Status of the investigation into the building closures

Dear members of the Macdonald Campus community,

I am writing to update you on the progress of the investigation into the asbestos-related building closures at Macdonald Campus.

On March 14, I sent you a message announcing that McGill’s Internal Audit unit was conducting an investigation into the events leading to, and following, the detection of asbestos in the Raymond, Barton, and Macdonald-Stewart buildings. Originally, Internal Audit had been mandated to complete the investigation by the end of April and deliver a report to McGill Principal Deep Saini and Maryse Bertrand, Chair of the University’s Board of Governors, which would also be shared with the community.

Today, I am letting you know that the timeline for the investigation has been extended. This is primarily due to higher rates of participation from external stakeholders than anticipated, which has allowed for more interviews to be conducted, yielding a broader range of perspectives. While the interviews and processing of information have added work and time to the investigation, they will ensure the report is as comprehensive as possible in uncovering the steps the University must take so that a disruption of this nature does not happen again.

We had hoped to complete the investigation more quickly, but the importance of this issue warrants taking the time necessary to do the work properly and deliver an investigation report to the community that is thorough and considers all available sources of information.

We will communicate again when we have a firm date for the report’s publication. As previously shared, following its release, the University administration will hold a Town Hall to present the investigation’s findings and answer questions from the community. We will make every effort to ensure that the community is able to meaningfully participate and be informed about the substance of the report.

In the meantime, rest assured that our enhanced air testing has continued in all of the buildings to ensure that they remain safe for everyone. To date, all results continue to be well within provincial regulatory health and safety standards.

Thank you for your patience as the Internal Audit team works to deliver an accurate and inclusive report.

Sincerely,

Christopher Manfredi

Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic)