On Parliament Hill

Recently there has been significant attention given to our Government’s decision to support the non-profit Youth For Christ (YFC) in their proposal to build a 50,000-square-foot Centre for Youth Excellence at the corner of Higgins Avenue and Main Street in Winnipeg. Most of the attention has focused on the opposition this project has received because YFC is a faith based organization.

The proposed Centre for Youth Excellence would include:

• an indoor year-round skate park;
• a Dance and Performing Arts Studio;
• a youth full fitness centre;
• gymnasium space for floor hockey, volleyball, basketball and soccer leagues;
• a youth drop-in centre;
• a climbing wall;
• a job skills and training centre;
• a multi-purpose theatre;
• a counselling center; and
• an off-campus classroom school

The goal of the Centre is to provide youth with the confidence, competence and connections they need to live a healthy, fulfilling life and to contribute positively to society. This is accomplished by promoting a positive environment for youth with access to performing arts, recreational sports, education, counselling and value based living. Programming would be open to everyone, regardless of their beliefs, the same way the other YFC facilities around Manitoba are.

This Centre would be located in an area of Winnipeg that is plagued by crime, yet critics do not believe that a faith based organization should be supported by the government, regardless of the positive impact it would have in the community.

This facility is also another example of our Government being able to successfully partner with an organization to fill a void in the community. YFC has committed itself to contributing more than $4 million of their own money toward this project and has committed to take responsibility for the annual operating costs once the facility is functioning. Due to their large volunteer base they will also be able to keep the facility fully staffed.

Community infrastructure shortfalls cannot be funded by government alone and we require forward thinking organizations to step in and help fill the void. Over the past four years, our government has worked hard to establish successful partnerships with private organizations to build needed community infrastructure.

We cannot rely solely on taxpayers to fund these types of community projects. I applaud organizations that initiate their own fundraising campaigns so private dollars can also be invested into these much needed community facilities.

Before projects are deemed eligible for federal funding are put through a rigorous approval process by senior departmental officials in Ottawa. The YFC Centre for Youth Excellence was no exception to this process and has been deemed eligible for funding. I feel this facility will be an excellent addition Winnipeg’s inner city.