April 15, 2014
The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Kevin O’Brien, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills:
Grenfell Residence Provides Students with Affordable Housing
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to update the members of this Honourable House on the latest addition to infrastructure at Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus. I recently joined Premier Marshall for the official opening of Grenfell Complex in Corner Brook, and had an opportunity to tour this world-class new residence and meet some of the students attending Grenfell Campus.
The Grenfell Residence Complex provides safe, affordable and accessible living options on campus for about 200 students, increasing residence capacity to 600 students. This residence was built with $23.3 million in funding from the Provincial Government, and is a home-away-from-home for students while they complete their post-secondary studies, establish their career goals and ultimately secure long-term employment in this province.
Mr. Speaker, this modern, state-of-the-art building has five floors with 200 rooms. Each floor includes a kitchen and other areas where students gather for meals and to socialize. A partnership between Grenfell Campus and College of the North Atlantic allows 23 of those rooms to be available for College of the North Atlantic students.
This government has made strategic investments to support post-secondary infrastructure with a total commitment of $88.3 million for the construction of the new Grenfell Residence and two news residences at the St. John’s Campus of Memorial University. In addition to providing affordable on-campus student housing, these residences help alleviate rental housing pressures in both cities.
The word is spreading that this province is an ideal place to get an advanced education that is both high quality and affordable. And we are making it easier for students to begin their careers with as little debt as possible. As announced in Budget 2014, the Provincial Government is providing $14.7 million over two years to eliminate provincial student loans, with a projected investment of approximately $50.6 million over five years. Since 2005, we have invested more than $282 million to freeze tuition fees for our students.
Because of our continued and significant investments in programming, infrastructure and other needs, post-secondary institutions in this province have been able to further support students in areas such as housing. Mr. Speaker, in Corner Brook, and everywhere I go, students tell me how these investments are having a positive impact on their lives, and I am proud to say that our students are the envy of the country.
2014 04 15 1:50 p.m.