'Chaos and uncertainty' at North Rustico rink slashes into business's enrolment and revenues
CBC
One of the owners of a private hockey school in North Rustico says the "chaos and uncertainty" surrounding the town's new rink has resulted in a significant drop in enrolment that cut the school's revenue in half this year.
Darren MacDougall is one of the shareholders and a director of Mount Academy, a private hockey school based inside the Eliyahu Wellness Centre at Canada Games Place in North Rustico. He said many parents couldn't distinguish between the rink and the school when they heard about financial problems, prompting them to halt plans to send their children to the school.
"For the 2023-24 season, our enrolment went down significantly," MacDougall said during a tour of the school on Wednesday.
"Parents got a little scared. You know, the liens on the wellness centre, we wore that a bit. People couldn't distinguish between the two. There was a lot of chatter that we weren't going to survive.
"If you're a parent, and you're committing your child to something like this… you want to ensure the security for your child. So there was a lot of chaos and uncertainty, which resulted in our enrolment numbers going down significantly."
The school's enrolment peaked last year at 148 students who were taking academic classes in line with P.E.I.'s curriculum as well as receiving elite hockey training. This year, that fell to 86.
MacDougall said revenues dropped from $3.4 million down to below $2 million as a result, leaving the school having to cut costs.
"We're likely down — perhaps not quite half — but we might have seen a 35 to 40 per cent reduction in staff as a result of the significant reductions in our revenues and enrolment," he said.
Teachers, hockey school staff, and house parents were all part of those layoffs.
As CBC News reported last week, an independent consultant brought in by the P.E.I. government found North Rustico's still-unfinished Eliyahu Wellness Centre at Canada Games Place has cost twice as much as expected, coming in at more than $22-million.
When the town first announced the new recreation centre would be built, the pricetag was estimated at about $10-million.
The provincial government reached out to the consultant after North Rustico officials raised concerns about liens placed against the town for unpaid work at the rink. CBC News has confirmed millions of dollars in liens have been registered against the Town of North Rustico, one for more than $1 million.
MacDougall said the issues started with delays in opening the rink. He said the private hockey school was told the rink would be completed in January 2022. When that didn't happen, town officials promised it would be ready for the new school year in September 2022.
The Mount didn't end up moving into the new rink until March 2023, shortly after the brand-new facility hosted some Canada Winter Games competitions.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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