03-06-2025
'Lack of coordination' responsible for delay in notifying staff and students about lead in school water
Deputy Minister of the N.W.T. department of Education of Culture and Employment says there was a lack of coordination between his department and other departments of the Northwest Territories.
The department has reported elevated levels of lead in the drinking water at two Yellowknife schools. The levels were f irst detected on Jan. 22, but parents and staff were not notified until May 27.
ECE deputy minister James Fulford says that has to do with poor communication and coordination within the territorial government.
"There was a lack of coordination among my department, Education Culture and Employment, and other departments within the [Government of the Northwest Territories]," he said.
Fulford said there will be an independent review to determine what went wrong and how to move forward.
He said it's possible there has been lead in the water since before the testing but they don't know for how long.
He said he expects the review should only take a week or two and that work is underway for that review to begin. Fulford said he doesn't know how much the review will cost. As a parent with a child in one of the school, he says he recognizes parents concerns and that the department is working to rebuild trust with parents, students and staff.
"[The department] places the highest priority on health and safety of students and staff in schools," Fulford said.
In a rare weekend press release, the territorial government cast doubt on the water test results.
It said best practices were not followed, no outside experts were consulted, and that people with knowledge of water testing within the government were not consulted.
