The Yukon government failed to meet some of its key responsibilities for the management of government buildings, including schools and residential care facilities, says the Auditor General of Canada.

A report on capital asset management delivered to the Yukon legislative assembly Monday found that assessments of government buildings done by the Department of Highways and Public Works identified “serious deficiencies, such as mould, fire hazards, and major structural concerns,” but that the government wasn’t using information from these assessments because it “had not yet verified the accuracy of the data.”

Principal Casey Thomas was in Whitehorse yesterday to present the audit’s findings.

She expressed concern that Highways and Public Works wasn’t using information gathered through building assessments, especially given that it has been almost 10 years since the auditor general first encouraged the department to do the assessments.

The report says Highways and Public Works had inspected 238 government buildings, which account for about 88 per cent of government buildings in terms of square metres, but that officials weren’t using information gathered in any of these assessments.

The auditor general also found that the government hadn’t done enough to protect its buildings that are vulnerable to degradation from thawing permafrost.

Highways and Public Works and the Yukon Geological Survey jointly studied the vulnerability of 135 government buildings to permafrost.

They found that 57 buildings were at risk of degradation, and 18 were already showing effects, such as cracked foundations.

It was recommended that Highways and Public Works carry out thorough investigations of at-risk buildings.

The auditor general found that only three of the 57 buildings had undergone in-depth investigation, and those that had not been thoroughly inspected included schools and health centres.

The school in Ross River, which was closed for half a school year because of serious structural damage, was given as an example of what can happen when buildings atop permafrost go unchecked.

In January 2015, the Ross River school was closed for repairs to cracks found in its walls. An engineering report later found that the building was in critical condition.

Students were not allowed back into the school until the start of the next academic year, in September 2015.

Repairs to the school cost $2 million, $1.3 million of which came out of the Yukon government’s risk management reserve.

“This situation is an example of what can happen when deficiencies are identified in building condition assessments but are not considered in decision-making,” says the auditor general’s report.

“It is also an example of the importance of monitoring buildings that have been identified as vulnerable to permafrost degradation.”

The auditor general noted that radon gas levels in some public buildings and child care centres were “unacceptable.”

Radon is a radioactive gas that forms naturally as uranium in soil and rock breaks down. It can accumulate in confined, poorly ventilated spaces, and pose a risk to human health. Health Canada says that after smoking, radon is the leading cause of lung cancer.

Radon poses an increased risk to smokers, people exposed for a prolonged period of time, and to children, who breathe faster than adults and who can inhale more radon gas.

The federal health agency caps acceptable levels of radon in buildings at 200 becquerels per cubic metre.

Under the Occupationah Health and Safety Act, employers are required to ensure, to the best of their ability, that workplaces are safe, and to alert workers to any potential health risks.

The Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board worked with Yukon government departments to do “limited radon testing” in 92 government buildings in 2007 and 2008, says the auditor general’s report.

Several schools, a community airport, a drug and alcohol treatment facility and a residential care facility were all found to have radon levels higher than 200 Bq/m3.

The Department of Education started a radon testing program in schools in 2016.

In 2008, Jack Hulland Elementary School was found to have “unacceptable radon levels” and in 2016, tests again showed radon levels exceeding 200 Bq/m3.

In 2009, Jack Hulland was shown to have “acceptable levels,” but that year’s radon test lasted for only two weeks.

Health Canada says radon levels in buildings can vary over time, and for this reason, testing should be carried out over longer periods.

It is unclear how long students and staff at Jack Hulland were exposed to unacceptable levels of radon between 2008 and 2016.

Yukon Education officials told the auditor general that they plan to do remedial work at Jack Hulland.

“While the Department of Education still has remedial work to carry out in one school, it has taken a positive step by testing radon meters in several schools before installing them in every school,” reads the report.

Unacceptable radon levels were also found in two residential care facilities operated by Health and Social Services. The report found no records indicating that any action had been taken to deal with the issue.

“Despite having custody and control of one of these buildings, the (Health and Social Services) Department told us that it expected the Department of Highways and Public Works to maintain records of radon retesting and remediation,” says the report.

“Although the Department of Health and Social Services did not have custody and control of the second building, it was responsible for the health and safety of the children who were living in the building and the department’s employees who were working in the building.”

In Canada, Yukon ranks third-highest for the percentage of homes that have shown radon levels higher than 200 Bq/m3.

Though child care centres and family day homes are private, they are licensed by the Health and Social Services department.

Radon testing is not a licensing stipulation, but the health and safety of people and staff who use these facilities are requirements.

In 2008, the compensation health and safety board found that eight of 22 child care centres and family day homes had higher than acceptable radon levels.

The board told Health and Social Services that operators of these facilities must retest and remediate their buildings.

The auditor found that Health and Social Services did not take any action on the radon issue and thus failed to meet its licensing obligations.

According to Monday’s report, the “serious nature of our findings” prompted the auditor general to send a letter to the deputy minister of Health and Social Services in July 2016 regarding concerns about radon in child care centres and day homes.

In response, the department said it would take action to address the radon issue.

Highways and Public Works has a system for prioritizing maintenance projects that factors in health, safety and cost.

However, the report found that the department did not consistently adhere to this system.

In 2015-16, Highways and Public Works spent more than $13.3 million on maintenance, and half of that, $6.6 million, went toward projects not listed as priorities.

According to Monday’s report, only $2.7 million had gone to priority maintenance projects.

For example, said Thomas, Highways and Public Works listed replacing a fuel tank used for heating as high priority in 2011, but didn’t follow through on that maintenance until 2013, when the tank was already leaking.

To be sure, $4 million of the $13 million spent on maintenance went toward unanticipated repairs to problems that posed risks to health and safety. Playground upgrades and the demolition of a building deemed unsafe fell into this category.

“Emergencies occur, so it’s OK to not always follow your process when there are reasons to do so,” said Thomas, “but in $6.6 million, in those cases, we did not feel they had made the appropriate decisions.”

The Yukon government responded to the audit report in a statement released Monday afternoon:

“Maintaining healthy and safe buildings for employees and other building users is a priority for the Government of Yukon, and staff will continue working to maintain buildings, roads and bridges to meet the needs of our growing territory.

“The Government of Yukon is also committed to ensuring value for money through its government transfer process and is working collaboratively across all departments to address the report’s recommendations and meet commitments for managing transfer payments.”

The government says it agrees with all of the auditor general’s findings and will comply with the recommendations.

Specifically, the government says it will work with organizations and the Public Service Commission to develop a corporate radon testing and remediation program.

In addition, the government says it will complete assessments of all of its buildings by the end of this month, and verify all the data on the conditions of its buildings by September 1.

This year’s capital asset management audit covered some of the same areas as audits conducted in 2007, 2009 and 2012.

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