Keyano College receives $3.2 million for maintenance and repairs

Laila Goodridge, MLA for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche, and Tany Yao, MLA for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo arrived at Keyano College to present a $3.2 million grant that will allow the college to modernize its building codes at the Clearwater Main Campus. The two MLAs met with Interim President & CEO, Dale Mountain, Vice President, Academic, Fred Russell, and Vice President, Infrastructure & CIO, Tracy Boyde. Following the presentation, Ms. Goodridge and Mr. Yao were taken on a tour of the college, ending up in the Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre that reopened this week after extensive flood restoration work was completed.

MLA Goodridge said, “As part of our ambitious economic recovery program, our government is investing in critical infrastructure throughout our province, including right here in Fort McMurray. I’m proud to see $3.2 million invested to ensure compliance with building codes at Keyano. This important investment will create jobs and help keep Albertans employed during these challenging times.”

Dale Mountain was thankful for the support and talked about the issues Keyano faces. “It’s a challenging time for the college. Fort McMurray has endured two natural disasters in four years, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a significant economic downturn. It would be impossible to overcome all of the struggles we’ve faced without the strong support of the Alberta government, our employees and a resilient community.” Mr. Mountain had the chance to explain why the funding is vitally important.
As an advocate for the region and the community MLA Yao was pleased to be able to offer the support to Keyano College, “Alberta’s Recovery Plan is all about creating jobs in our communities during these tough economic times”, said Mr. Yao. “This funding creates 18 jobs when we need them most. It also helps fix the aging infrastructure to keep Alberta’s public buildings lasting well into the future.”

Funding for this project is part of an additional $98-million commitment to post-secondary institutions for accelerated capital maintenance and renewal, which is expected to create about 533 full-time jobs around the province. Before departing Keyano, both MLA Yao and MLA Goodridge were presented with a personalized Keyano Husky basketball jersey in recognition of their support of the college.

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