In November 2021, London District Catholic School Board trustee Bill Hall observed, “St. Anne’s is bursting with students.”
He made the comments outside St. Anne’s Catholic Elementary School (pictured below) as then Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Jeff Yurek announced provincial funding for a permanent expansion to the school which hosted more than a dozen portables on its grounds.
This is at a school that opened in 2009.
In June of last year, the school board was successful in its bid to add a couple more portables while the addition is undertaken at St. Annes’s.
At the June 13 city council meeting last year, Coun. Steve Peters observed, “I was at St. Anne’s recently and the number of portables that are already on the site and now adding more, we need a commitment from the provincial government to deal with this inappropriate way for students to be learning.”

Well, this week the LDCSB submitted its priority list to the provincial government for a half-dozen new schools, including a pair in St. Thomas.
Debbie Jordan, a board superintendent outlined details of a proposed elementary school for the city.
“Those two projects are on our capital priority list and they will be placed on the submission that we will be making to the ministry (of education).
“There is no confirmation on sites, we have an elementary school that we are asking for funding for, which is a 412-pupil place, and with that we are asking for an 88-space childcare centre as well.”
If approved by the province, the school would open for students in 2027. The other priority is a new high school for St. Thomas.
Jordan detailed the high school plus the expansion at St. Anne’s.
“. . . we’re asking for a 552-pupil place secondary school with a 49-space childcare centre.
“Currently, we are building an addition on to St. Anne’s. It’s a nine-room addition which is one kindergarten classroom and eight regular classrooms.”
The board now has 26,000 students with an enrollment increase of four to five per cent expected in 2024
Jordan outlined the process involved in working with the Ministry of Education on funding applications.
“So, the Ministry of Education will put out, which they have, a capital call to all the school boards and that is 72 of the school boards.
“And then, from there the ministry will, of course, evaluate all the business plans and submissions and we’re hopeful – and nothing is for certain – but we’re hopeful they will provide notification of what they have approved by the end of March (2024).”
She added it is a reflection on the number of families now moving into the school board’s catchment area.
“We’re finding as far as the secondary school enrolment increasing the way it has, it’s just a direct reflection on the people who are moving into the area and so we’re getting a lot of people from the Toronto area coming into our area and bringing with them the secondary school-aged children.”
With a further influx anticipated due to the EV battery plant production scheduled to begin in 2027, what is the scenario if neither St. Thomas school is green-lighted by the province?
It’s a parallel situation with the Thames Valley District School Board which several years ago put a new St. Thomas elementary school on its wish list.

A COMMUNITY BUILD, BY THE COMMUNITY, FOR THE COMMUNITY

It’s being referenced as “the long overdue process of bringing our people home.”
Oneida Nation Council has partnered with The Imagine Build to construct accessible homes on Oneida Nation of the Thames.
Two have been built so far with the third to be constructed during a three-day blitz build this weekend with Doug Tarry Homes of St. Thomas leading the way.
“You know we hear about the housing crisis that’s happening in Canada,” advised Tarry, “we’re all dealing with it, the affordability and all of these hardships and it’s getting harder and harder for families to make a go of it.

“But it is nothing compared to what they’re facing in First Nations communities. It’s just shocking and shameful what they have, or don’t have I should say.”
There are at least 42 families on the waiting list for housing on Oneida Nation of the Thames.
Oneida spokesperson Jade Doxtator explained the beginnings of The Imagine Build.
“It’s a grassroots program that was started about two years ago. Community members from London and the surrounding area came together and saw a need in housing in the First Nations community.
“The original goal was to raise funds to build one house and once that started it quickly surpassed that.
“Now we’ve surpassed $900,000 in funding raised and our goal is now four houses for the community so we can get four families into a home.”
Doxtator pointed out that Tarry plans to take it a step further on a future build.
“Ideally, the fourth house is going to be one where he wanted to bring in the youth of the community with his team and really walk them through the process on how the houses are built and how the inspections are done and really give the youth that training they need so the next can come in and they can be the ones who are building the homes for their community.”
It is also about awareness, added Tarry.

“We knew that if we imagined a way forward together, we would find our way to build affordable, accessible homes with Oneida leadership.”

“Kind of our goal is to make people aware of what is happening there because there is such difficulty with arranging financing and funding to be able to build anything or repair anything.
“They just really live in very poor conditions.
“We knew that if we imagined a way forward together, we would find our way to build affordable, accessible homes with Oneida leadership.”
In an extended conversation with Doxtator, he referenced the past struggles at Oneida Nation of the Thames to obtain a hookup to a municipal water supply.

In March of this year, Chief Todd Cornelius and Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu announced plans to link the existing Oneida system to the Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System.
This will service over 500 homes and community facilities in the community. The federal government is investing $43 million to support the design and construction of the project which is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete.
“The water issue has made it tougher for people to get their footing and get started,” said Doxtator.
“If we can projects like this going, it will give them a stable spot to come home to at night and re-charge, rest up and be ready to go again with a chance to succeed.
He continued, “One other part of the project is helping new families in that first step of home ownership and the maintenance that does come with the home.

“As someone who grew up here, it’s inspiring, it’s amazing to see because I’ve never seen anything like this before in the community.”

“So, it’s not just throwing them in there and letting them figure out all the maintenance that is involved. Help them learn those skills and upkeep on the homes so that it does last for generations for the family.”
But what about beyond the completion of the four homes?
“Once these are done, there’s no reason for it to stop. We want to keep the community feeling excited and keep people engaged. And keep raising funds. And hopefully, we can get every family that needs a home into a home.”

We asked Doxtator about the reaction to the project within the community.
“As someone who grew up here, it’s inspiring, it’s amazing to see because I’ve never seen anything like this before in the community.
“Especially when it’s an outside source that came in and showed they wanted to help. I like seeing better for the place I grew up in.
“Doug Tarry stepped up to the plate big. He seems genuinely wanting to help and then to be able to train the youth afterward and who knows, maybe in a few years they’ll be building four homes every year for families.”
We will be onsite this afternoon to speak with participants in this project that holds out so much optimism and potential for the Oneida Nation of the Thames community.

WOODSTOCK HAS SPOKEN

A re-think may be the next order of business for Southwestern Public Health and its exploration of locating one or more consumption and treatment centres in its coverage area.
This past week, Woodstock city council voted 4-3 against locating such a facility in the municipality.
The decision comes following a public meeting last month on the matter.
To recap, the health unit undertook a study at the beginning of this year into the feasibility of such centres in the region.
The study defined feasibility as a combination of community support, political buy-in and the likelihood of people with lived or living experience of substance use taking advantage of these services.
Speaking with medical officer of health Dr. Ninh Tran in February of this year, he cautioned the region is closing in on an opioid-related death every week.
Complicating matters is a move by the province earlier this month to hit the pause button on approving any new supervised consumption sites pending a review.
The province stresses it is not looking at shutting down any of the existing 17 supervised consumption and treatment sites.
We spoke with Dr. Tran following the move by the province and he indicated the feasibility work being undertaken by the health unit is in the early stages.
“At this time we’re just really looking forward to the results of this review and seeing what, if any, recommendations they have and we’ll go from there.”
Is a public meeting like the one held in Woodstock planned for St. Thomas?
“That was a special meeting held by Woodstock city council and we’ve offered St. Thomas city council any opportunity they might want for us to share findings of our Phase 1 feasibility study.
“Whenever they are ready to hear us, we are happy to present on consumption and treatment sites.”
He advised the province does provide funding for a certain number of consumption and treatment sites and if all considerations were aligned, the health unit would apply for such funding.
Dr. Tran advised the health unit is exploring such sites in both Woodstock and St. Thomas.
While St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston supports the health unit further exploring consumption and treatment centres he has, in the past, indicated he is wary of a safe consumption site in the city.
Preston is the SWPH board chairman and at a city council meeting back in March, he leaned toward rehab and detox facilities.
Preston observed, “We’ve been working exceptionally hard over the last three years or four years on rehab and detox, an actual cure for addiction.”
You can read about the recommendations from the Phase 1 feasibility study here.

POINT TO PONDER

Malahide Mayor Dominique Giguere has expressed her opposition to Elgin county using taxpayer dollars to support St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital’s MRI funding campaign.
Will she offer a similar sentiment when Hospice of Elgin comes knocking with its $1.2 million request?

INCREASED FUNDING SOUGHT FOR THE ART CENTRE

On Tuesday’s (Oct. 24) county council agenda is a request from Laura Woermke, executive director of the St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre.
The centre currently receives $30,000 annually from the county and she would like to up that to $40,000. The current amount granted has been in place since 2008.
She reminds council, “Investing in the art and art education has numerous benefits for our community. It stimulates economic growth, attracts tourism and enhances the overall quality of life for residents.
“Moreover, it provides a platform for local artists to showcase their talent, encourages cultural exchange and fosters a sense of pride and identity within our community.”
The art centre receives roughly twice the requested amount from the county as a line item in the city budget.

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And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.