A $5.5-million daycare built with provincial funding has never cared for a single child and is now flooded, vandalized and stripped of valuable equipment.
The 74-space facility in East St. Paul was completed in 2024 for the Peguis First Nation Real Estate Trust. It was one of 22 daycares commissioned under Manitoba’s former Progressive Conservative government.
The province paid $3.3 million toward the project before cutting off funding in November 2024 amid uncertainty over who owns the land.
A CBC News investigation found broken windows, shattered glass, a damaged security system and extensive water damage. Two commercial refrigerators and a dishwasher have disappeared, copper wiring has been stripped, and rooftop air-conditioning units have been partially dismantled.
After the building went months without electricity, its sump pump stopped operating and approximately half a metre of water accumulated in the basement.
Patrick Ryan, volunteer board chair of Created 4 Me Early Learning Centre, estimated the damage now exceeds $1 million. The organization, which has 800 children on its waiting list, hired staff for the facility but later had to let them go.
The dispute began after the Peguis trust sold 75 percent of the company controlling the property to a numbered company owned by Andrew Marquess, a former trust adviser. The province says the ownership change may violate its operating agreement.
Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt said the government still has not received documentation confirming ownership and cannot provide a timeline for opening the daycare.
A former deputy minister also warned that the project may not have followed normal provincial or municipal procurement practices.
Hellbound and Down 