Three Rivers Mayor Peter Saunders says he learned of an asbestos issue at Petitcodiac’s only school through news reports, just weeks before students were scheduled to return to class. “I’m actually getting my information from you folks on the news every night,” says Saunders. “I’d never been notified that by the province or by the school district saying there was an [asbestos] issue over at the school.” While Saunders says the school property and what happens inside isn’t technically his business, he says a courtesy call from the province to inform him about the asbestos situation would have been nice. The timing of the news is less than ideal Saunders adds, with classes set to resume on Sept. 8 following summer break. “It’s not like they’re waiting for a part that’s been on back order all summer to get school up and going,” says Saunders. “Obviously I think this must have been a last minute find and that they’re now they’re scrambling to try to get her put back together to get things going.” In a Tuesday statement to CTV News, WorkSafeNB spokesperson Beverly Stears said they are aware of concerns about asbestos-containing materials at the school and are involved in the response to the situation. “When concerns about potential exposure to asbestos were brought forward, a WorkSafeNB officer attended the school and the work in the affected area was stopped,” said Stears. “Air sampling conducted on Aug. 19 showed no asbestos detected in the samples collected.” In a statement from the province’s education department, communications officer Sean McConnell says remediation work was completed over the summer, and students will be back in the classroom for the first day of school on Sept. 8. Anglophone East School District spokesperson Stephanie Patterson told CTV in an email two air quality tests have been conducted, and both came back with no asbestos particles or related materials detected. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says the “mishandling of asbestos” at a school in New Brunswick has resulted in nine workers being exposed. One of those workers was with the Local 2745 union, who say they only learned about the asbestos situation Tuesday. Local 245 President Thersea McAllister says she was “quite alarmed” to learn about the asbestos issue, especially as union members were never notified of the issue before entering the school. She says they are scheduled to head back to the school on Friday following air quality tests. But if they return and asbestos is still deemed to be in the area, McAllister says she will have her members backs. “Your safety is a precautionary measure that I’m willing to step up and take the brunt to help you,” McAllister says. “They do have the right to refuse if they feel their safety is being infringed upon, and I will support them all the way.” Local MLA Tammy Scott-Wallace says through conversations she has had, there is no reason to believe the school won’t open for students come Tuesday. However, she adds the asbestos angst could have been alleviated through simple communication. “It’s so important that the province is completely transparent with families when something like this is discovered,” says Scott-Wallace. “Parents were not given the information, it caused a lot of worry, a lot of stress, and there’s still worry and stress there.” With files from CTV’s Derek Hagget For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
