government of Canada to invest up to 80% in projects that support provinces and up to 100% in projects that support territories and Indigenous communities in their response to the pandemic.
The Government of Canada is investing up to $525.2 million towards these projects through the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The Government of Ontario is contributing $131.3 million to the projects.
