Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Baker Lake (Sep 12/01) - Students at Jonah Amitnaaq secondary school in Baker Lake had a few unscheduled days off this past week.

A stop work order was issued by the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) this past Wednesday, Sept. 5, after a WCB safety officer, an environmental health officer and a representative from the fire marshal's office paid a visit to the school.

They arrived in Baker on Sept. 3 and were not impressed with what they saw.

The reason cited for the closure was the need to allow time for a number of repairs to be completed.

The school is to be inspected once the mechanical room has been cleaned up and the leakage from fuel tanks in the room sealed, working fire extinguishers are installed, emergency lighting is functioning and the air-exchange unit is serviced and balanced.

The fire marshal's office has also requested that a number of filing cabinets in the school hallway be moved so they no longer block emergency exits.

School principal Gerald Kelly says the problems resulted from the demolition of the school's junior wing over the summer.

He says the problems could have been avoided if those involved with the project would stop their political wrangling and take ownership of the situation.

"Apparently, this is a grey area," says Kelly. "The hamlet is responsible for maintenance and the Department of Public Works is supposed to be responsible for projects.

"The root of the problem is nobody wants to take ownership for the work that was done and there's some finger-pointing going on between the two right now."

Kelly says it's not clear to him whether it is strictly coincidence that the WCB safety officer, environmental health officer and fire marshal representative all arrived at the same time.

He says the three were at a number of different government buildings before arriving at the school.

"My only concern in all of this is that the school is a safe environment for my staff and the students who come here to learn.

"That means I expect whoever is responsible for maintenance and upkeep to see that it's done."