Today, Minister Shane Simpson and Minister Rob Fleming, announced that the BC Government has approved the funding to seismically upgrade Chief Maquinna Elementary.

Maquinna Elementary was built more than half a century ago and although the school has served Vancouver students and the neighbouring community well throughout the years, certain parts of the building do not meet current seismic standards.

As part of the province's Seismic Mitigation Program, the Ministry of Education allotted $12.2 million to upgrade the east and west classroom buildings, as well as the gymnasium at Maquinna Elementary.

Construction is expected to begin in spring 2020 and be complete by fall 2021.

During construction, students and staff will be temporarily accommodated at Admiral Seymour Elementary in order to allow the necessary seismic work to take place. Seymour Elementary would provide the least disruptive option to students as everyone is able to stay together in one location and away from the construction work at Maquinna.

With the work now approved to proceed by the Ministry, the District will engage the school communities including parents, students and staff as the project proceeds through the design and construction process. A public information session will be held at Maquinna in the coming weeks to provide more information to the school community.