The Whitehorse RCMP General Investigation Section (GIS) is continuing the lengthy investigation into the allegations of the use of holds and isolation spaces at Jack Hulland Elementary School in Porter Creek.

Police first became aware of the allegations in November 2021. The investigation was assigned to the Whitehorse RCMP GIS.

“At this point in the investigation, the assigned officers have interviewed or spoken with approximately 200 students, former students, parents, teachers, retired teachers, school support staff and board of education employees,” police said Wednesday afternoon.

“Many hundreds of pages of reports and other supporting documents have been reviewed.

“Since the last update was shared in January, a number of new witnesses reached out, which has lengthened the estimated timeline for this file.

“This investigation is being resourced accordingly, and remains a priority for Yukon RCMP while being balancing the needs of emergent investigations that involve present concerns for public safety.”

Investigators continue to request that any teachers, staff, or parents who have information about these allegations and have not previously spoken to police to contact Whitehorse RCMP GIS at 667-5551.

The Jack Hulland Elementary School community was updated via a letter distributed through the school’s communication channels on Monday.

Territorial victim services staff, who have been engaged from the start of the investigation, have also been updated to contact and follow up with families no longer associated with the school.

A proposed class action lawsuit concerning the alleged practices at the school was filed against the Yukon government and the school’s council on Oct. 31, 2022.

It alleges students were forcibly isolated in small holding cells for hours, sometimes repeatedly, over a 20-year period beginning in 2002.

The proposed suit charges that students were physically removed from classrooms and isolated in locked rooms under camera surveillance; were dragged down hallways; and were physically restrained by school staff members, including sitting on their torsos or applying pressure to their joints, arms or shoulders.

CBC Yukon reported March 23 the school council has agreed to co-operate with the families pursuing the lawsuit in exchange for legal amnesty.

The tentative settlement, filed to the Yukon Supreme Court on March 14, would see the council provide documents and information to the families’ lawyers.

They, in return, would end the lawsuit against the council, though legal action would continue against the government, the CBC reported.