Nunavut civil servant says GN unable to act on suicide plan

Charlotte Borg, manager of support services at the GN’s education department, said it was difficult to get things done on a suicide prevention committee because representatives at the table had little decision-making powers. (FILE PHOTO)

Charlotte Borg, manager of student support services at the Department of Education, provided perhaps the most candid details yet on the Government of Nunavut’s role in the failed suicide prevention partnership during testimony at the coroner’s suicide inquest in Iqaluit Sept. 21.

“It was frustrating because we couldn’t say ‘yes, we can do that’ or ‘no we can’t do that’ right on the spot,” said Borg on her role as a representative for the GN at the partnership.

She recognized that although everyone on the suicide prevention committee understood the urgency of addressing Nunavut’s disturbingly high suicide rates, the inability of GN representatives to act unilaterally on the government’s behalf put a strain on negotiations.

“Although it was called a partnership, we were expected to answer questions. As a representative from education, I could not say yes or no — I had to take things back to my supervisor, my department and discuss them there and report back to the committee.”

Spurred by a record number of suicides in 2013 — 45 in total — Nunavut’s Office of the Chief Coroner is holding a special two-week inquest to try to find answers to, and make recommendations on, Nunavut’s on-going suicide crisis. It is expected to wrap up this week.

Borg said during her testimony that, at the time of her involvement in the suicide prevention committee, she was just the latest in a long line of GN representatives at the table which include representatives from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the RCMP and the Embrace Life Council.

“I also didn’t understand [at the time of the committee] that I was probably the 31st GN representative that people, like Natan [Obed], saw at the table —I didn’t know that at the time,” said Borg.

“That helps me understand a bit more the dynamics around the table. ”

Natan Obed, speaking on behalf of NTI earlier during the suicide inquest, alleged that the prevention plan’s failure was partly due to it getting bogged down in GN bureaucracy.

Borg’s testimony follows other senior officials from the Department of Health, most notably assistant deputy minister Rosemary Keenainak, who offered few definitive answers on either GN involvement or implementation in the failed Suicide Prevention Action Plan and it’s subsequent evaluation recommendations.

“There was nothing in there, in terms of education specific recommendations, that there was a resounding ‘no’ to,” said Borg about the 42 recommendations by the Suicide Prevention Action Plan Evaluation.

“We do know that we need to do a better job of addressing the gaps and making sure that where we have a disconnect in different areas of the curriculum that we do a better job of aligning those curricular areas.”

Borg said the department does not currently offer programs to schools dealing specifically with suicide, but during her time in education, many initiatives have been developed to help students “develop resiliency” throughout their school years.

This includes providing an atmosphere within the school for students to feel safe and to approach staff if they are having difficulties.

She also talked about programs, such as Respect-Ed and Be Safe Kids, which deal with bullying and sexual abuse — both identified as contributing factors to mental health.

“Yes, it’s indirect, but it’s what we can do as educators,” said Borg, referring to the department’s mandate as it stands right now.

When asked during testimony if it would be helpful for her department to address suicide more directly, she replied, “I want to say yes.”

When a jury member asked her to comment on the difficulties faced by front-line educators in the North, Borg had to take a moment to collect herself before responding.

High turnover, she explained, makes it difficult for the department and school board officials to train new teachers on the challenges of working in the North, not to mention preparing them for the difficulties faced by northern students and the staggering drop-out rate.

The department, she said, is currently in the process of “re-aligning” the curriculum from kindergarten to grade 12.

“We know we need to update our health curriculum,” she said.

The jury, after hearing testimony from experts, public servants and family members of victims, is expected to provide recommendations on how to address the territory’s alarmingly high suicide rates at the inquest’s conclusion Sept. 25.