April 8, 2009
SFU Science Centre Gets $49.9M Renovation

BURNABY - The federal and provincial governments are investing $49.4 million to renovate the chemistry building in the Shrum Science Centre at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, providing state-of-the-art facilities and generating 316 direct jobs.

The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages and Member of Parliament for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, along with Burquitlam MLA Harry Bloy, announced the funding today.

"This investment in SFU will create jobs for people now, while providing the infrastructure that this province and Canadians need to grow for years to come," said Moore. "This is a concrete example of how our government is stimulating our economy and making the investments necessary to ensure the country's long-term prosperity."

This investment is part of the federal government's two-year, $2-billion plan to repair and expand research and educational facilities at Canadian post-secondary institutions. The Knowledge Infrastructure Program is helping to provide economic stimulus and promote employment by creating jobs for engineers, architects, tradespeople and technicians. In B.C. the federal government is providing up to 50 per cent of the cost of selected projects on a cost-share basis with the Province.

"What a great way to give a boost to the local economy," said Bloy. "This investment not only gives work to 316 people, but it also helps to make the Shrum Science Centre better than it has ever been. I know great things will come from this."

Work to restore and renew the aging chemistry labs in the Shrum Science Centre is slated to begin by June 1, and will support the government's climate action initiative by aiming for gold certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

The Shrum Science Centre houses the departments of chemistry, biological sciences, physics, earth sciences, kinesiology, mathematics and statistics and actuarial science. The $49.4 million from the provincial and federal government will greatly improve classrooms and labs and extend the life of the building.

"This renewal project will address pressing deferred maintenance problems in the university's original chemistry labs." said Michael Stevenson, president and vice-chancellor of SFU. "It will enable SFU to maximize its potential to generate new knowledge and train the next generation of researchers in areas of key importance to Canada's Science and Technology strategy. We are grateful to the federal and provincial governments for their investment in the innovation pipeline."

This is one of 29 projects at post-secondary institutions across the province that will break ground quickly thanks to a joint federal-provincial investment of $433 million. The total investment in these projects is $455 million including contributions from institutions. This project is also part of an overall $14-billion capital infrastructure program supported by the Province to create jobs and vital public infrastructure in every region of B.C. 

Simon Fraser University opened in 1965 and has more than 30,000 students, 700 faculty and 1,600 staff on campuses in Burnaby, Vancouver and Surrey.

Canada's Economic Action Plan sets out to stimulate the Canadian economy over the next two years and to improve our long-term competitiveness through $12 billion in new infrastructure investment, which includes the $2-billion Knowledge Infrastructure Program.

For more information on the provincial government's three-year job creation plan, visit www.gov.bc.ca/infrastructure. For more information about the Knowledge Infrastructure Program visit www.ic.gc.ca/knowledge-infrastructure.

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