In a letter obtained by Radio-Canada, some twenty teachers affirm that day after day, asbestos dust is found directly on the desks of physical education teachers
.
The Portages-de-l’Outaouais School Services Center (CSSPO) refused our interview request.
By email, the spokesperson for CSSPO, Maude Hébert, writes that all precautions [sont] implemented to ensure that students and staff are healthy and safe at all times, before and during construction
and that’no compromise was made in this regard
.
However, the Outaouais teaching union is not convinced. If there is still concern among staff members, it is that the explanations are insufficient.
Is it okay to be in a place where there is asbestos? This questioning is legitimate
, decides its president Suzanne Tremblay.
Suzanne Tremblay is the president of the Outaouais Teaching Union.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Jonathan Dupaul
—
A complaint was recently made to the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) in relation to this file.
The organization is monitoring the case closely and ensuring that there is no risk concerning asbestos
and the safety of people on site, according to communications manager Isabelle Raymond.
An air quality test was carried out in the last few days and it came out negative. Nevertheless, Ms. Raymond assures that the investigator in the file make the necessary follow-ups
and that everything is done according to the rules of the art.
But teachers at the school worry that the gymnasium will still be accessible to students and staff until construction begins. It is that debris was observed, according to them. The CSSPO confirmed that the gymnasium was open and that an employee meeting would be held on Thursday.
However, informed of the situation by Radio-Canada, the CNESST on Thursday dispatched a representative to the scene to check. No debris was found. The gymnasium can remain open until the work begins.
<q data-attributes="{"lang":{"value":"fr","label":"Français"},"value":{"html":"L’amiante, c’est un danger pour la santé, alors ça fait partie des tolérances zéro de la CNESST. It is certain that we give it a rather great importance all the same “,” text “:” Asbestos is a health hazard, so it is part of the zero tolerances of the CNESST. It is certain that we give it a rather great importance all the same “}}” lang = “fr”>Asbestos is a health hazard, so it’s part of the zero tolerances of the CNESST. It is certain that we give it a rather great importance, supports Isabelle Raymond.
Delays in awarding the contract
École Saint-Paul, in the Hull sector, welcomes elementary school students.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Antoine Trépanier
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What seems to bother the signatories of the letter the most is that from promise to promise, projects [de rénovation] do not succeed
.
Ms. Hébert writes that “a problem related to the call for tenders” for asbestos removal work led to its cancellation [le 29] last september
. The tender was finally re-launched and ended on October 7, a week later.
If she argues that the works start during next week “,” text “:” should start during next week “}}” lang = “fr”>should start during the next week, it does not explain why they were not carried out during the summer, as planned the previous year. The CSSPO reiterated in recent months that the pandemic has delayed school construction projects, especially due to the procurement of certain materials. It is not known whether this is the case with asbestos removal work.
The contract with the Gatineau firm Defran Inc is valued at $ 84,422.
A recurring problem at École Saint-Paul
In principle, workers must carry out asbestos removal work in the coming days at École Saint-Paul.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Yasmine Mehdi
—
Claire Beaudry arrived in 2007 at École Saint-Paul. Shortly after arriving, she noticed pieces of granules
that fall on her desk and that she has to clean every morning. In the months that follow, at his request, the school administration will carry out an analysis and possibly inform the staff that there is no asbestos.
I am not an asbestos specialist! At that time, we believed what we were given as an answer. We did not doubt
, testifies Ms. Beaudry.
Years go by and the teacher develops respiratory problems and even lung cancer. She is not a smoker, but there is no indication that her work environment is the cause of these disorders.
In 2016, she asked for a new analysis when she was on sick leave. The new analysis shows that it is indeed vermiculite containing asbestos dust.
The problem has been known for so many years in Saint-Paul. We end up with asbestos dust on the desks
, protests Suzanne Tremblay.
The first report indicating the presence of vermiculite in the establishment dates from November 7, 2016. It was not until three days later, when staff members refused to enter the establishment, that the parents were informed of the situation. . The school was then closed so that caulking work to contain asbestos was done.
It felt like it was ‘patching’. We would have liked it to be asbestos free. We thought it would be asbestos free.
There is not a week where we did not see places where it was undone
, she says.
Alain Gauthier represented the community of École Saint-Paul for 16 years on the Council of Commissioners of the Portages-de-l’Outaouais School Board, now a school service center. Over the years he has seen the old building crumble.
It’s a school that suffered from problems
, he said.
According to him, the volume of work to be done
has increased significantly over the past five years in the region and the available resources did not follow
. School authorities have not been able to carry out many priority works.
Last year, commissioners had publicly indicated their frustration with a good number of delays for often trivial work.
The way contracts are awarded and the speed of execution in the material resources department were also cited by commissioners. The president of the school board at the time, Mario Crevier, admitted that there was a lot of work that did not take place. For an x or y reason – we don’t have the reason – but we know it’s not done
.
For former Commissioner Gauthier, staff members and students deserve to be looked at and given priority to their grievances and that we try to act to bring the school back on the right track
.
This is also what the council of commissioners of the deceased concluded in the summer of 2019. Asbestos removal work was necessary, according to elected officials, and they have still not been carried out. It is this work which should in principle begin next week.
But over the years, the angst gained ground in the establishment. It’s an additional stress
, testifies Claire Beaudry.
We had to make sure that there were never these grains of asbestos lying around on the ground. The little ones are sitting on the floor, they are attracted to all kinds of objects. So I had to make sure there was nothing
, she confides.
And what she still fears, retired since this summer, is that the experience she lived with her colleagues will continue.
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