Feds cough up anti-violence funding

JOHN THOMPSON

Last week the federal government committed over $270,000 towards projects intended to curb crime in Nunavut.

Nancy Karetak-Lindell, Nunavut’s member of parliament, made the announcement inside the office of the Qulliit Status of Women Council on Friday, October 14. That money will go towards funding 13 different initiatives.

They include:

* In Iqaluit, the Qaggiq Theatre Company will provide the forum, “Crime in our Community: Theatre Workshops and Performances,” where youth will discuss issues like bullying, theft and vandalism, domestic abuse, gang activity, sexual assault and suicide. The project received $27,000.
* The Qulliit Nunavut Status of Women Council plans to host a symposium on violence against women in mid-January 2006 that will draw representatives from across the territory to Iqaluit. This project received $25,000.
* In Coral Harbour, the justice committee sponsored a land program to bring at-risk youth on the land to learn traditional skills and receive counseling. This project received $9,500.

Other sponsored crime prevention projects range from athletics, such as the Team Grizzlies of Kugluktuq, to arts, such as Beth McKinty of Iqaluit’s Artic Art Youth Initiative, which encourages children to express themselves creatively with paint.

Counseling services also received funding, like Cambridge Bay’s youth wellness and survivor workshop and Artic Bay’s anger management workshop.

“I say, and this comes from the bottom of my heart, that I’m proud of your accomplishments,” Karetak-Lindell said, addressing some of the funding recipients.

Nunavut’s education minister, Ed Picco, said there was a “terrible need” for programs that could steer children away from lives of crime.
“Many of Nunavut’s communities are becoming more violent,” he said. “We need to deal with this in a proactive way.”