The latest announcement that St. Matthew’s Elementary in St. John’s and Peacock Elementary in Happy Valley-Goose Bay have discovered mould in their buildings only days before the school year opens again demonstrates the need for an improved inspection process, says Opposition Education Critic Roland Butler.

The Official Opposition has been lobbying for mandatory air quality inspections in all schools throughout the province and for inspection reports to be made public for the past two years. The Auditor General’s (AG) report released earlier this year also verified this need.

“We have continuously asked government to undertake a more stringent inspection process of all schools in the province and make those reports available to the public,” said Mr. Butler. “The minister has continuously stated that the current inspection process is working and changes were not needed. The announcement of mould being discovered in schools only days before they were scheduled to open again proves the current inspection process is flawed and improvements are needed.”

Butler noted that in addition to mandatory inspections and the public release of reports, consideration should be given to dedicated air quality inspectors for schools whose task is to complete inspections and ensure the follow-up work is completed. He is also suggesting that more intrusive inspections be undertaken earlier in the summer when problems can be identified and fixed in a more efficient manner.

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