Tashi Farmilo
Published online July 15, 2026, at www.pontiacjournal.com.
MRC PONTIAC — École Sainte-Marie and École Secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge (ESSC), the only two schools in the Pontiac included in a new round of provincial funding, will receive schoolyard improvements as part of a $2.6-million investment across the Outaouais announced July 6 by Hull MNA and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education Suzanne Tremblay on behalf of Education Minister Sonia LeBel.
The two schools are part of the Centre de services scolaire des Hauts-Bois-de-l’Outaouais (CSSHBO), one of five school service centres in the region sharing the funding, which will support 28 schoolyard projects across the Outaouais.
According to Chantal Langevin, a senior office agent with the CSSHBO, work at École Sainte-Marie in Otter Lake will unfold in three phases between 2027 and 2033, subject to future ministry funding.
The first phase, scheduled for summer 2027, includes a playground structure and five trees at a total cost of $120,000. The Ministry of Education has approved $100,000 in funding for the phase, with the school contributing $11,500 and the remaining balance coming from tax rebates available to school service centres.
A second phase, planned for summer 2030, would add a gaga ball pit (an enclosed court for a dodgeball-style game), two swings, two playhouses, two ride-on diggers, ground markings, two basketball hoops and a shade sail, also at a cost of $120,000. A third phase, scheduled for summer 2033, would add a pergola with furniture and two picnic tables at a cost of $107,000. Langevin said both later phases depend on future ministry funding.
At ESSC in Mansfield, the project consists of a single phase scheduled for summer 2028. It includes two basketball courts, two ping-pong tables, a hockey rink and three trees at a total cost of $120,000. As with École Sainte-Marie, the ministry has approved $100,000 toward the project, with the school contributing $11,100 and the remaining balance coming from the service centre’s tax rebates.
Langevin said projects were selected based on the presence or absence of play equipment compared with other schools in the service centre, as well as the involvement of school administrators or staff willing to develop and help fund a project. She added that Pontiac-area schools already match or exceed the recreational amenities available at other CSSHBO schools.
The upgrades are part of the province’s Amélioration des cours d’école measure under the Plan québécois des infrastructures, which supports school service centres in making schoolyards safer and more conducive to physical activity.
Education Minister Sonia LeBel said well-designed schoolyards give students more chances to move and burn off energy,
“These moments that make room for physical activity are essential to fostering their concentration in class and their academic success,” she said.
Photo – École Sainte-Marie’s current playground is slated for upgrades beginning in 2027 under Quebec’s Amélioration des cours d’école program. (WD)
