Christine Grimard
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, September 5, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The department of Education, Culture, and Employment (ECE) has cleared the Edutec Education Centre over concerns of child endangerment and said the centre can re-open as long as certain conditions are met.

John Stewart, ECE director of child day care, wrote in a letter addressed to the former director of Edutec Kathleen Roberts that the centre may make an application for reinstatement of its license by Oct. 1, 2007.

"Our own investigations has led me to conclude there are no longer reasonable and probable grounds to believe the children would be endangered attending the Edutec Education Centre," wrote Stewart in the letter received by Raymond Grant, the former president of Edutec, on Aug. 31.

Shawn McCann, a spokesperson for ECE, said that although the RCMP investigation is still ongoing, a parallel ECE investigation has concluded that the original cause of the license suspension has been eliminated.

"We were trying to figure things out too," said McCann on the ECE investigation. "But we were working together with the RCMP."

Although those original concerns have been cleared, McCann said that the centre will need to take some steps before it can re-open.

Those concerns, outlined in the letter from ECE, include compliance with the fire code and having a constituted board.

Grant, former president of Edutec, said that these issues are likely being brought forward to cover up the sudden closure of the school.

"That's a smoke screen, it's a red herring," said Grant in reference to the concerns over the fire code. "We've been dealing with them for months."

In reference to having a proper constituted board, Grant says the group's disappearance is a result of ECE's decision to close down the school. Grant said a board was elected at the AGM on Aug. 7. The board scheduled to hold its first meeting two days after ECE suddenly suspended the day care's license.

At the time ECE said the license was suspended pending an RCMP investigation, although the RCMP did not require the closure of the school. The letter received by Grant last week also stated that the centre had to prove upon re-opening it would be in full compliance with Sections 56, 57, and 58 of the Child Day Care Standards Regulations.

These sections deal with adequate supervision of children and a minimum staff to child ratio.

Grant said, however, that it isn't likely the centre will re-open. Since ECE suspended the day care's license, Grant says the parents and staff have all left the centre and he has heard that the board members have all resigned.

"This abrupt closure threw the society's affairs into confusion. Board members probably resigned because they did not know what the hell was going on," wrote Grant in a letter to NWT Corporate Registries explaining the school's closure.

"It's very sad that a promising centre has been destroyed," he said.

The RCMP will continue to investigate the allegations, according to RCMP Sgt. Ken Cooper. "The investigation is still underway, there's a few people to speak with," said Cooper.

No members of the board could be reached for comment.