CFB Shilo receives $84M housing boost

The federal government is planning to build about 180 homes at CFB Shilo as part of a national housing expansion for Canadian Armed Forces bases.

The Shilo homes will cost $84 million to build, and are needed as the army grows, CFB Shilo Base Commander Lt.-Col. Jack Nguyen said.

“The Canadian Army is modernizing and is growing. As the army conducts ongoing assessments related to that future we anticipate CFB Shilo will continue to play an important role in army operations and training,” Nguyen said in a statement.

“We are planning for the future.”

Nguyen said military members face the same housing pressures other Canadians are dealing with, and that the Armed Forces are fortunate to be able to provide housing for military families.

A federal government press release from last week said the construction of homes for bases across the country will primarily be one- and two-bedroom apartment buildings.

When asked, the base’s public affairs official wasn’t able to confirm if or when more troops are coming to Shilo.

“While we anticipate CFB Shilo will continue to play an important role in army operations and training, no decisions regarding future growth or capability allocations are finalized or available to share at this time,” Nguyen said.

“The Canadian Army is conducting ongoing assessments related to future force structure and capability requirements.”

He said proper housing turns into better results for members.

“When families have reliable, modern housing, our soldiers are better able to meet operational requirements,” he said.

“This investment is a strong step forward for growth of our community, and we look forward to continued progress in this space.”

Nguyen said there isn’t currently a timeline for the construction of the homes, but that planning is underway.

The national military housing expansion project overall will see about 7,500 new housing units built at 25 bases across the country.

The largest expansions are in Valcartier, Que., Petawawa, Ont., and in Edmonton, with more than 1,000 new units at each of the three bases.

The total cost to build the homes is more than $3.7 billion.

National Defence Minister David McGuinty said in the press release that it’s one of the most significant investments in military housing in decades.

“By building at speed and scale across the country, we are strengthening operational readiness, supporting recruitment and retention and giving military families the stability they need to thrive,” he said.

Rural Municipality of Cornwallis Reeve Mike Waddell said the municipality is always glad to see the investments being made at the base.

“We believe that CFB Shilo is a jewel in the region, and it’s great to see people coming here with purpose and for opportunity that’s being afforded them,” Waddell said.

The RM covers the western part of the base, where the current on-base homes are located.

“I’m excited that there is investment. Our RM has a long history of co-operation with the base, and so we see it as a positive,” Waddell said. “Anytime growth can happen in an orderly fashion — that is a positive, and so growth that’s planned for can be accommodated effectively.”

He said there aren’t any concerns for the RM based on the large housing surge, adding that he’s confident the base’s leadership will work the municipality to prepare for the growth properly.

“We are always endeavouring to work to make sure that there’s a clear path forward for developers and other partners,” Waddell said.

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said the new housing is “great news” for the city and the region.

“Most people use Brandon as sort of the major centre around here, so it’ll benefit us,” Fawcett said.

He pointed out that this could give local contractors and businesses in the region an opportunity to work on the base.

“I’m very excited, I think that we are — as a city — very fortunate to have CFB Shilo right next door to us,” he said. “And we look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship there.”

He said the base is a good partner with the city.

Brandon School Division (BSD) Supt. Mathew Gustafson said while the division has capacity issues overall, that’s not the case at its school located on the base.

“École O’Kelly School does have the most capacity of our schools, and so we do have the ability to probably upwards of almost doubling our school population there under the current capacity of that building.”

O’Kelly currently has about 145 students, he said, with room for about 300.

The K-8 school serves English-speaking students for all grades, and serves French-immersion students from kindergarten to Grade 4.

The growth at the base could potentially allow for the division to provide French-immersion teaching for more grades, he said.

Currently, French-immersion students past Grade 4 get bused to École New Era School, while high school students go to multiple different schools in Brandon.

“If the numbers were significant enough, it might require an additional bus route, but our experience tells us that not every housing unit has school-aged children in it,” Gustafson said.

He added that some French-speaking students will go to École La Source, a Division scolaire franco-manitobaine school also located in Shilo.

While staffing is another issue BSD is working on, Gustafson said he doesn’t foresee issues with staffing at O’Kelly.

For the base itself, Nguyen also said that Shilo plays an important role for the country’s defence.

Recently, soldiers from CFB Shilo have been deployed to Latvia to support NATO’s defence measures against Russia.

CFB Shilo “has always played an important role in training Canadians soldiers for the tasks given to them from (the First World War) to today’s role with NATO,” Nguyen said. “Shilo will continue to be a vital part of Canada’s defence.”

» alambert@brandonsun.com