Fort Smith’s mayor rejects Centre Square Mall college proposal

Fort Smith’s mayor says a proposal to refit a Yellowknife mall as a new Aurora College facility would be damaging to the other campuses.

Nunastar, which owns the lower half of Yellowknife’s Centre Square Mall, says turning the mall into a Yellowknife campus would save hundreds of millions of dollars compared to an entirely new facility and provide all the space needed.

While Aurora College officials have privately expressed interest in that plan, neither the college nor the NWT government has formally accepted Nunastar’s proposal, which was unsolicited.

Even so, in a series of online statements, Mayor of Fort Smith Dana Fergusson said such a move would “threaten the future of post-secondary education in Fort Smith and Inuvik.”

Fergusson said those communities, which are home to the college’s other two main campuses, have underused space.

“Before tens of millions of dollars are spent retrofitting new space in Yellowknife, the responsible choice is to fully use and strengthen the campuses that already exist,” she wrote.

“Aurora College does not have a space problem – it has a utilization problem.
Expansion should only happen after existing facilities are filled and regional campuses are supported. Anything else undermines regional equity, reconciliation, and responsible use of public funds.”

For almost a decade since deciding the college should become a polytechnic university, government officials have been required to walk a line between advancing the perceived best interests of the college and those of the three communities with campuses. Those interests aren’t always seen to line up.

Last week, the GNWT said it was assessing Nunastar’s Centre Square Mall proposal with no timeline for any decision. The territory has yet to formally indicate any interest in going ahead with it.

“Any proposal would need to undergo appropriate due diligence in collaboration with Aurora College before any determination is made,” the territory stated.

However, some residents of Inuvik and particularly Fort Smith have long held that significant investment in Yellowknife’s campus runs the risk of sidelining operations – and jobs – elsewhere.

“Empty classrooms in Fort Smith and Inuvik. Millions planned elsewhere,” Fergusson wrote, appearing to refer to Nunastar’s proposal.

“That’s irresponsible. That’s unfair. That hurts northern students.”