April 4th, 2025
Caption: This flowing tap is supposed to be shut off because the water isn’t safe to drink.
Yukon schools have a known health and safety problem – unsafe drinking water.
In May 2024, the Yukon Government (YG) posted signage in many Yukon schools, which said things like “Drinking water” or “Do not use this water for drinking or cooking”. What they didn’t post was anything about why the water could not be used for drinking or cooking in the first place.
Workers and students are at risk
The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Act is built on three central rights:
- The right to know about hazards to health and safety at their workplaces
- The right to participate in health and safety activities at their workplaces
- The right to refuse unsafe work
Rights are non-negotiable.
Every worker in the Yukon is entitled to these protections. According to the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Act, those protections should also apply to students because the purpose of the legislation is to protect workers and other persons from hazards to health and safety that arise out of or in connection with activities at workplaces.
YG has failed workers by not clearly informing them about the risks of unsafe water. The Yukon Employees’ Union (YEU) has been able to determine this by visiting some of the workplaces. Contrary to information provided to workers, students, families, and the Union, we found:
- Taps missing signage
- Taps that were flowing, which were supposed to be shut off
- No health and safety info posted in the workplace explaining the risks
Caption: One fountain has signage, but the other does not, and both are flowing.
Where water fixtures were known to be unsafe and turned off, we have records that show them being turned back on with no mitigation. The evidence shows this happened without workers being informed.
How long has YG known?
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (ATIPP) records we have date back to 2017.
In 2018 Department of Education reported:
"a count was done of water systems in the identified Yukon schools to map and quantify the sources from which water samples may be required. At that time, 697 faucets were identified as potential sources that may need testing. "
The 2024 water testing results do not reflect the 697 number. What the 2024 results do show is that the Yukon government chose to sample a significantly smaller number of taps, only for lead, and that they changed the testing method to generate more favorable results.
Caption: Tap in a kitchen with unsafe drinking water that hasn’t been shut off.
They used a testing system where stagnant water results are underrepresented. Stagnant water has the greatest risk for lead contamination.
In 2025, school workers and students still cannot trust the safety of their drinking water—an inexcusable failure after years of government neglect.
What are the politicians doing?
YEU asked to meet with the three responsible Ministers - McLean for Education, McPhee for Health and Social Services, and Clarke for Highways and Public Works. We were denied a meeting.
We want to know why they are avoiding talking about a public health and safety issue.
They knew that the old test results did not meet the updated guidelines for years. The ATIPP records include departmental briefing notes that confirm this.
The Ministers seem to think that because we filed a grievance, they can’t talk to us. They are using this as an excuse and neglecting their responsibilities to address this widespread problem.
More questions than answers
The Yukon Employees’ Union has a lot of questions, and we are roadblocked regularly.
YG sent information to the schools, parents, and students saying that there was unsafe water. There is extensive reporting and media coverage of the issue.
Why is a YEU complaint required to force YG and the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Board to act on a widely known public health risk?
Several Yukon schools are required to follow flushing protocol to minimize lead levels. When we pressed for records at one of those schools, we learned that those records simply don’t exist.
How can YG say flushing mitigation works when they don’t have any record of it being done?
YG says they are developing a long-term drinking water monitoring program for schools. A monitoring program isn’t a fix for unsafe water, it’s just data generation. There is no timeline for when this process could be in place.
It’s been 8 years. When will it be done?
The 2018 results are for more than lead, but the 2024 results only focus on lead. Some places in 2018 were flagged as higher than recommended levels for things like arsenic.
Why is YG only testing for lead in 2024 when the health and safety risks are known to be much wider?
Support Yukon Employees’ Union
Workers and students in the schools have a right to know about health and safety risks.
Yukon Employees’ Union filed a grievance because of the risks of unsafe drinking water.
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