Ste. Anne has quickly become one of the largest communities in the Dawson Trail constituency, with an 81 per cent population growth rate over the last decade. The community has been doing everything they can to facilitate and foster the ever-growing population, such as creating new housing developments and bringing in new employment opportunities.
Due to the population growth, the community is in need of expanding their school, in order to accommodate the growing number of students. Our former PC government promised them a new school that would be ready for students to attend in 2027. Unfortunately, the current NDP government has chosen to reject this project. It is incredibly disappointing that the NDPs have decided to deny this project and the community of Ste. Anne a new school to help facilitate their rapidly growing population, and that would inevitably provide the youth in the community a better learning environment.
In other school-related news, as part of Budget 2024, the NDP government has allocated $30 million to a universal school nutrition program that is now available in all schools throughout the province. Unfortunately, the NDP grossly underestimated the funds required to offer Manitoba youth the nutritious and delicious breakfast they deserve to help fuel their learning every day. Manitoba has an estimated enrolment of 225,000 students, and with that, the $30 million investment works out to about $133 per student. In the 2024/25 school year, there are 193 days, which means the NDPs are spending approximately $0.68 a day per student. It is impossible to get any meal for $0.68, never mind a nutritious meal. If the NDP government was so committed to bettering the lives of Manitobans and our youth, they wouldn’t have cut the nine new schools that our former PC government was working towards having built and they would’ve invested more into this nutrition program.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact my constituency office.
