The town of Oakville is ecstatic with the progress made towards constructing a new daycare and community centre.

A celebratory event was held today to showcase the progress, as well as push for the final $500,000 needed to reach their goal. If met, construction will begin next year. Portage-Lisgar MP Candice Bergen, Portage MLA Ian Wishart, and RM of Portage deputy reeve Garth Asham all attended the celebration. Asham notes the proposed facility will play a vital role in the community's growth.

"Oakville is a very, very beautiful community. We're so proud in the RM to have it here and every time you turn around it's growing and it's growing by leaps and bounds," he says. "And to see the grassroots people take this and run with it and build this kind of facility for their residents here and outlying areas is absolutely fantastic. We support them 100%."

The plans have been in place since 2017, but the COVID-19 pandemic stifled progress. However, things are back on track following the ICIP grant. The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program is a joint effort between the federal and provincial government, and has been able to provide upwards of a million dollars toward the project.

The fundraising total continues to climb.

"With the pandemic in early 2020, all of the government departments involved in infrastructure grant monies have had to slow down and pivot to other work, and that's totally understandable," says Dennis Galbraith, chair of the construction committee. "But as we got our way through that, that whole initiative restarted again last winter and we were very fortunate to be able to receive this award, it's just a huge boost to our project and it will show corporate enterprises that this is a serious project and we'd like to have them involved. Their support would be valuable."

Oakville resident and fundraising committee member Eric DeLong says the community hall is vital to the town and provides opportunities that wouldn't otherwise be possible.

"I've been living here since I was one year old, and my whole life I was able to play hockey at the rink, I went to countless events at the community hall that we currently have. I even went to preschool there," says DeLong. "No one benefited more from all these different facilities and events in town than I have. That's really where it's kind of cool to see that something like this can go forward and do that for someone else."

To learn more about the daycare and community centre in Oakville, as well as how to donate, click here.