Sahtu MLA likens school to episode of Hoarders

As members of the Northwest Territories legislative assembly are debating where capital money needs to be spent, Sahtu MLA Norman Yakeleya says people in Colville Lake, N.W.T., should not go another year with no running water in their school or health centre.

Kids in the community of about 130 attend school in one building, which has three classroom areas for different age groups.

Yakeleya said it is unacceptable for the children to have to rely on a "honey bucket" system in their school. He compared the state of the schoolschool to 17th-century conditions and likened it to an episode of the television show Hoarders.

"There's no proper air ventilation in the school, [it] stinks in there when you go in there sometimes. And that's what people, that's what kids have to go through. They have no other choice but to go to school," said Yakeleya.

Deputy public works minister Paul Guy said officials will work on the water and sewer systems in the community. He said the work should be done by next year.

Yakeleya also told the legislative assembly that the noise levels in the school are high and students deserve more space.

Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger said there is no money right now for a new school in Colville Lake.