The four cadet corps in Prince George are not moving anywhere.
The army, sea, air and Navy League youth groups have been housed at the Connaught Youth Centre (CYC) for decades, but with recent discussions about expanding the CYC's operations and the coincidental arrival of a Canadian Forces reserve unit in Prince George, the suggestion emerged that perhaps the cadets and the militia could be housed together.
"The cadets will continue to operate in their current location," militia commander Lt. Col. Kevin Tyler told The Citizen, ending that rumour. "In the future there may be some opportunities to co-operate, and share each other's facilities but the vision we have right now for the Rocky Mountain Rangers [the reserve unit coming soon] is for a facility that is ours alone."
In other Canadian locations there is full sharing of a military facility and a corresponding cadet corps in that community. Here, the cadets have a distinct difference: all four are in one building.
"It is very unique and a wonderful program where the four cadet groups all get to share, get along, co-operate, and save them each having their own facility to maintain. As far as we know, it is the only place in Canada where all a community's cadets are in one place," said John Scott of the Royal Canadian Legion's branch in Prince George. The Legion is the lease holder on the CYC.
"I'm not saying [moving locations] couldn't happen, but it would sure be a slap for the Legion if they did that," Scott added. "The CYC was developed to start with because one of the cadet corps had no home, so talks started with the city, the city bought the building from the school district and leased it back to the Legion. The Legion has put more than a million dollars into the CYC over the years. The other cadets joined up over the years and it has worked really well, and it is for youth of all kinds."
The Legion's liaison to the CYC's board of directors is Steven Goes. He is one of the people pushing for more activities at the building on the corner of 17th Avenue and Victoria Street, with the blessing of The Legion, to make more money for the facility's upkeep.
"The Legion's goal is to see the building utilized more and offer even more to the youth," said Goes. "For a long time it was primarily for the cadet groups, and the resident boxing club. This would not be at the expense of but would be in addition to what those groups do."
Scott Johnston is a longtime parent of cadets and the CYC's booking agent. He also sits on the CYC board of directors. He said the ideas being suggested for youth activities at the CYC would perhaps be done more easily if other user groups were not already there, but the board had no intention of sending any resident groups away, and there was plenty of scheduling room left for programs to still use the building's gym, classrooms, and other amenties.
"Cadets is open to everyone. Youth are not turned away for financial reasons," he said. "The same goes with the boxing club. We want to keep that up. We want to keep it open to the community. Youth need a place to go to and play basketball or floor hockey, or have a jam session for musicians. There are no options for that in the city."
