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December 14, 1999
(Education)

The following statement was issued today by Judy Foote, Minister of Education. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

I am delighted to rise in the House today to inform my honourable colleagues of this government's continued commitment to post-secondary education and also to the Arts in our province with some new developments at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College.

This government will contribute $3 million towards the construction of new student residences and $4 million to build an exhibition centre at Memorial University's Sir Wilfred Grenfell College campus in Corner Brook.

The new student residences will cost $7.5 million to construct. Memorial University will contribute the remainder through bank financing and revenues it expects to derive from rental of the residence rooms.

Three clusters of four residence buildings each will be constructed for a total of 300 beds. The design is intended to blend with the natural setting of the campus and, as an alternative to the traditional dormitory arrangement, apartment-style units will be built, with one-, two- and three-bedroom arrangements per unit. This type of residence will appeal to the growing population of mature students, as well as to students preferring non-dormitory living arrangements and those with families. The anticipated completion date for the project is winter 2001-2002.

Since Sir Wilfred Grenfell College was established in 1975, the focus of the college has shifted and its academic facilities expanded so that it now offers full four-year undergraduate degree programs in 10 program areas and has a student enrolment of 1,200.

The new residences are essential to Grenfell's development as a residential liberal arts and science institution. In the next two to three years, the college aims to expand the student population to 1,500, and eventually to 1,800. Currently, Grenfell can accommodate only half of the students who apply for its 188 residence rooms.

The new residences will meet the demand from current students and the anticipated demand from new students recruited by the college.

When the residences are not fully occupied, primarily during the summer months, they will be available as visitor accommodations, enhancing the city's ability to host large conventions, trade shows and other events.

The residences will almost double the number of accommodations currently available in the Corner Brook area in the peak summer tourism period, thus contributing to the economic development of the city and region.

And speaking of tourism and the associated economic development, it is my pleasure to tell honourable members about the new fine arts facility at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College wholeheartedly supported by my colleague, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. It will be approximately 15,000 square feet and will include environmentally controlled exhibition and storage space for visiting artists, a multimedia lecture theatre, workshop space, offices and more. The gallery will showcase works of art, and museum and archive exhibits. The exhibition centre will be connected to the Grenfell campus by a covered link.

The design phase of the new exhibition centre will begin shortly. It is anticipated that architectural design work will be completed by next fall, at which time tenders will be called and site preparation work can begin. Construction is expected to coincide with the new student residences and also to be completed by winter of 2001/2002.

As most of you know, yesterday government announced an investment of $40 million to begin construction of a new provincial gallery, museum and archives. The Rooms, as the facility will be known, will be located in Fort Townshend in the capital city � in the historic core of the oldest city in North America.

This important step in the preservation of our cultural heritage signals that we as a province are taking full responsibility for ensuring that our heritage is protected for the future. It also ensures that our historical and cultural treasures will be accessible to everyone, residents and visitors alike.

The new exhibition centre at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College will complement The Rooms. It will be a showplace for our cultural history on the west coast of the province and will be an integral part of the operation of our other key cultural institutions.

The facility will be owned and operated by Memorial University but will be linked to the provincial gallery, museum and archives through a cooperative arrangement that will see the province's cultural, historic and artistic treasures shared between institutions for all residents of Newfoundland and Labrador to enjoy.

Exhibits will be shared between the provincial art gallery, museum and archives in St. John's and the new facility in Corner Brook. As well, the centre will provide community programming in the arts for the whole region. I am confident this showcase will become an integral part of the community and a tremendous tourism draw for resident and non-resident visitors all year round.

Today's announcement connects exciting developments in post-secondary education and the arts in our province. I look forward to the completion of both projects.

1999 12 14                                     2:20 p.m.


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