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Education
May 6, 2010

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Darin King, Minister of Education:

Provincial Government Invests in Teacher Housing in Labrador

I rise in this house today to announce that our government is providing approximately $600,000 to the Labrador School District to support housing for teachers in two coastal communities — the Town of Postville and Rigolet.

For remote communities in Labrador, providing living accommodations is a key factor in the recruitment and retention of teachers. And, the recruitment of teachers is essential to ensure that we continue to offer quality education for students in Labrador.

The school district will investigate options to purchase existing housing in each community. If there are no viable options available, construction on two new homes will begin. Combined, these houses will provide a minimum of nine new rooms for teachers who work in these two communities for the upcoming school year. Together with the new homes constructed in Makkovik and Cartwright over the last two years, for which we invested $345,000, this will result in 15 new spaces for teachers in rural Labrador. This brings our total investment in teacher housing in Labrador to almost $1 million over a three-year period.

This is great news for the people in these communities. Housing in rural and remote areas can present unique challenges and through this funding, we are working to address these challenges head-on for the benefit of our education system.

Our government continues to make education in Labrador a priority. With an investment of over $24 million in infrastructure funding for the K-12 and post-secondary systems in Labrador this year alone, we are ensuring that students in this region receive their education in quality learning environments. This includes:

  • $5.36 million to complete construction of a new school in L'Anse au Loup;
  • $7.37 million to complete construction of a new school in Port Hope
    Simpson; and,
  • $11.46 million for the construction of the new College of the North Atlantic Labrador West.

In fact, by the end of the coming fiscal year, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will have spent more than $2.4 billion in Labrador across all sectors since its first budget of March 2004.

This government's commitment to education is unprecedented. Budget 2010: The Right Investments for Our Children and Our Future will see a record $1.3 billion invested in our K-12 and post-secondary systems this year. With that kind of commitment, everyone benefits — school boards, teachers, and most importantly our students.

2010 05 06                           1:50 p.m.


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