Photo: Nunavut MP talks about culturally-sensitive mental health services

Leona Aglukkaq, the Nunavut MP and federal minister responsible for the Arctic Council, speaks at the March 25 opening in Iqaluit of a circumpolar wellness symposium that brings together representatives from the Arctic Council’s eight member states and its indigenous permanent participant organizations. “We recognize that this is an issue that affects the entire circumpolar North,” Aglukkaq said, saying the people of the Arctic want mental health services based on the needs of their communities that take their particular cultures into account. She also pushed for the involvement of youth in tackling mental health issues. The symposium continues until March 27. (PHOTO BY JIM BELL)