GN terminates Iqaluit girls’ group home contract
New contract in place to run territory’s only group home, Department of Family Services says
The Ilagiittugut girls’ group home, pictured here, is no longer operated by Halifax-based company Shift, after the Department of Family Services terminated the contract last month. (Photo by Emma Tranter)
The Government of Nunavut says it has ended its contract with the operator of the territory’s only girls’ group home.
The Family Services department had a contract in place with Shift, a Nova Scotia-based company, to run the Ilagiittugut girls’ group home in Iqaluit.
Department spokesperson Tony Canny said in an email the department terminated that contract and a new contract is in place.
He did not comment on who is currently operating the girls’ group home, or why the contract with Shift ended.
“The department is committed to continuously evaluating programming to ensure that children and youth in care receive the best possible care,” Canny wrote.
“This means that any current clients are receiving the most appropriate services according to the most recent evaluations.”
Canny said representatives from the Department of Family Services declined an interview for this story, citing privacy reasons.
Shift did not respond to interview requests from Nunatsiaq News.
Ilagiittugut is an eight-bed home that provides 24/7 residential care for female youth between the ages of 12 and 19 from across Nunavut.
The home was previously closed in 2016 after the then-service provider’s contract ended and a new one could not be found.
why dont they just hire locals instead of hiring people from halifax to do government work? jeez
Because most locals are inconsistent, don’t show up at unexpected and unscheduled times. To make an operation run it is almost impossible to rely on them.
Valid point. Need to find a way to culturally incorporate modern day “work” into inuit lifestyle. Family and spending time out on the land will always take priority over the southern concept of “work”, which is still new to most inuit.
Isn’t it a bad idea to publish the location of the group home for young girls?
It isn’t hidden. Do you live in Iqaluit? It is impossible to have a secret location for something here.
The girls attending the home need cultural care. They need elders and role models from their own culture. Halifax should never have had that contract. So many things just don’t make sense when it comes to government decisions and contracts being awarded.
What makes you think they didn’t get the appropriate care?
Perhaps (and I don’t have any facts), they do provide it and the contractor hires Local people to do the job.
If you have facts about this, then say so.
They didn’t hire many locals. In fact, the only local I know of who was hired was a creepy older man who sometimes worked overnight shifts.
Valid notion.
Most likely GN can’t find qualified locals with the proper education and experience.
They can’t hire local people if they aren’t qualified, you can just let anyone in there, these are young girls who need to be protected. People speak on here with no knowledge of what is actually happening, again no common sense.