Dr. Jacqueline Ottmann (Derek Craddock/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Funding denied

Denied federal funding, FNUniv looks for alternatives for new P.A. campus

Feb 28, 2024 | 4:59 PM

A hoped for $25 million green building grant that was needed to pay for 50 per cent of the cost of construction of a new campus for the FNUniv in Prince Albert has been denied.

Dr. Jackie Ottmann, president of the university, said they are disappointed but haven’t given up hopes of the project moving ahead.

“We will have to consider perhaps other avenues to ensure that this this post secondary institution for the north gets built,” she said.

That could include looking to other governmental funding programs and a larger capital campaign or pairing with a First Nation community.

“We’re definitely not giving up,” Ottmann said.

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The university announced this past November they were shovel ready and just needed the federal funding and to raise $5 million on their own.

Ottmann said they have numbers that show the positive economic spinoff for the city and the province.

Another avenue is to look at modifying the building to make it more affordable.

“We’ll have to review the budget because the green and inclusive community build grant indicated that the building should be green. And so we’ll have to evaluate how green that building can be,” she said.

Yesterday, the Federation of Sovereign Indian Nations threw their unanimous support behind the project, something the Prince Albert Grand Council already did.

Ottmann pointed out many Indigenous people from the North are uncomfortable moving outside of the area to attend post secondary education, which is what makes the Prince Albert building so important to fill education gaps.

The First Nations University has had a presence in Prince Albert for over 20 years and many people have told Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte of the PAGC that they would like to see a new campus that is specifically designed to educate in a strong, culturally responsive way, Ottman explained.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com