The Yukon Employees' Union is challenging the Yukon government over the quality of drinking water in Yukon schools, alleging inadequate transparency over water quality tests carried out by the government from 2018 to 2020 and more recently in December 2024.
The Yukon government assessed drinking water from fixtures in schools across the Yukon for lead contamination between 2018 and 2020. The assessment found that levels of lead were higher than the national average and exceeded Health Canada guidelines on levels of maximum acceptable concentration, according to 2018-19 lab reports.
As a result, approximately 211 water fixtures were replaced and water quality tests were conducted again after replacing plumbing that potentially leached lead into the drinking water, according to the government's mitigation report.
The safety of drinking water at Yukon schools resurfaced as a concern in early 2024 when two students discovered elevated lead levels in the water at Del Van Gorder School in Faro during a science fair project. Their findings prompted the government to reevaluate its initial findings and conduct further water quality tests on 30 schools in December 2024.
The December 2024 results showed that eight schools had no fixtures needing remediation, while 10 schools had one fixture, eight schools had two to three fixtures and six schools had five or more fixtures requiring action, a March 11 Yukon government news release highlights.
"When it was initially reported in the media that the science fair experiment from the two students at Del Van Gorder School in Faro last year, that's when we became aware of the issue. And then what happened over the summer is there was a commitment from government to address it and then they chose not to use that time to actually address the issue. So we filed our grievance in the fall because of their inaction," Yukon Employees' Union president, Justin Lemphers told the News.
The Yukon Employees’ Union filled an access to information request (ATIPP) earlier in the year and allege that the government has not been transparent about water safety risks. The ATIPP results revealed detailed water quality information, testing methodology documentation and alleged record-keeping gaps.
"Our understanding is that for these results [2018-19], they ran the water for five minutes before sampling. What's the significance of that? Well, the longer you flush a system, the lower the levels are going to be. So when we make the claim about choosing a protocol or testing method that underrepresents the findings; the more time that you add for flushing, then the less lead that you're going to have resident in the system," Lemphers said.
Lemphers told the News that union representatives, after visiting several schools, discovered missing records and highlighted the collective agreement's power to allow the Yukon Employees' Union to investigate and enter Yukon government workplaces.
"We had confirmation that essential records that were supposed to be kept for that school did not exist. So we've been able to not only attend two locations, but also audit records and point out a record deficiency," Lemphers said.
The union has raised concerns about broader contamination issues beyond lead, citing the 2018-2020 water tests. These tests revealed arsenic levels at 9 micrograms per litre, a figure claimed by Lemphers to be 18 times higher than the recommended safe limit of 0.5 micrograms per liter.
The union argued that the government has not adequately explained these findings and is ignoring other potential health risks. They emphasized that a proper water safety assessment requires examining the full range of contaminants, not just focusing on lead.
"Well, the whole concept is, is the water safe? And right now, all I can do is go back to the fact that last year Yukon government said these taps are unsafe. Not the union, not the workers, the government themselves. So now they're saying all the taps are safe, but there's no records to prove it and they haven't changed any infrastructure. And we want them to quantify for the workers, just what the degree of risk is, because that's the workers' right to know," Lemphers said.
The Yukon government announced in their news release that they are currently developing a long-term drinking water monitoring program for schools, noting that the government will be communicating with stakeholders, school communities and the public as remediation work on faulty fixtures progresses through the spring.
The Yukon Employees' Union is currently following the issue and claims the government is not properly following the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Act by failing to inform workers about health and safety risks at the workplace. The union is preparing for a grievance hearing on May 1, urging full disclosure and effective mitigation strategies against exposing workers to potential health hazards.
"They also said that the grievance process is separate from health and safety processes, which is fine they can take that position. However, that doesn't mean that they then get to set aside the requirements of the Workers' Safety and Compensation Act," Lemphers said.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
--With files from Dana Hatherly
