Labrador residential school dorm needs to be torn down, survivor says

You know, the dorm should be gone. When she was 16, Inuk Mary Sillit lived here, a former residential school dorm in Northwest River. Like many children in Labrador, Sillit was forced to leave her home and sent to residential school. This Yale School dorm closed in 1980, and it's been abandoned for 20 years. Now, Sillit wants it gone. It's a fire hazard, it's a safety concern, and it represents a very dark time in the history of this community and the lives of the children that it affected. Sillit is behind a petition to demolish the building. She described her year at the dorm as favorable, but said many others, including her siblings, were not as lucky. I think that it... It represents to them a very difficult time. It hurts them to pass by and remember those days. The mayor of Northwest River says he'd also like to see the building demolished. He also says there's mold and asbestos in the building. There's a dark history associated with it, but not only that, the town is the owner of the building, and to me it's a liability. There's safety issues. Northwest River assumed ownership of the building 18 months ago, the mayor says. The town has put out two surveys in the past about it, but now the town can take action. I don't think it's worth trying to repair or renovate. The mayor said the petition will go to town council. If they approve demolition plans, it would cost a considerable amount of money, he said, requiring provincial and federal government help. Given the history on this building, and I think the time is right with regards to truth and reconciliation, this would be a good step. Mary Sillit agrees, and hopes the building won't stay standing for long. It represents too much. It represents an era where it was a colonial kind of thinking. Andrea McGuire, CBC News, Northwest River.