Nunavik child care centres face more mould contamination

The KRG says there are five other centres now scheduled for renovation and decontamination work this summer, including Kuujjuaq’s 80-space Iqitauvik childcare centre.(PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

KUUJJUAQ—Nunavik’s regional government is once again treating child care centres in the region for mould contamination.

After mould was found in four different child care centres in early 2015, the Kativik Regional Government had the rest of its centres assessed for the presence of mould later that same year.

The KRG now says there are five other centres scheduled for renovation and decontamination work this summer including Kuujjuaq’s 80-space Iqitauvik child care centre.

“As some mould had been detected in the exterior walls, a thorough decontamination process had been planned to ensure the removal of any fungal contamination in the project scope,” the KRG said in an email to Nunatsiaq News.

Nunavik construction company Laval Fortin Adams was awarded the contract to do the work, which will also include replacing windows and reconstructing exterior walls and parts of the building’s roof.

Those renovations are set to start mid-July and should wrap up before Christmas, the KRG said. The children can continue to attend the centre, but will be re-located for that period, the organization said, although it has yet to identify an alternative location.

The other centres slated for renovation and decontamination include Saliavik childcare centre in Kuujjuaraapik, Mikijuq centre in Kangiqsujuaq, Amaarvik centre in Ivujivik and Tasiurvik centre in Inukjuak.

Renovations won’t start until the summer months when construction materials arrive by sealift.

In recent years, the majority of the region’s 20 centres have faced temporary closures so they could be decontaminated for mould or oil exposure, often caused by burst pipes.

In Kangirsuk, the mould contamination was so widespread, it was more efficient to construct a new, 30-space centre at a cost of $3.2 million.

During the construction period, the Amaartauvik child care centre was temporary housed in the community’s sewing centre until the new facility was ready to move into earlier this year.

The issues are linked to the buildings’ construction, which was staggered in the region throughout the late 1990s and mid-2000s, said the KRG.

A lawsuit the KRG filed against one of the centres’ builders helped to pay for renovations in some of the affected centres.

But when a centre faces a maintenance issue, it can take a toll on Nunavik families which rely on what is typically the only local child care centre for their children’s care.

There are more than 1,050 child care spaces in Nunavik, subsidized by Quebec and operated under the province’s network of Centres de la Petite Enfance.

In 2016, there were more than 350 families on a waiting list for child care spaces across the region.