GN wraps up assessment of Igloolik school, but results won’t be made public
Ataguttaaluk Elementary School one of Nunavut’s oldest schools
A five-month building condition assessment of Ataguttaaluk Elementary School in Igloolik to determine the full scope of the building’s many maintenance issues is now complete, but the results of that assessment won’t be made public. (Photo by Madalyn Howitt)
The Government of Nunavut has wrapped up its assessment of the condition of Igloolik’s Ataguttaaluk Elementary School, but says the findings won’t be made public.
The assessment was completed Dec. 11 and the Department of Community and Government Services is now reviewing the findings, said spokesperson Hala Duale in an email.
Built in 1968, Ataguttaaluk school is one of the oldest school buildings in Nunavut.
Its last renovation happened in 1999, but since then a lengthy list of maintenance issues has cropped up, leading to multiple school closures and safety concerns including floods, broken doors, mould issues and a cracked water tank that has been leaking for at least a year.
Education Minister Pamela Gross announced in October that a building condition assessment was started on June 29 to determine the full extent of work required and the level of funding needed to complete the work.
In November, Education spokesperson Krista Amey told Nunatsiaq News that building condition assessments are not made publicly available “as they are comprised of highly technical information as well as contain information [that], if made public, could degrade the security of the asset.”
The ridiculous reasons the GN gives to avoid releasing information on its activities is a never ending river of deceit and unashamed obliviousness.
The assessment must be dire indeed if the GN isn’t going to make it public. Do they not have any capital planners in the Department of Education?
I wouldn’t make it public that I’m having kids inhale mold either. I’m sure the building is covered in it just like the Arena in Cambridge Bay. I’m sure legal action could be taken at that point and the GN wouldn’t want that.
I’m sure everyone already knows the building lacks any for of physical security as in working locks so that’s really not something you have to keep confidential to be honest. I think the real issue is there’s major health concerns and that’s what the GN is hiding behind not making things public.
That’s speculation of course but I think it’s well known how many GN buildings are mold ridden, housing units, older offices, older portable units that have been repurposed.
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy.
That piece of Nunavut legislation gives anyone in the world the right to ask for any GN information.
The Act: https://www.nunavutlegislation.ca/en/consolidated-law/access-information-and-protection-privacy-act-official-consolidation
How to: https://www.gov.nu.ca/en/accessing-information/how-place-atipp-request
FAQ: https://www.gov.nu.ca/en/accessing-information/atipp-faqs
The Commissioner: https://atipp-nu.ca/
“degrade the security of the asset” — I thought the languages of Nunavut were Inuktitut, English and French. What language does this person speak?
It’s the cryptic language of Jargonese, colloquially known as bureaucratic gobbledygook. It’s not meant to be widely understood, used or known, it’s exclusivity is what gives both the language and its speaker their mystic value.
where is the DEA on this? And, why aren’t they screaming for immediate release?