'We haven’t heard anything’: Community demands answers after province goes quiet on rebuild of Port Coquitlam school

Parents of kids enrolled at a Port Coquitlam school that burned down nearly a year ago say they are frustrated by the lack of a timeline for a rebuild.

Hazel Trembath Elementary school burned down in October of 2023, a blaze police described as both suspicious and human-caused. After the fire, students were moved to other schools.

On Tuesday, dozens of parents walked their children to where the school once stood to learn the bus system for the upcoming year.

“We just bought our house here four years ago, and we want to walk our kids to school, so he’s a bit upset that they are not building it,” said Crystal Sulef, a parent of a Grade 1 student.

“We do feel like our voices are not being heard for sure,” said Kirina Strothers, another parent.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West says there was an announcement that the province intended to rebuild but that no concrete details have been provided and frustration in the community is mounting.

“We haven’t heard anything from the Ministry of Education, we haven't heard a timeline, we haven’t heard really anything,” said West.

CTV News asked Education Minister Rachna Singh about the timeline and whether plans are underway to rebuild and ease the burden on parents. Singh provided no timeline but said there was a "process" underway and that there are "a lot of internal talks" happening.

Although she said she would be "happy" to provide details, she also said they are not yet available. When Singh was asked if those details would be announced before or after the provincial election in October, she responded with “as soon as possible.”

The minister issued a statement hours later.

"We want to assure families that we’re fully committed to rebuilding Hazel Trembath," Singh wrote.

“We appreciate everyone’s patience while we work to rebuild this school for the Coquitlam school community and we will share more as the rebuild planning progresses with the district.”

The statement went on to say that, every year, all 60 school districts provide their capital plans submission to the ministry in June, including prioritization of projects based on their enrolment needs.