Quebec pledges funds to rebuild Nunavik school

A fire broke out at Tarsakallak school in Aupaluk early March 2014, community destroying the Nunavik community’s only school. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE KSB)

A year and a half after Tarsakallak school in Aupaluk was destroyed by fire, the Quebec government has committed $12 million towards the construction of a new school, the province announced Sept. 4.

That money, combined with $4 million from the federal government and another $750,000 from the Northern Village of Aupaluk, will pay the estimated $16.8 million cost of the facility, which is now under construction.

The new school is expected to open in August 2016, the Kativik School Board said.

Tarsakallak, the only school in Nunavik’s smallest community, caught fire early March 15, 2014.

The volunteer fire department in Aupaluk, population 200, fought the blaze for many hours, but by noon that day the fire had burned through the entire structure.

Since then, the school has operated out of temporary classrooms in three different locations in the community; two classrooms are located in the Sukliateet child care centre, while five others are located in Aupaluk’s former municipal offices.

Four additional classrooms and a temporary gym were constructed in Aupaluk last fall.

“Up until now, everything has been going pretty well,” said KSB chairperson Alicie Nalukturuk. “It’s not the first time the school board has lost a school to a fire… it’s hard, but with the cooperation of everyone, we’ve managed.”

Nalukturuk called the secured funding “good news for the Kativik School Board, for our students and their parents as well as for the community of Aupaluk as a whole.”

The reconstructed school has been designed to house seven classrooms, six specialized facilities, a library and two sports fields.

The sports fields, funded in part by the Northern Village, are designed to be used by community-run programs.

“In Nunavik, schools are much more than a place of learning. They serve as a meeting place and assembly,” said Ungava MNA Jean Boucher in a Sept. 4 release.

“This is great news for the community, for young people and for the people of Aupaluk.”

An independent investigation of the March 2014 fire has since determined the fire was accidental, the KSB said, likely caused by an overheating of the furnaces, which would have set fire to the ventilation systems.

The school board said it does regular maintenance of all of its schools’ heating systems.

News of the reconstruction of Tarsakallak comes just as another northern community lost its own school in a weekend fire; Peter Pitseolak high school in Cape Dorset was completely destroyed in a Sept. 6 fire, just weeks into the new school year.