Growth at CFB Shilo also benefits Brandon

At a time of such widespread economic anxiety, yesterday’s report that the Canadian Armed Forces is planning to spend $84 million on the construction of about 180 housing units at Canadian Forces Base Shilo is welcome news for the base, Brandon and all of Westman.

The expenditure is part of the Carney government’s $3.7-billion national military housing expansion project, which will fund the construction of approximately 7,500 housing units at Canadian Forces bases across the country.

Though bases in Valcartier, Que., Petawawa, Ont., and Edmonton will each see the construction of more than 1,000 new units, the addition of roughly 180 new housing units at Shilo, along with the arrival of hundreds of CAF members and their families who will occupy those homes, will have a substantial and lasting impact, especially here in Brandon.

That impact begins with the injection of $84 million into the local economy, including employment for construction tradespeople and the sale of building products, but the benefits will extend far beyond that.

The instant population growth — the final number has not yet been finalized, but it will likely be substantial — will be a long-term boost for almost every provider of retail products and services in Brandon. It will also ensure the future of CFB Shilo, which faced potential closure just two decades ago.

We agree with Cornwallis Reeve Mike Waddell, who told the Sun that “Anytime growth can happen in an orderly fashion — that is a positive, and so growth that’s planned for can be accommodated effectively.” He added that he’s confident the base’s leadership will work the municipality to prepare for the growth properly.

That’s an important point. When Maple Leaf announced that it was coming to Brandon in the 1990s, tangible steps were taken to ensure that Brandon and surrounding area was ready for the sudden population surge. Such an effort may be needed again in order to prepare for the arrival of large numbers of CAF personnel and their families.

In that regard, it is reassuring that despite overcrowding in other Brandon School Division schools, BSD Supt. Mathew Gustafson is confident that the school located on the base, École O’Kelly School, has the capacity to substantially increase the number of students in that facility. He also pointed out that growth at the base could potentially allow for the division to provide French-immersion teaching for more grades at that school.

That’s good news on the education front, but it will also be necessary to ensure that our overtaxed health-care system is ready for a large number of new arrivals at CFB Shilo. All those people will need family doctors, which are already in short supply in Brandon. Yesterday’s report gives Prairie Mountain Health and Manitoba Health time to plan for that growth in demand.

Beyond that, past experience tells us that not all CAF personnel posted to Shilo choose to live at the base. Many of them decide to reside with their families in homes in Brandon and other smaller nearby communities.

Given the housing shortage that we are experiencing in the city, however, the arrival of a large number of additional personnel at Shilo may result in increased demand for new homes and rental accommodations. Given that likelihood, Brandon city planners and residential developers should consider planning for increased home and apartment construction activity in the city.

On Wednesday, CFB Shilo Base Commander Lt.-Col. Jack Nguyen told the Sun that “This investment is a strong step forward for growth of our community, and we look forward to continued progress in this space.”

So do we. CFB Shilo has been a vital part of the greater Brandon community for more than a century. We look forward to having that relationship continue to flourish.