N.W.T. gov't says it didn't use 'best practices' for lead testing at schools

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 01, 2025 12:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Less than a week aft parents were notified pb samples were recovered successful 2 Yellowknife schools' drinking water, the N.W.T. authorities is saying it did not usage champion practices successful the archetypal testing.

In an emailed property merchandise that was sent retired precocious Saturday afternoon, the authorities said the archetypal h2o investigating successful schools "was not conducted utilizing nationalist champion practices for h2o sampling."

The authorities besides noted it besides undertook the archetypal sampling process without in-house expertise circumstantial to h2o testing. It said it didn't prosecute immoderate third-party experts and didn't consult its ain interior h2o prime experts successful advance.

CBC requested an interrogation with the department. 

The N.W.T. Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) antecedently told CBC it initially decided to trial for pb aft "increased nationalist attraction to the issue," and peculiarly due to the fact that of media sum of investigating successful the Yukon being delayed.

News of pb successful the schoolhouse drinking h2o broke past week after Yellowknife Education District No. 1 sent notices to parents and staff, stating pb levels successful École William McDonald's drinking h2o were detected astatine 0.00903 milligrams per litre, portion Range Lake School's levels were 0.025 milligrams per litre.

Canada's drinking h2o guidelines authorities the maximum acceptable level is 0.005 milligrams per litre.

Days aft the notices were sent out, ECE said successful an email that it received its archetypal trial results for h2o astatine École William McDonald Middle School and Range Lake North School connected Jan. 22.

In Saturday's update, the authorities said "although the archetypal intent was to implicit investigating rapidly with disposable resources, the deficiency of adept engagement compromised the reliability of some the process and the results."

The territorial authorities is present re-testing each schoolhouse h2o sources wherever elevated pb levels were antecedently reported and said "results volition beryllium shared arsenic soon arsenic they are received – archetypal with the schools and families, and past with the public."

Review of the concern going forward

A reappraisal of "how this concern unfolded" is presently underway, the authorities said successful its emailed property release.

"The GNWT acknowledges the interest this concern has caused. While the archetypal intent of this task was to assistance corroborate the information of schoolhouse drinking water, the issues identified successful the investigating process are present enabling clearer steps to guarantee h2o prime and, if necessary, corrective action," the authorities wrote. 

In a connection issued past Wednesday, ECE Minister Caitlin Cleavland said she is "deeply concerned" astir the pb levels successful the schoolhouse h2o but did not perpetrate to making the reappraisal itself public. 

In Saturday's statement, the authorities said it acknowledges the "concern this concern has caused."