Sick building forced to close its doors

CHARLOTTE PETRIE

The building that houses Iqaluit’s Wellness Centre has been shut down as a suitable workplace by the Workers’ Compensation Board.

WCB sited environmental and structural dangers inside the building, and wellness centre counsellors were advised that the place was not suitable as a work environment.

Joanne Bezzubets, executive director for the department of health and social services said there were problems with the flooring, and the presence of black mold in the building.

Other locations within the department’s office spaces have been found to temporarily house the wellness centre employees, Bezzubetz added.

“It’s a lot of shuffling around and a little inconvenient right now because we’ve got renovations going on at Grinnell Place, but we’ve managed to place people.”

A lot of community groups who also used the building to hold regular meetings valued it for its wide-open space, and its accessible yet confidential location two streets off the main downtown drag, Bezzubetz remarked.

And it’s still too early to tell what steps will be taken to either fix or abandon the empty building, which is only being leased by the health and social services.

“The department sees itself as partnering with the other user groups because the groups provide services different from that of the department. So, if all of a sudden you have these people who run these groups stop doing that it creates a gap.

“I do have an interest in whether or not these groups continue and I would hope they’ve been successful in finding alternative locations.”

Those other groups include the well-attended Weight Watchers meetings, boasting over 100 members, and the local Alcoholic Anonymous group.

Suzanne Cross, who leads the two local Weight Watchers groups, has found a temporary home for members to meet at Nunavut Arctic College in the upper foyer.

“It means a lot of lugging around of supplies. I’ve got some things here in my office at work, and I have some things in my apartment.”

Cross is still on the look-out for a permanent storage area for her filing cabinets.

It came as a total shock to Cross, who was given 10 minutes to remove all the groups belongings from the building after getting a phone call informing her of the closure.

But, with the help some of the members and a big truck, Cross was able to pull off a speedy exit from the premises.

“My previous understanding from the wellness centre staff was that there was going to be extensive renovations.”

“More importantly than Weight Watchers is the mental health aspect of it,” Cross added with concern.

Cross plans to wind down meetings over the summer in the hopes of securing a classroom at the college for fall enrollment.