Le Rendez-Vous in St Pierre can start building after $5-million grant

Fiddle music was a fitting soundtrack for visitors to the $5-million provincial funding announcement that put an emphasis on the francophone focus for the $25-million recreation and culture campus in St Pierre.

“It’s important to focus on the francophone side of it because… if you don’t continue to focus on the francophone culture, you’re going to lose it,” said St Pierre Mayor Raymond Maynard during May 14’s announcement.

The first phase of the three-phase Le Rendez-Vous project is expected to start next spring.

“We’re actually planning on starting in March of 2026,” said Maynard.

He hopes the first phase can be completed within a year of next spring’s start.

“We’re working with the existing buildings to start. We’re moving the floor in the arena and redoing that and some other renovations,” said Maynard.

That includes a new ice plant, dressing rooms and stands.

The other major component of the first phase is transforming the hall attached to the arena into a 64-space daycare.

Phase two has a new home for the Jolys Regional Library shared with De Salaberry and just moved from its former home at École Heritage Immersion to a building renovated by the Village at the corner of Jolys Avenue East and Turenne Street. There would be spaces dedicated to programming and group activities.

The second phase also plans to have a heritage hall showcasing the region’s history, languages, art and cultures.

Activity spaces, gathering spaces, and a café are also in the second phase.

The largest part of the campus is in phase three: an all-season indoor turf fieldhouse for sports, programs and events.

The mayor gave his vision of a day in the life of a campus patron to the 80 or so gathered in the hall.

“Once you have experienced the exhibition, you can sit in the café where students are catching up on their homework before practice, where you can sit and relax with friends over coffee. Maybe play cribbage or another game you’ve been catching up on.

“You’ll be among parents dropping their kids off at daycare… or having fun with them in the family fun zone indoor playground. You’ll be among people of all ages, in fact,” said Maynard.

He mentioned in French seniors activities including pickleball and using the walking track.

“This space will be a hive of activity every day, all day. The plan is for it to be open from early morning to late,” added Maynard.

Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard made the funding announcement.

“I know what it’s like to come from a small town. I know what it’s like to come from a community that has its eye on the future. I know what this means for your community,” said Simard, who grew up in St-Lazare.

“This is a difference maker. It shows St-Pierre-Jolys, it shows the region that we believe in this region and we believe in your future, and we believe that you’re worthy of investment and we’ll continue to do it.”

French focus

The village and the region have a distinct French history and culture that will be a large part of creating Le Rendez-Vous.

“Recognizing the importance of the St-Pierre-Jolys village and its importance in the francophone and Métis community, and its place in the immigration strategy of our country and the West and Manitoba.

“It all plays a part in making sure that the services that are required when St Pierre grows will be there,” said Simard, who is also Minister responsible for francophone affairs.

The money came from the Manitoba Growth, Renewal and Opportunities for Municipalities (Manitoba GRO) program.

“It’s an investment in not only St Pierre’s future, but recognizing its past as well.”

Regional approach

Simard believes St Pierre, which had a population of 1,305 in the last census, is the right place to plant a series of buildings and services that can be used by the entire region.

“The new facility will connect to facilities like Parc Carillon, École Heritage Immersion, École communautaire Réal-Bérard, and the Musee de St-Pierre-Jolys to become the central meeting place for community and culture in southern Manitoba,” Simard told the crowd gathered for the announcement.

He said building things with regions in mind was an approach of the provincial government, pointing to projects like the $235-million Red-Seine-Rat Wastewater Co-operative, of which St Pierre is not a part but surrounding municipalities are.

“Our message from the government is one Manitoba. We believe we succeed when we all work together,” said Simard.

The mayor pointed to the memorandum of understanding signed by the southern subcommittee of the Eastman Regional Municipal Committee. It is made up of St Pierre, De Salaberry, Steinbach, Hanover, Town and RM of Ste Anne, La Broquerie, Taché, Piney, Montcalm, and Stuartburn.

They advocate as a group to get provincial investment that benefits the region as a whole.

“As we explored options, it became clear that it’s critical for the vibrancy of this region to have more community spaces of every kind for everyone to use.

“While hockey will always be an important part of community life, our region needs more than just a revitalized St Pierre arena,” said Maynard.

“We need a multi-faceted gathering place where we can share our unique cultures, be active together, and make great things happen through collaboration and cooperation.

“We need a space to complement existing facilities in the region and programming in the region, and fit in the regional recreational master plan.”

The Jolys Library is already regional with the inclusion of De Salaberry. Municipalities library boards throughout the Southeast have been meeting to consider joining together to take advantage of the increase in provincial funding that comes with larger regional libraries with branches in communities instead of independently run buildings. The format can also bring in communities that do not have their own libraries.

“We hope to get more municipalities involved,” said Maynard.

“There’s a hope that we can make this the regional library for quite a few municipalities.”

Leaders from St Pierre’s neighbouring communities were at the announcement in the hall at the village’s recreational centre and soon-to-be daycare.

Stuartburn Reeve Michelle Gawronsky was one of those leaders. She agreed the regional approach with the Rendez-Vous is good for everyone in the area, but did warn that regionalization has to be done right.

“An announcement of this magnitude in our region is massive considering it’s not a city or one of the bigger, more populated areas. It is recognizing that those of us that have lesser population are just as important,” said Gawronsky.

“In some ways this is even better for us — or more important if I might — because we don’t have the funding, we don’t have the population to raise the funding that other larger centres can enjoy and make use of.

“For us, something like this gives us hope in the RM of Stuartburn.”

Reeve Gawronsky said she was confident people in her RM would use things like the library, especially with the bilingual service.

The one reason she would like Stuartburn residents to visit St Pierre a little less is for medical appointments. The pulling out of Vita’s hospital is an example of regionalization gone wrong, according to Gawronsky.

“Through regionalization — whether it’s a school, whether it’s a hospital — we lose,” said Gawronsky.

“Those of us in the southeast corner cannot be lost or forgotten.”

But she still believes working together is the best path forward.

“When municipalities are sitting together like Eastern southern sub[committee], we all have a representative at the table and we all have a voice there. So we work together; we’re not trying to compete with each other,” said Gawronsky.

She gave an example of nature walks in Stuartburn that have organized bus rides from Le Rendez-Vous as complimentary planning.

Federal funding sources are still being sought for the next two phases. Fundraising and naming rights are other revenue streams.

Volunteerism built and renovated the arena in the past, and it will be needed again for its future.

Locals in the crowd said the arena was built 1953. Artificial ice was installed in 1974.

The mayor remembers working on those renovations, putting in steel for the support beams. He said he has been working on making this new campus a reality for the last four years.

“While I’m happy I won’t be up in the rafters doing work, I never want to lose that sense of community,” said Maynard.

Anyone interested in volunteering or donating can contact council members or the village office. Donations can also be made on the village website villagestpierrejolys.ca.