Mr. Speaker, Fort Smith is home to the oldest school infrastructure in the NWT. Both Joseph Burr Tyrrell elementary and the PWK high school are each over 60 years old. JBT was built in 1958 and PWK was built in 1956, making them 63 and 65 years old respectively.
Mr. Speaker, I spoke with various community members, including residential school survivors, elders, teachers, parents, and students about the condition and health of JBT and of PWK high school. Overall, the sentiment is that both schools are quite old and require constant maintenance to address routine issues such as ventilation, mold, and asbestos, and even a yearly insect pest problem for one school.
Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, I acquired a document not long ago titled "NWT Schools Capital Needs Assessment Summary", dated April 22, 2003. It lists all schools in the South Slave Region, their construction year, their last year of major renovations, and the year each building should be reviewed to determine if further renovations are worthwhile or if a replacement building will be necessary.
In addition, one notable fact about both of these schools is that at one time for many years, they were both used as an Indian residential school. JBT served both Grandin College and Grandin Hall students of that residential school. This facility was operated by the Roman Catholic church. When Grandin College closed, the government transitioned one of the Grandin College resident buildings into the PWK High School.
Mr. Speaker, according to information from Historica Canada, there are only nine residential school buildings that remain standing in Canada, and Fort Smith is home to two of them, and both are still in active use. This is a unique situation, especially since both buildings have continued to operate as modern schools for our community. This presents a number of challenges. Besides the ongoing maintenance issues and increasing age for both buildings, there is obviously the historical legacy of residential school that still lingers as well.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Mr. Speaker, numerous people have told me over the years that it can be hard sometimes to enter or even go in these buildings because it is a constant reminder, living reminder, of the personal and intergenerational trauma from residential schools. Educators have tried their best to make JBT and PWK as welcoming as they can but no matter how hard they try, they can never change the feeling and the trauma that is associated with these buildings.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I am asking our government to help Fort Smith construct two new schools, help Fort Smith turn the page and end the chapter of this historical legacy that we see and carry every day. Our children deserve it. Our community deserves it. I will have questions for the Minister of Education later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.