We must protect our children better: Mary Simon

Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said March 15 that she “wholeheartedly” agrees with what Sheila Fraser, the Auditor General, said in her recent report about the plight of children and youth in Nunavut.

“These children represent the future of Nunavut, and they have a right to expect protection from harm and neglect,” Fraser said in a statement when she released the report on March 8.

The report revealed gaping holes in Nunavut’s child protection system, including staff shortages and an inability to collect vital information, and found that the Government of Nunavut isn’t meeting child protection goals set out under the Child and Family Services Act and the Adoption Act.

Simon repeated Fraser’s call for governments, social services and families to improve the situation in her March 15 statement, sent out by ITK shortly after the publication of a March 11 editorial in the Globe and Mail, called “The young are neglected in Nunavut.”

“We must take our responsibilities seriously as parents, and our respective governments must make child and youth protection a continuing priority as this is more than 50 per cent of our population,” Simon said.

The recent report on Children, Youth, and Family Programs and Services in Nunavut made public on March 8, “sheds light on many shortcomings in services to protect the most vulnerable in our society – our children and youth,” Simon noted in her statement.

“These children represent the future of Nunavut, and they have a right to expect protection from harm and neglect,” Simon said. “Fixing the very serious problems we saw will require the immediate attention, leadership, and commitment of government, working with parents and communities to find solutions.’”

But Simon also noted that other Inuit regions are experiencing similar crises.

“We must do better when it comes to protecting our children. The prime responsibility is of course with us as parents. Family services must be there, and dependable, when parents are experiencing hardships and going through difficult times,” she said.

And when children are being taken out of Inuit regions for care, this can be hard on the children and families, she added.

“While it is hopeful to read that the Government of Nunavut has agreed with all of the recommendations in the report, and providing detailed responses, we are facing a situation where one third of social worker positions are unfilled in Nunavut, meaning the workload is being managed by a few people who are severely overworked,” she said.

Simon said she wanted to also wanted to express her support for these workers who are “valiantly serving our children and youth.”