Minister joins MP Serré for big funding announcement at Collège Boréal

Christian Gammon-Roy

Tribune

Canada’s Minister of National Revenue, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, made a stop in Sturgeon Falls on Thursday, Feb. 22, accompanying local MP Marc Serré on a short tour of his Nickel Belt riding and northern Ontario. The duo took the opportunity to visit the local campus of Collège Boréal and announce $564,000 in funding to renovate the site. The two also took some time to stop at Northern Secondary School/École secondaire Nipissing Ouest for a somewhat impromptu town hall with the students there.

“We had the announcement here, so I said ‘listen, let’s do a tour at Northern, we’ll meet the students.’ I sent the idea to the Minister, and she was happy to do it. So, we did a sort of town hall. None of the questions were prepared, it was set up at the last minute, and so we got to really hear the kids and hear their concerns. I’ll be going back, I love going to the schools,” describes Serré about the morning visit added to the schedule. Minister Bibeau’s own riding of Compton-Stanstead shares similarities with the Nickel Belt riding in that it’s very rural and has its own challenges with language minority. However, for Bibeau’s riding, the minority language is English, which she noted was an interesting reversal of what she’s used to seeing back home.

The MPs only had 30 minutes to answer a range of questions, but in that short time came away with a clearer idea of what is important to this generation of Canadians. Many of the initial questions focused on gas vehicles being phased out and adopting environmentally-friendly alternatives, environmental impacts of developing and building those types of vehicles, having a broader range of vehicles and making them more affordable. One person asked for tips on how future voters could stay properly informed and make the right choice for their best-interest in the age of social media and disinformation. The question of affordability also came up, and with it concerns around housing, homelessness and even the opioid crisis.

Coincidentally, one of the questions posed related to the ministers’ pending announcement, as one person asked about funding for French-language post-secondary education, using the example of the University of Sudbury’s requests for funding. Serré mentioned that with education being a provincial matter, they aren’t always able to step in to assist, and last year’s funding application from the University of Sudbury was denied by the province. However, he added that the federal government does help with funding when it can. In fact, this kind of funding was the main purpose of Thursday’s visit to West Nipissing.

Collège Boréal’s Nipissing campus held a press conference that also doubled as a ribbon-cutting and unveiling of the newly renovated premises. The recently completed work included renovating reception areas, adding staff offices, relocating video projection rooms and teaching rooms, painting rooms, replacing carpets, installing mechanical systems for air intake and cooling, and converting a classroom into a computer workspace and warehouse. Exterior renovations focused on the building’s front façade, replacing windows, enhancing the building’s appearance with a painting on decorative panels and adding a promotional electronic sign. Since completion, the Nipissing campus now has 11 new workspaces for post-secondary services and employment staff, bringing the employment services under the same roof as the educational services in space rented from Franco-Cité high school. The funding announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Randy Boissonneault, Minister of Employent, Workforce Development and Official Languages, to whom Serré serves as Parliamentary Secretary.

Members of the college’s administration, Serré and Minister Bibeau, West Nipissing mayor Kathleen Thorne Rochon and some members of council, as well as students and other community members attended the small event. “I’m really proud to be here on behalf of the federal government, with Minister Bibeau, to make a historic investment here in West Nipissing, for the campus here at Collège Boréal, of $564,000,” Serré declared. He stressed the economic importance of the community college throughout all of Ontario, and how access to francophone education keeps workers in the north, while attracting newcomers and businesses to a bilingual market.

Minister Bibeau spoke next, echoing Serré’s sentiments about the importance of French language education, and praising her colleague’s work in Ottawa on promoting and supporting French not only in his riding, but also across the country. “Our government is really committed to supporting communities living in a minority language situation. We have a strategy that we are building over 5 years, we’re talking about $4.1 billion,” she enthused.

Collège Boréal President, Daniel Giroux, told attendees what the investment achieved. “I am particularly happy to be here this morning to proceed, in such good and prestigious company, with the official opening of our fully renovated campus, here in Nipissing,” he announced. Prior to the funding, Collège Boréal’s Nipissing campus services were offered at two separate sites in Sturgeon Falls. “Thanks to this funding, we grouped together, under one roof, our entire suite of services, which were formerly in two sites,” said Giroux, calling the 19,000 square foot campus a “one stop shop” whether you’re looking for academic upgrading, continuing education, corporate training, employment services or whatever else the Nipissing branch of the college offers.

Giroux also spoke to the importance of the Nipissing campus as the only francophone option for post-secondary education in this region. “When we’re talking about community colleges, the question of access is absolutely critical. Studies demonstrate that if you have to travel an hour or more, students won’t move. Instead, they’re going to simply decide to go to an anglophone college.” Giroux pointed out that there is a strategic value in having students stay in their own community, as it reinforces local employee pools, particularly important in sectors like healthcare, education, trades, business, technology and public service, for which the college provides training.

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