UCFV took an important step toward becoming one of the key partners in a new Canada Education Park during a signing ceremony at Chilliwack City Hall on July 25.

Chilliwack Mayor Clint Hames called the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the development of an education park on the former CFB Chilliwack lands "a real turning point and a historic day for our community."

Those signing the document with Hames were UCFV president Skip Bassford, MLAs John Les and Barry Penner, Justice Institute of B.C. president Jack McGee, and Doug Kester, vice president of Canada Lands Company.

Mayor Hames explained the significance of the memorandum. "It shows that we are all working toward the same goal, we are all committed to moving forward, and we have a common vision," he said.

That vision is the creation of Canada Education Park - a facility that would grow to house 9,000 to 12,000 students from a number of educational partners including UCFV, Justice Institute of B.C., RCMP, Beijing Normal University, Beijing Concord College of Sino-Canada, and School District #33.

"It's no longer a question of if," said Hames. "Now it's a question of how to get it done. We've taken the idea to the federal government, and they were very sympathetic." Hames also pointed out that Premier Gordon Campbell has expressed approval of the idea, even before he became Premier.

MP Chuck Strahl, who attended the signing ceremony, said he could see the education park turning Chilliwack into a prosperous city like Halifax, which is home to six degree-granting institutions. "Go the the east coast, where you can have major economic difficulties, but go to Halifax, and universities bring an excitement and vitality to that town that only young people can create."

UCFV president Skip Bassford said he could see Chilliwack becoming a "university town, where economic and social life can revolve around the university." Bassford predicted that the education park could create hundreds of millions of dollars of increased economic activity for Chilliwack. "It's also something that will be a cultural magnet," he said.

Bassford is one of the major proponents of the education park, and has had the idea since joining UCFV in 1998. "One of the situations that was here five years ago," he said, "was that our Chilliwack campus didn't have enough "fizz." Part of the reason for that was it was more populated in the west than the east, and it was easier to draw students to Abbotsford. But over time, that won't be a problem, because demographically we're growing faster than anywhere else in Canada. The current campus, even though it needs to grow, doesn't have room to grow. The CFB lands gave us that possibility."

But Bassford sees more than an expanded campus for UCFV. "The base will not only give us the room that we need to grow, but it will also give us a destination, a place that students will want to go to from around the province, the country, and the world," he said.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding is an important symbolic step, but concrete action is also being taken to bring the education part closer to fruition.

The CFB lands have been divided into two sections, Parcel A on the north and Parcel B on the south. Parcel A has been acquired by Canada Lands Company, a federal Crown corporation with a mandate to create financial and community value from properties no longer required by the Government of Canada. The land has been rezoned residential, and includes allowances for student-friendly accommodation, such as "granny suites" and legal suites.

The other parcel, the proposed site for the education park, is slated for acquisition by Canada Lands this fall, at which time negotiations can begin for sale to UCFV and the other Canada Education Park partners.

Like all the others present at the signing, MLA John Les is optimistic about the future of the project, but warned not to expect anything to happen overnight. "This isn't something that will be completed next week or next month," he said.

MLA Barry Penner made no predictions regarding completion of the project, but emphatically stated, "Chilliwack's time is coming."

Jack McGee, of the Justice Insititute of B.C., said the scope of the project may reach even farther. "I can't help but feel that the future prosperity of the Fraser Valley is linked somehow to this education park," he said.