Going down? About 65% of elevator inspections in N.L. didn't happen in 2024
Province only has 3 inspectors, says it's waiting on private companies to do some of the work
The elevator business has its ups and downs, but the province heard in the House of Assembly on Monday that about 65 per cent of the inspections required in 2024 didn't happen.
Gail Boland, assistant deputy minister for the Department of Government Modernization and Service Delivery, said that figure is not only because the government is running behind, but also because it's waiting for word from private contractors.
The province requires all elevators to be inspected once a year, but there are only three government inspectors.
Ferryland PC MHA Loyola O'Driscoll argued on Monday that the number of government-hired inspectors is low because of the salary.
Boland responded, saying "We can't just hire people, whatever price we want to hire them," and added there are certain procedures for hiring.
An amendment made to the Public Safety Act last year allows outside companies like Otis and TKE to carry out those inspections and report back to the province's chief inspector.
"If everything looks good, then the certification on the device would be renewed," Boland said. "If not, then our people would go out and do an inspection."
The government is still working on implementing that system, according to Service Delivery Minister Sarah Stoodley.
The minister added that there is a priority list for inspections.
Brand new devices, or those not working at all, would come first, Stoodley explained. The government also prioritizes elevators in health care and long-term care facilities.
But out-of-service elevators and expired certificates have been an ongoing issue.
In September 2024, Memorial University's students' union said many of the elevators on the St. John's campus were broken, making the school more inaccessible to students and staff who can't use the stairs.
In November, O'Driscoll told the Service N.L. minister that over 500 elevators were overdue for an inspection — an issue he's still raising in the House this week.
"Every single day, thousands of people are using hundreds of unsafe elevators," O'Driscoll said Monday.
Stoodley said her department is "doing a great job" at carrying out inspections with a risk-based priority approach.
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With files from Patrick Butler