Board seeks school fire report

The board that oversees schools in Iqaluit has not received a copy of a report on the July 2003 fire at Joamie School that was completed last month by the Nunavut Fire Marshall’s office.

Caroline Anawak, a member of the Iqaluit District Education Authority, directed the board to write a letter to Fire Marshall Gerald Pickett, to inquire about the status of the report and request a copy.

The report, which was to be released before Christmas, was finally completed in early January. But Pickett said last month that he had to distribute it among stakeholders before he could release it to the public. The stakeholders’ review was expected to take a month.

Anawak said parents have been asking her for information about the fire and about the report itself. And she said as an elected board governing school issues, the IDEA should be able to provide a response.

Tim Neily said he was asked to attend a recent stakeholders meeting on behalf of the IDEA, but said he missed the meeting because of a work conflict.

He added that the report is not ready for release to the public because it contains the names of people involved in the fire and its aftermath, and that it must be partially censored before ordinary Nunavummiut can read it.

“The other aspect is not only what happened, but that there may be recommendations,” Anawak said. “These things could be quite timely, and time is coming on here.”

Pickett did not answer a message left at his office this week.