Vancouver Island University’s student union is asking where millions of dollars have gone to help build a new facility.
According to the union, VIU’s board of governors has thrown away more than $8 million that was meant to help build an on-campus facility this year. This has squashed all hopes of it being built.
They say most of the delays have been done ‘in-secret’, and without consultation and they want to know why.
“Construction has already been stalled for several months, making this the worst-kept secret on campus,” they say. “Yet, no announcement has been made to students, faculty, or the broader community.”
They say the project has already come in over budget, and these delays are causing ample stress on several levels for students.
“Students are still struggling to find housing, families are left without childcare, and VIU’s management continues to drain taxpayer money,” they say. “The new residence was meant to ease Nanaimo’s housing crisis, but it has instead turned into a $20.5 million money pit.
“Delays are pushing the move-in date from fall 2025 to fall 2027, and instead of real solutions, students get empty re-announcements while scrambling to find scarce, overpriced rentals.”
According to the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation, rent for students is continuing to increase making off-campus housing unaffordable for students, and the union adds the longer the project is put off, the less affordable it will be.
They say students are being left behind, and it’s not fair.
“This isn’t just about bad management and massive taxpayer-funded financial overruns, it’s about real people,” they say. “Students who can’t find a place to live, parents who desperately need childcare, and a university administration that refuses to take responsibility.
“To VIU’s leadership, these failures are always unfortunate circumstances beyond their control, and maybe it’s time they consider that they aren’t the victims of misfortune, they’re the problem.”
The new centre was expected to be open to families in 2023, but so far has been delayed until 2027.
