Quebec to install CO2 detectors in all classrooms by the end of the 2022 school year: letter
After concerns were raised during the coronavirus pandemic about indoor air quality in Quebecs schools, the province said it is now planning to install CO2 detectors in all classrooms by the end of the next school year.
In a letter issued Friday to directors general, the Ministry of Education said it has "decided to go ahead with the installation of CO2 readers in all learning rooms of all private educational institutions in Quebec" to improve air quality indoors.
The ministry said it will issue a call for tenders to get the required equipment installed in schools with a deadline of June 30, 2022.
Schools will be responsible for installing the new readers in all classrooms, including libraries, gymnasiums, daycare rooms and possibly dining areas, and the devices must be able to monitor temperature and relative humidity, the letter stated. They will also allow employees to "take actions directly, such as opening windows and doors to increase the supply of fresh outside air."
Schools will have a chance to get more information on the province’s plans at two information sessions scheduled for July 12 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and July 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Two types of devices are being sought, according to the province: readers that plug into the school’s building management system or wireless, stand-alone detectors that are not connected to the existing ventilation system.
Schools will decide which system is best suited to them, according to the letter. The province said the wireless CO2 detectors "will be provided to you" and noted they are the preferred option because they are "installed more easily and quickly, at lower costs and in all types of buildings, even those with a heritage character."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.