As with past public health and safety issues, it appears communication remains one of the territorial government's biggest challenges.
That's the verdict according to an independent report detailing what went wrong during the GNWT's water testings at two Yellowknife schools. Testing at 脡cole William McDonald Middle School and Range Lake North School found high lead levels in drinking water fixtures.
Specifically, miscommunication with the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO) was one of the biggest communication challenges the report could find, it reads in part.
Part of the reason for that is because multiple departments did not understand the severity of the situation, it adds.
"The OCPHO asked for, and received responses to, questions about the testing initiative in December 2024," the report reads. "The information shared by ECE at the time did not provide enough information for the OCPHO to understand the objective of the testing initiative, and identify concerns with the methodology."
Dr. Kami Kandola, the territory's chief public health officer, said GNWT departments will use this case as an example going forward.
"Everybody has a role to play," she said, talking about the need for better collaboration between departments.
This is not the first time communication issues plagued the GNWT when it comes to matters about public health and safety. When the After-Action Review came out for the 2023 wildfire season back in May, it criticized the GNWT for lacking proper communication both internally and with the public.
John MacDonald, deputy minister of the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, said part of the government's challenges with communication is due to staff turnover.
"With rapid turnover rates, sometimes there's challenges in the continuity of understanding an issue," he said, also noting that GNWT departments need to do a better job communicating with each other.
Asked what turnover rates in the GNWT were, MacDonald said he did not know. SA国际影视传媒 asked the Department of Finance what the current turnover rates are for both Finance and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE). On July 15, it said rates were actually dropping.
Last fiscal year, the turnover rate for INF dropped to about 10 per cent, from 13 per cent the year prior. The rate for ECE stayed nearly exact between that time, at 13 per cent.
Across the GNWT, the turnover rate dropped to 12.5 percent last fiscal year from about 15 per cent the year before.
"Through employee programming and employee engagement initiatives, the Government of the Northwest Territories has strengthened its recruitment and retention efforts, as reflected in the decrease in turnover rates," said senior communications officer with the Department of Finance, Toyeke Adedipe.
Also on July 14, ECE Minister Caitlin Cleveland issued her own press release, acknowledging the GNWT's shortcomings.
"Warning signs were missed, key test results werenSA国际影视传媒檛 escalated quickly enough, and communication between departments and with the public was inconsistent," Cleveland stated. "These are serious systemic failures that affected both safety and trust. That is not acceptable. I take full responsibility for ensuring we fix it."
She added the GNWT is now developing a territory-wide school water testing program.
"This will include a standardized protocol with clearly defined roles, timelines, and formal coordination between departments and the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer," stated Cleveland.
During a briefing to media on July 4, Cathy Maniego, deputy minister for the Department of Infrastructure, said her department will explore remediation options at William McDonald School once it can identify the source of the lead.
"It'll either be, in the extreme, a complete replacement of the plumbing and fixtures or, hopefully, something less than that, which could be a partial replacement or could be a point-of-use filter," she said.
