4 Whitehorse schools rated high for seismic risk

Four Whitehorse schools are rated high for seismic risk, according to government documents.

Despite that, Whitehorse Elementary, Christ the King Elementary, the Wood Street Centre and Takhini Elementary — all built in the 1950s or 1960s — are safe, said the government.

"Seismic standards for buildings have changed over time," said Yukon Education Minister Jeanie McLean in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

"Some older school buildings need work to bring them up to current seismic standards."

She said some non-structural work has been completed to mitigate seismic risk.

"Examples of this include securing furniture, shelving, filing cabinets, systems, pipes, retrofits, etc.," she said.

McLean said the structural work will be addressed through longer-term renovations and replacement plans.

She added that in her department's five-year capital plan, one aging Whitehorse school is slated to be replaced, although she didn't say which one.

"It would likely be one of those four schools," Nils Clarke, the minister of highways and public works, said in a scrum with reporters.

He said each of the four schools are on the government's radar for eventual replacement but no timeline has been given.

Yukon Party MLA Scott Kent pressed the government Thursday for details about funding to mitigate seismic risk in 2022-23 and in the longer term.

McLean said the priority for renovating or replacing schools is based on a building's age, the seismic considerations and the schools' programming needs.

She added $200,000 has been set aside for consultation and an initial design of the school that is scheduled to be replaced in the government's current capital plan.