Petition for replacement of PRMS delivered to Legislature by MLA

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice delivered a petition from Prince Rupert
 to the Legislature on Wednesday, the document signed by over 300 residents
calls for the replacement of the aging Middle School in the city

The call for a replacement for the aging Prince Rupert Middle School building was heard once again in the Legislature on Wednesday, as North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice presented a petition in the Legislature signed by over 300 residents of the North Coast.

The petition quest was launched by the Parent Advisory Committee from Prince Rupert Middle School and called attention to the deteriorating condition of the school built over sixty years, among the points noted on the petition and delivered by the MLA were:

"Prince Rupert Middle School, built in 1958 on a former landfill site, has been classified with a risk rating of H1. It is at risk of structural collapse in the event of an earthquake. Other issues with the facility include lead in the drinking water system, power outages, failed water and sewer pipes, and air quality issues. The petitioners respectfully request that the House replace Prince Rupert Middle School without further delay."

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice
returned to the need for a replacement
for PRMS during Wednesday's session

Ms. Rice introduced the document following the Wednesday afternoon Question Period, where she once again had raised the issue with the Minister of Education.

As she had in previous occasions during this Spring session, the North Coast MLA outlined the list of issues related to PRMS, and noted the seismic risk that the building poses, observing that the Province has known about those conditions for over a decade and done nothing about them.

"The school needs $19 million upgrades. B. C. Liberals have known about these worsening problems for over a decade and have done nothing. My question to the Minister: can you tell the 400 kids going to this school why you've done nothing to deal with this?"

The Minister reviewed some of the past discussions that the Education Ministry has had with SD52, both on issues related to PRMS and other notes on education and faciltiies in the district.

Noting that when it comes to the need for seismic upgrades for Schools in BC, the NDP had to cancel seismic upgrading when they were in power as the province could not afford it.

And while not committing to a new building on Wednesday, Minister Bernier did note for the Legislature that he would be travelling to Prince Rupert next week to discuss a range of issues with the School District and that he intends to examine the Middle school request as part of that visit.

"That school specifically…. In fact, I'm going up there to meet with that school district in just a week to make sure I'm touring that school, to make sure we're looking at these issues that they're facing"

You can review the exchange between Ms. Rice and the Education Minister below:





The call for a replacement for the Middle school has been a frequent item on the North Coast MLA's topic list since the Legislature resumed its work in February, you can review those interjections on the theme from our Legislature archive page.

For more notes related to education on the North Coast see our archive page here.