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Roland Butler, Opposition Critic for Human Resources, Labour and Employment
and MHA for the District of Port de Grave, wants Minister Joan Burke to
clarify the details on the events leading up to the evacuation of the HRLE
regional office on Water Street today. "It is my understanding that there
had been a number of maintenance problems with this building over an
extended period of time and these problems were not dealt with in a timely
manner," said Mr. Butler. "The problems got worse recently because of the
demolition of the old Arcade Building which is next door, and has been faced
with major structural problems over the past few days."
The Liberal MHA says he began to receive calls from several workers at
the office earlier this week who explained the serious nature of the
problems that existed. A beam in one office had come through the wall and
make shift supports were being erected to prevent its collapse. Butler was
also told that an inspection had previously been done by Occupational Health
and Safety, without any direction being given to close the office. "I called
Occupational Health and Safety yesterday given the seriousness of the
problems which were brought to my attention and I inquired about the
possible safety hazards that existed. The individual I spoke with advised me
that if the employees refused to work in the building, Occupational Health
and Safety would support their right not to work under such conditions."
In the House of Assembly today Butler asked the Minister why it took her
so long to act on this issue and what contingency plans have been put in
place to deal with the chaos that will be created by her tardiness in
dealing with this situation. "I think they had intended to keep this office
open if they could have gotten away with it. There were some serious
problems and there were no indications that the office would close until
employees and the Opposition started to ask questions."
Butler says the extent of this problem is heightened by the serious
backlogs that already exist because of layoffs and cutbacks which the
government introduced in the last budget. "This latest situation will mean
serious service delays for some of the most vulnerable in our society. I
have issued several news releases saying that these backlogs were causing
problems. The Minister will have to act swiftly to deal with this situation
or people will not receive the services they need."
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