Hazel Trembath rebuild approved for funding, board chair announces

Approximately 17 months after a fire tore through the school, plans are finally forming to rebuild Hazel Trembath Elementary, announced School District #43 board chair Michael Thomas on Wednesday.

The province’s 2025 capital plan includes $4.6 billion to renovate and upgrade schools across B.C. over the next three years. Some of that money will also pay for the Hazel Trembath rebuild, Thomas wrote in an email to the Dispatch.

While many details still need to be determined, Thomas said he was informed about the funding Wednesday from Minister of Infrastructure Bowinn Ma.

A formal approval letter is expected to arrive next week, Thomas added.

In a social media post, Thomas wrote that he was “thrilled” with the news.

“This is a significant win for our community, following the tragic fire that destroyed the school,” Thomas wrote. While there should be a better process for these extraordinary situations, “that’s a conversation for another day,” he added.

The board chair thanked parents and politicians for their advocacy and support.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West expressed gratitude to: “everyone who raised their voice” for the school.

“Tonight my heart is full knowing that hundreds of kids in Port Coquitlam will be able to learn and grow and connect in a school in their own community, where they belong,” West wrote in a social media post.

Earlier this year, Hazel Trembath parents garnered more than 3,300 signatures in less than a month in an attempt to pressure the province to rebuild.

“It’s more than just a place to educate our children,” Hazel Trembath Parent Advisory Council Alaina Milicevic said in February. “Yet we’re in complete and utter limbo.”

In October 2023 a fire swept through the Confederation Drive school after 3 a.m. on a Saturday morning, engulfing the structure and leaving the elementary school in ruins.

Following an investigation, police confirmed the blaze was likely caused by a person or group.

Hazel Trembath students have taken the bus to Winslow Centre since the fire.