Too many elders receive care outside Nunavut, NTI says
John Amagoalik’s struggle to stay in territory brings issue into ‘sharp focus,’ says Inuit organization
There are only a handful of long-term care homes for elders in Nunavut, with the Rankin Inlet location, opened last year, being the only one that provides care for patients with the most complex needs. (File photo by Arty Sarkisian)
This story was updated on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 3 p.m. ET.
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. says long-term care for elders in the territory has been inadequate for years, an issue that John Amagoalik’s situation has brought “into sharp focus.”
But the association tasked with making sure promises made in the Nunavut Agreement — which Amagoalik helped negotiate — are kept isn’t saying whether it plans to help the revered leader live out his final days at home.
Before coming back to Iqaluit in June, Amagoalik had been living at the Embassy West long-term care facility Ottawa. His loved ones raised money for his flight and some health care needs but said they were depending on the GN’s Health Department to fund Amagoalik’s care and housing needs in the long term.
The GN said its policies prevent funding privately arranged in-home care and housing through its long-term elder care programming. Now, with money running out, Amagoalik might have to leave Iqaluit again.
NTI declined requests for an interview with its president Gloria Uluqsi and sent a statement instead.
“Too many Inuit elders, including unilingual Inuktut-speaking elders, continue to receive care outside the territory, separated from their families, communities, language and homes,” said Uluqsi in the statement, sent Sept. 3.
She was responding to questions about whether NTI planned to help Amagoalik, for whom the organization is currently providing a rental unit at reduced rent.
Amagoalik, revered by many as the “Father of Nunavut,” dedicated decades of his life to advancing Inuit rights.
He served as the executive director of the Nunavut Land Claims Project starting in 1974, and after 1993 he led the land-claims settlement process with NTI, following the ratification of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act. From 1999 onward, he also chaired the Nunavut Implementation Commission, the 10-member organization which eventually became Nunavut’s government.
“We would love to sit with the Government of Nunavut, the Health Department and NTI to have a discussion about how we can make this work. The alternative is that he will be sent back to Ottawa or to Rankin Inlet,” said Mark Stiles, a friend of Amagoalik. “He doesn’t want to do that.”
Anne Crawford, who has also been advocating for the family and is a lawyer involved with the Pairijiit Tigummiaqtikkut Elders Society, says she believes it’s the Nunavut government’s responsibility to find a solution and that she’s not familiar with any policy that would prevent the GN from contracting a private care provider in Iqaluit the same way it does with southern providers, such as Embassy West.
“What they’re saying is, ‘We never got around to building the policy and financial structures that would let us do what you’re asking us to do,’” she said.
“They’re building a three-seater bus and then telling us they don’t have room on the bus,” she added. “You should build a bigger bus.”
Nunatsiaq News requested an interview with Nunavut’s Health Minister, Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster, to speak about the state of elder care in the territory, but the department sent a written statement instead.
There are care homes in Iqaluit and Arviat for those requiring lower to moderate levels of support, and ones in Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven, Igloolik and Rankin Inlet for elders with more complex needs, department spokesperson Charmaine Deogracias wrote. Only the care facility in Rankin Inlet provides care for those with the most complex needs.
Work is ongoing to expand long-term elder care in the Qikiqtaaluk and Kitikmeot regions.
“Until that capacity is operational, out-of-territory long-term care remains necessary when assessed needs cannot be met through services available in Nunavut,” Deogracias said in the email.
Crawford said in Amagoalik’s case, the services are available. The family says monthly costs for his care and housing are about $16,000 per month.
NTI, meanwhile, told Nunatsiaq News it’s actively working with the GN so that more elders can receive around-the-clock medical care within the territory.
“NTI has advocated for expanded after-hours home care services and is seeking updates on the outcomes of the GN’s home care review,” said Uluqsi in an emailed statement.
NTI has provided $15 million toward the renovation of care homes in Arviat, Gjoa Haven and Igloolik, she also noted, and has also provided $8 million to the Pairijiit Tigummiaqtikkut Elders Society for the development of an independent living complex for elders.
In 2024, the federal government approved $14 million over 10 years for NTI’s Indigenous Health Equity Fund, aimed at improving Indigenous people’s access to culturally safe health care services.
In June, the organization published a call for consultants to help guide its 10-year plan on how to use the money.
Clarification: This story has been updated to attribute statements from NTI to its president Gloria Uluqsi.
I agree completely with the broader point that Nunavut needs more elder-care capacity at home. But Nunatsiaq News continues to repeat the family’s claimed $16,000 monthly figure without providing the basic breakdown needed to make it a meaningful comparison.
So how much of the $16,000 is actually the cost of care?
Please do some investigative reporting and break it down: professional care (and what qualifications), housing, food, utilities, transportation, equipment and other living expenses. Then tell readers what is being subsidized separately by NTI or others.
Comparing a blended household budget to the full cost of a long-term-care placement is misleading if they aren’t paying for the same things.
There is a legitimate and important debate to have about bringing elder care home to Nunavut. But good policy starts with good information. Nunatsiaq should investigate the numbers being presented by John’s friends rather than simply repeating them.
If $16,000 really provides equivalent around-the-clock care for significantly less money, that is a model worth examining for all Nunavut elders. But show us the numbers first.
There is also another question missing from this discussion: why is Rankin Inlet not considered an acceptable option? Rankin is still in Nunavut and has a long-term care facility. If the objective is specifically to remain in Iqaluit rather than simply remain in Nunavut, that distinction matters and should be explained.
Shameful,how inuit elders are treated,shame on the civil servants who wrote the policy in the GN, and if we had 1 politician in Nu,with backbone to call out the GN on this policy and change it