Ottawa to provide $70 M to McGill for research-facility upgrades, energy-saving renovations
The Government of Canada announced today in Montreal that Ď㽶ĘÓƵ and two of its affiliated hospitals will receive $70.7 million through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, for upgrades to research facilities and energy-saving renovations. The Quebec government will provide an additional $5.1 million toward the cost of the work.Â
“This historic investment by the Government of Canada is a down payment on the government’s vision to position Canada as a global centre for innovation. That means making Canada a world leader in turning ideas into solutions, science into technologies, skills into middle-class jobs and start-up companies into global successes.” said The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.Â
“We thank the Canadian and Quebec governments for this support,” said Suzanne Fortier, McGill’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor. “Ď㽶ĘÓƵ can address some of our significant deferred maintenance inventory, allowing us to upgrade historic buildings in a sustainable, environmentally responsible manner. The money will also help us build the kinds of new, cutting-edge research facilities that are necessary to accelerate innovation, and to retain and attract the talent that drives discovery.”Â
The budgets for these nine projects, including two at the Jewish General Hospital and the Ď㽶ĘÓƵ Health Centre, total $204.2 million.Â
The biggest project involves the Stewart Biology Building, for which $33 million in funding will be provided. One of the largest buildings on the downtown campus, Stewart Biology was constructed in 1965 and no longer meets standards for modern university facilities, creating numerous constraints for researchers there. The funding for this project will make possible a complete reconfiguration of the building’s interior spaces, the construction of new laboratories, and the replacement of all mechanical and electrical installations.Â
McGill’s holdings of historic buildings are among the most extensive of any Canadian campus. It is difficult and expensive to adapt these facilities to meet the needs of 21st-century research and innovation, and to make them energy-efficient. The Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund will help improve the key systems,Â
such as ventilation and emergency back-up power, necessary to support leading-edge research at McGill, while at the same time reducing the University’s environmental footprint.Â
