Ontario Government Building New Blind River Joint School

As part of Ontario’s ongoing efforts to build and improve local schools, the province
provided the Algoma District School Board (ADSB) and Conseil scolaire public du
Grand Nord de l’Ontario (SCPGNO) with approval to proceed to tender for the new
Blind River Joint School. This is supported by an investment of $36.7 million, which
includes additional funding of $17.5 million.

The Government of Ontario is delivering more than $26.6 billion in education funding for
the 2022-23 school year, which is the highest investment in public education in
Ontario’s history. Investing in the province’s schools is an integral part of Ontario’s Plan
to Catch Up, which is squarely focused on the priorities of parents and includes five key
components:
• Kids being back in the classroom, on time with a full school experience that
includes extracurriculars like sports, band and field trips;
• Investing more than $175 million for enhanced tutoring support programs
delivered by school boards and community partners, with a focus on reading,
writing and math;
• Updating the curriculum to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow, including
opportunities in the skilled trades;
• Providing more money to build schools and improve education; and
• Allocating $90 million – the highest amount in Ontario history, and a 420 per cent
increase from 2017-18 – to support student mental health.

Once completed, this project will deliver 381 JK-12 spaces, 64 childcare spaces and 72
French-Language elementary spaces for local families. The investment is part of the
Ontario government’s commitment to provide $14 billion to support school construction,
repair and renewal over 10 years. Since 2018, the government has approved nearly 200 school construction projects and the development of more than 300 childcare and
education building-related projects, of which, more than 100 are actively under
construction.

“The funding for a new joint school at Blind River is great news for the community,” said
Ross Romano, MPP for Sault Ste. Marie “This investment will ensure families and
students have access to a quality learning environment in the years ahead.”
“Our government is investing $14 billion over ten years to build new schools, improve
existing facilities and create childcare spaces to ensure young people can reach their
full potential,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. “By building the new state-of-
the-art Blind River Joint School, as well as investing in tutoring and mental health
supports for the year ahead, we are getting students in Blind River back on track now
and well into the future. While we make progress building this new school in Blind River
to support hard-working parents, we remain committed to keeping students in more
normal classrooms with extra curriculars, sports, and clubs.”

“Under Premier Ford’s leadership, we’re building more state-of-the-art schools to
support the needs of Ontario’s students, families and growing communities. By investing in innovative and modern learning spaces, we’re ensuring students have access to the quality education that will provide them with lifelong skills and education in a safe and healthy environment,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “These investments are one of the ways we’re delivering on our promise to build Ontario, with an infrastructure budget of more than $148 billion over the next decade.”

Highlights of the project include:
• 381 new JK-12 student spaces
• 64 new child care spaces
• 4 new childcare rooms
• 2 room EarlyOn Child and Family Centre
• 72 French-Language elementary spaces

Lucia Reece, ADSB Director of Education shared, “We are extremely grateful for and
excited about this joint Blind River project, as it is great news for the community and our students. We look forward to working with our colleagues in Grand Nord to provide
unique, innovative learning spaces that will ensure families and students have access to a quality, modern learning environment in the years ahead, as well as provide a space that is culturally and linguistically vibrant.”

According to the Director of Education, Sébastien Fontaine, “The Conseil scolaire du
Grand Nord is pleased to be working in collaboration with the Algoma District
School Board on this joint project. This new school construction project will allow us to
provide inclusive and comprehensive school programming in a welcoming environment
that will meet the needs of students, parents and the entire community of Blind River.
The Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord thanks the Ontario government for facilitating this
initiative which will enable both school boards to provide quality education in a modern
and innovative environment.”

Algoma DSB – Blind River JK-12 and CSPGNO – Ecole publique des Pins Blanc will be
jointly located at 180 Youngfox Road in Blind River