Nunavut Justice department promotes remedies under family abuse act

Barbara Ann Tierney, manager for the Family Abuse Intervention Act and community justice for the Nunavut government, says remedies are available for early and emergency intervention when it comes to violence in the home. (PHOTO COURTESY B. TIERNEY)

The Government of Nunavut wants to remind Nunavummiut of the legal tools they can use to address violence in their homes.

And that’s a good thing, says the president of the national Inuit women’s organization, because most women don’t know what those tools are or how use them.

“I was there when the act first launched, but then I never heard anything after that,” Pauktuutit President Rebecca Kudloo said April 26.

“There has really been no information for people who want to use it. At our [missing and murdered Indigenous women] pre-consultation meetings, women had little awareness of how it works and the laws available to them.”

The GN seems to be trying to remedy that.

Barbara Ann Tierney, manager for the Family Abuse Intervention Act and community justice for the Government of Nunavut, said in an interview April 22 that her department wants people to start talking about family abuse and to understand that there are legal remedies available.

The justice department issued a news release to that effect April 13 outlining those remedies.

The Family Abuse Intervention Act has had a bumpy history.

A 2010 report commissioned by the Nunavut government said the act was “failing” mainly because liaison workers in the communities who were supposed to help guide applicants through the process were not properly trained.

But Tierney said those community justice outreach workers, as they are called, are now better trained and able to do the job.

Under the family abuse act, Nunavummiut who are suffering from domestic violence might be eligible for a community intervention order (CIO) or emergency protection order (EPO)

Both are signed by a justice of the peace and enforceable by local RCMP, but they are quite different.

If you are suffering from serious violence and need immediate protection, you can contact a local outreach worker and apply for an emergency protection order.

According to the justice department, every Nunavut community has a community justice outreach worker and you can find them online here or you can contact the hamlet office to get the number.

An emergency order allows for many things, but its main purpose is to remove the alleged abuser from the home and prevent that man or woman from going near the person who applied for the EPO, or the family home.

But if you fear violence and it’s not yet an emergency, and your partner is willing to participate in creating a healthier relationship, you could opt for a community intervention order instead.

With a CIO, both partners come together and, over a series of sessions, plan a course of action that could include addictions treatment, anger management or other such counselling with local elders or other qualified community members.

The CIO plan is then approved by a justice of the peace which binds both parties to complying with the order.

Community intervention orders are a means to help keep families together and incorporate traditional Inuit values, Tierney said.

“Recognize what is abuse and do something about it, ask for help while the problem is still manageable,” Tierney said.

Former MLA Jeannie Ugyuk said in 2013 that she felt the act was contributing to homelessness in Nunavut, but Tierney said it’s about creating a safe haven for victims of violence.

“We have a right to be safe. The Family Abuse Intervention Act is about keeping people safe, not tearing families apart. It’s about knowing someone is there to support you in the process.”

But despite the intention of the community intervention order to prevent the escalation of violence in the home, people in Nunavut aren’t using them.

According to statistics provided by the GN’s justice department, there was only one application for a community intervention order in 2014-15 and only one granted — in Coral Harbour.

Instead, Nunavummiut facing violent situations at home — most of whom are women, according to Tierney — opt instead for emergency protection orders.

The statistics show that 69 Nunavut-wide EPO applications were made in 2014-15 and 68 granted.

More than half — 36 — were granted in Kivalliq. Baker Lake topped out with 15 followed by Rankin Inlet with nine and Arviat with six.

In Baffin, a total of 21 EPOs were granted with Arctic Bay leading the pack with six and then five each for Iqaluit and Cape Dorset. Kitikmeot residents were granted 11 EPOs last year. Cambridge Bay led with five.

It’s clear that Nunavummiut need help to escape violence. Statistics Canada just released a report that says Nunavut still leads the country in rates of spousal violence.

Kudloo said in light of that report, and growing awareness around the topic of missing and murdered Indigenous women, a news release about the abuse act is not enough.

She recommended that Nunavut justice better advertise and promote CIOs and EPOs in the communities, with call-in radio shows or public meetings lead by justice outreach workers and RCMP members.

What are women supposed to do on weekends when abuse is more common and offices are closed? Kudloo asked. Can they still call an outreach worker on Saturday morning?

And while she supports the idea of keeping families together, Kudloo said it’s often impossible to access mental health treatment programs for addictions and trauma in small communities, so community intervention orders might be an ineffective tool to stop violence.