Southend receives $6 million for new ice rink
A new indoor ice rink in Southend will go a long way when it comes to serving young people in the small, northern community.
“We are so excited,” Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) Coun. Darrin Morin said. Morin has lived in Southend since childhood. “[I am] very excited as a leader in my community for young people. They can hang out and hopefully we will be using this facility for a very long time.”
The funding was officially announced Sept. 6 and includes $4.5 million from the federal government, as well as $1.5 million from the province. Morin stated the band is also contributing more than $1 million for the project, which is meant to replace the Henry Cook Memorial Arena. The new rink will provide residents with a place to do ice sports in the winter and serve as a multipurpose space for cultural and recreational activities in the summer.
Morin mentioned the current rink has no bathrooms for hockey players, which is the reason why they couldn’t host any hockey games. He noted the domed-facility also doesn’t have running water or heat, adding PBCN lacks to funds to fix the doors and fencing. The new rink will be much better, Morin said, as all those issues will be addressed.
