A Port Coquitlam elementary school that was destroyed in a 2023 fire will be rebuilt.
School District 43 chair Michael Thomas announced Wednesday that a capital plan to construct a replacement for Hazel Trembath Elementary School in the city’s Citadel Heights neighbourhood has been approved by the Ministry of Infrastructure.
“This is a significant win for our community,” Thomas said in a post on social media, adding the past 18 months have been gruelling for the school’s families as students have had to be bused daily to and from classes at the Winslow Centre in Coquitlam.
Minister of Infrastructure, Bronwinn Ma, confirmed funding to construct a replacement school is in its 2025 budget.
"The devastation and disruption caused by the fire at Hazel Trembath Elementary is greatly felt by the community of Port Coquitlam," she said in a statement. "We are working with the school district on next steps."
In the months since the fire, several rallies were held to express the community's frustration with the slow process to get a new school and and a website was launched to advocate for the rebuild.
“We are torn apart,” a parent said at one of the rallies. “The anchor of our community is gone.”
Thomas said the long delay to get a new school approved is unacceptable.
“Families shouldn’t be left in limbo when disaster strikes their neighbourhood school,” he said.
Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, who attended Hazel Trembath when he was a kid and whose oldest child goes there, applauded Thomas’ announcement.
“My heart is full knowing that hundreds of kids in Port Coquitlam will be able to learn and grow and connect in their own community, where they belong,” he said in a social media post, adding details of the reconstruction have still to be determined.
Since the suspicious overnight fire Oct. 14, 2023, the city and school board have made getting Hazel Trembath rebuilt a top priority. Port Coquitlam council voted to waive any municipal fees and expedite permits and the school district commenced its lobbying efforts almost immediately.
While visiting Port Coquitlam during last fall’s provincial election campaign, Premier David Eby said his government is “committed” to rebuilding the school.
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