Health minister affirms ‘suicide crisis,’ but GN won’t declare public health emergency
Government, NTI implementing suicide prevention strategy tabled in October 2024
Health Minister John Main, left, and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. vice-president Paul Irngaut speak to reporters in Iqaluit on Wednesday about the two parties “reaffirming” Nunavut is in a “suicide crisis.” (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
The Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. agree the territory is in a “suicide crisis,” but Health Minister John Main says there is no plan to declare suicide a public health emergency.
Main and NTI vice-president Paul Irngaut said Wednesday they are “reaffirming” a crisis declaration that was made by then-premier Peter Taptuna in 2015.
“This declaration is coming out of the coroner’s inquest in Kimmirut which did call on the government to declare suicide a crisis,” Main said, during a news conference with Irngaut at the Nunavut legislative assembly.
“Today we’re reaffirming that yes, it is a crisis. Yes, it does demand our attention and demands that we do everything we can to address it.”
That coroner’s inquest, held in Kimmirut in April, looked into the death of George Arlooktoo from self-inflicted wounds following an encounter with the RCMP in 2019.
One of the 32 recommendations from the jury was that the GN should declare a suicide crisis.
A news release issued Wednesday revealed little that’s new other than the re-declaration of a suicide crisis.
It stated the territorial government, NTI, Embrace Life Council and the RCMP were working together to implement 25 “action items” identified in Inuusivut Annirnaqtut 2024-2029 — the five-year suicide prevention action plan the parties co-signed in October last year.
“We don’t want to focus on the news release because that’s not what’s going to help people,” Main said.
“What’s going to help people is the work that’s going to be driven through the action plan under those 25 action items.”
The 25 items outline tasks for various departments within the GN and the other organizations. They include improvements to housing, employment opportunities, services to treat addictions and mental health, and access to cultural activities.
Declaring suicide a public health emergency “was considered,” Main said.
“The chief public health officer (Dr. Ekua Agyemang) looked at the avenue of a public health emergency and that was not deemed to be the best approach,” Main said.
“I, as minister, do not have authority to dictate to the chief public health officer what should and shouldn’t be declared.”
Main emphasized suicide continues to “one of the most serious issues” in Nunavut, and that by reaffirming a crisis declaration people should “expect increased actions” from the GN and its partners.
Last year, a report Main provided to the legislative assembly showed there were 445 deaths by suicide in Nunavut from 2010 through the end of 2023.
He said Wednesday that a meeting is planned for next week to discuss implementing the action plan.
“We’re looking for opportunities now to move faster and to be more aggressive on suicide prevention,” Main said.
He and Irngaut both emphasized messages of hope.
“There’s help out there for people who have those thoughts,” Irngaut said.
Resources are available for people who need to talk with someone:
Kamatsiaqtut Help Line is Nunavut-specific and offers services in Inuktitut. Phone: 979-3333 for Iqaluit residents and 1-800-265-3333 for other Nunavummiut.
The First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Helpline: 1-855-242-3310 or chat online at hopeforwellness.ca.
Healing by Talking Program offers virtual long-term counselling services to Inuit across Nunavut: visit your local Health Centre for more information, or email healing@gov.nu.ca, or call toll-free at 1-888-648-0070 or 867-975-5367.
Talk Suicide Canada is available 24/7 for anyone who is experiencing thoughts of suicide. Call 1-833-456-4566 (24/7) or text 45645 (4pm to midnight ET).
PJ you made a lot of noise on mental health when you were trying to become leader and now you don’t even want to lift your small finger for those in need. MLAs and wannabes let’s remember this leaderless time for our territory. We need leadership not another picture!
current premier used suicide to get elected and fooled everyone
At least the premier gave his condolences https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/premier-offers-condolences-to-pond-inlet-following-3-deaths/
I don’t think the GN has any meaningful plans on addressing the suicide epidemic for Nunavut, hence why the GN will not declare a public health emergency, with no real plans in place the GN cannot, or will not.
Our GN is in such a deplorable state, all departments are running so dysfunctional and the turn over rate at the GN is ridiculous, it’s unsustainable to run a government with such high turnover rates. It’s no wonder it’s extremely expensive and difficult to get anything done at the GN. Something needs to be done, a major review needs to happen at the GN and start making improvements, pretending everything is running fine and dandy is not the right approach.
When 40 people share a two bedroom, what is suicide prevention going to do about that? When generations are wiped out either by residential school or the after man, what is suicide prevention going to look like then? When beer and wine stores open all over and there’s no rehab or harm reduction to go along with them, what will suicide prevention do about that? Look at the people who die by suicide and the barriers they face to be functional and self fulfilled and consider what preventative measures would look like then. The cpho hasn’t produced any of their mandated reports in maybe 8 years or longer now, don’t look to that rotating door of has been for solutions. Start empowering the youth of Nunavut to have fulfilling lives beyond working for the corporate bureaucracy that is the gn. Make life affordable for all people in Nunavut not just the 50% owners and the directors. Affordable housing, job stability, unions that work, create manageable goals, provide incentives for mental health workers who can create manageable lives and not burn them out in a month or two, creating a rotating door of mental health workers. Build up community members to fill rolls and support them in it. It’s sad when these towns are so poorly managed that we see trained Inuit face so much lateral violence that they can’t even work in their own home towns or in Nunavut at all. Suicide prevention is life promotion, and life in Nunavut only looks good for a select few Inuit and a lot of transient workers who can come and go when they please, when it all gets to be too much.
This means nothing without the declaration of a public health emergency and the associated responses and funding abilities that come with it. Are the existing woefully understaffed divisions expected to just work harder?
Add more pressure without adequate support, what could go wrong.
When tackling any problem, a clear vision of the nature of the problem and a plan to address the key risk factors is at least as important as the amount of $$$ available to be spent. Millions of dollars a year are being spent on suicide prevention in Nunavut. What’s working, and what’s not? There was no serious evaluation of the last implementation plan. John Main owns that. How is ITK spending all the money it gets from the federal government for suicide prevention activities. Why no evaluation? So many questions, so few straight answers. The Embrace Life Council was quoted in the media release as saying “What makes this action plan so special is that it isn’t just something created for youth – it was shaped by youth.” Is there a reason we don’t address all public health issues that way? What information is the youth playing such significant roles in shaping suicide prevention strategy in Nunavut being given about what has actually made a difference in the provinces, the US, or even internationally? Or do they just talk to their friends and listen to GN officials? So many questions.
Hopefully by now someone will recognize that paying consultants tens of thousands of dollars to point their fingers at problems is no longer a solution. that the NU QUITS campaign has been a void of government dollars to support masters students sleep better at night, that the TB stronger together without TB campaign derails any harm reduction when helping de-stigmatize TB. Perhaps creating affordable living conditions, offering healthy coping strategies alternative to smoking rather than sweeping it under the rug and praying that one person quits smoking by the campaign(I know the people who posed in the photos for NU QUITS all smoke in secret still even leaving the territory with the shame that they still smoke), maybe offering mental health support that is informed and consistent rather than pop psychology offered by whomever feels like an adventure to the north. Patients retelling their trauma to a rotating door of staff, the only staff staying unwilling to offer any useful or beneficial help. Shame based approaches to quitting smoking, “ending TB”, and “promoting mental health” are not giving any results and if they were maybe the CPHO would publish maybe even one report.
It’s time to stop creating lists of actionable items and start creating change in Nunavut. We’re 25 years old as a territory now, we should have our own legislation since NTI will never step up and take the role they were intended for. This cut/copy/paste of NWTs dated is still not beneficial to Nunavut in the same way that it wasn’t when Nunavut left NWT lol
This is simply another example of this government’s failure. Whether it is health, education, justice or housing. This government has failed to deliver on its commitment to action and on its promises. This is not about the good people desperately trying to do their jobs in these various agencies and departments. What it is, is this government that has done nothing but talk out both sides of its mouth, do photo ops, generate false and misleading information on progress and gaslight the people. All the while Nunavummiut continue to suffer. This government pretends to have plans, programs and projects. These issues are critical to the men, women and children of Nunavut. People are dying and that should be more important than politics. Yet we constantly find ourselves back at the starting point every time. What this government really is, is a boat without a motor or paddle, a skidoo without gas, a hunter without a weapon and a car without wheels. This government has failed on so many levels its mind boggling.
Is the GN and NTI doing everything they should… No.
But there is also a certain point that we need to help ourselves as well. Is just getting money and new boats and skidoos really helping? even when there was so much money pouring in from COVID then JP did suicide rates go down?
There are councilors in most high schools (or at least positions for them) is there any difference in attendance or suicide rates with the ones that have councilors? But is it really the councilors fault or is it that we all want the positions filled by Inuit but how many are being pushed (yes sometimes you need to push your family to do something to help the community) to stay in school and work hard and then go do more education till you can do it. Can you imagine going up to someone that hasnt gone hunting before (but they drive a skidoo intown) and telling them they need to go catch caribou for the town. it is all on them. so you buy them all the gear but no one teaches them or guides them to begin with. and this cant only be on the nice days. you also need to know how to handle the bad weather. but to learn, you need to be taught. Same works for any education and the bad weather is just the days you dont feel like going. Push them to go.
Inuit do get educated and guess what? the towns are so aggressive and cruel to the trained inuit that they leave for greener pastures. How then can we expect transients to leave their support systems, go to isolated towns and want to stay? I know Inuit lawyers, doctors, police, artists, scholars who all long to live and thrive in Nunavut but can’t survive there because they’re so ostracized by the town they can’t even get an oil change service paying top dollar when needed. The towns need healing, they need to be reintroduced to their worth and value and to not see other Inuit as competition in the way that capitalism would have them see others who are successful. Inuit excellence and knowledge, past present and future needs to be recognized as equally valuable to what capitalism sees as valuable, or more valuable in places like the north where it’s absolutely necessary. Then we can work toward harmony of valuing Inuit knowledge and western knowledge, upholding Inuit who maintain Inuit values and practices, while also cherishing Inuit who are trained in western trades and skills.
Hear Me, you are right, 10,000 Inuit live in the south, I wonder why, greener tundra, suicide rates highest in Canada, social chaos,
The second largest population of Inuit is not in Nunavut we know this. Nunavut has too much structural violence. The largest population of Nunavut we know is so disconnected from Inuit culture as well, where assimilation and integration has take hold, and there is a loss of cultural identity. I listen when people talk about their experience and incorporate it into my narrative. Inuit no matter where they live, what language they speak, should be able to reconnect or stay connected with their culture. Inuit with voices need to speak up for Inuit ways of life, because clearly indoctrinating western ways is not sustainable, livable or enjoyable. Inuit have a lot to offer and bring to the table. navigating the waters on how that looks is tricky but has to be done by more than just the minister of health. I believe it’s a collaborative effort of all Inuit and people in Nunavut to live, work and enjoy life in Nunavut. It takes the steps of being kind and tunganaq to everyone, inclusive and welcoming, generous and prepared. All management in all fields need to look in the mirror and ask themselves how life in Nunavut should look to benefit everyone including themselves. All resident Inuit need to reach out and find community and provide community. Capitalism or capitalist mentality is not going to work in a society where there is heavy reliance on government provisions. where self determination is a figment of the leaders imagination. Community needs to come together form and take care of each other.
But unfortunately culture is lost if your not around others that also practice the culture. It is even happening in some towns in Nunavut (Iqlauit, Rankin, Cambridge) where less and less are getting on the land and living the culture.
But this is not only for Inuit, a lot of Canadians originally came from England… but they dont follow the English culture anymore. Being around people of the same culture does not mean you will learn if you dont try to.
My son ended his life.
My neighbour’s son ended their life.
My other neighbour’s son ended their life.
Another neighbour’s niece ended their life.
None of them were living in overcrowded conditions or obvious alcohol abuse. They all went to school.
In the last decade, all the money thrown at prevention couldn’t help these young people.
Society itself has to change to the point where each of us feel comfortable talking about our problems, without the stigma.
Our children shouldn’t become an abnormal statistic.
My dad’s whole generation died by suicide, none of them faced either of those problems exclusively. Mental health is not only affected by one problem housing, or alcoholism. These people are people not statistics. Every year in high school we had 2-3 deaths by suicide. To the point where any death was classified as suicide by the RCMP. Mental health encompasses all of what it means to be human, a holistic approach therefore should be taken, through an Inuit lens. Not a cognitive behavioural therapy lens.
I am sorry to hear of your losses. The non-binary have a very high suicide rate in many jurisdictions, and Nunavut is no exception.
I hope that someday we will be more accepting and welcoming of gender-nonconforming Inuit.
There is no suicide prevention without resolving the housing crisis, the employment crisis, the underlying lack of an economy, the issues with the education system. Hopelessness breeds trauma breeds suicide. How many more decades?
There’s truth to what you are saying, at the same time this is a limited and limiting perspective that doesn’t capture all of the issue. In fact I suspect it misses important and deeper factors that seem to be too easily ignored.
GN or NTI can’t stop suicide. Humans need to take care of themselves and stop it, there is resources and medications. Square minded comments above don’t change things in the universe. Your not so intelligent after all.
Emile Durkheim would disagree with your triangle minded comment.
Minister Main and Minister Nakashuk.
Suicide continues to take the lives of our loved ones—our youth, our friends, our relatives. These are not people without family or support. These are people who are loved. People who simply don’t see the point in opening up, because too often, no one is truly there to listen or stay.
We keep hearing statements, declarations, and press conferences. But what we don’t see is action that feels real or rooted in our communities. People come and go—mental health staff rotate, counselors are rarely the same faces, and the support feels distant. It’s hard to trust a system when it doesn’t feel consistent or connected to our lived reality.
Meanwhile, we have a long list of vacant frontline positions in communities—mental health workers, social workers, local counselors. But somehow, there’s no shortage of deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers collecting large salaries in Iqaluit and Ottawa. Where is the accountability? What happened to the mandates and promises they brought with them when they were hired or promoted? Are they truly walking alongside communities, or just showing up when tragedy puts a spotlight on their department?
This isn’t meant to point fingers—it’s a plea. A personal one. Our people are hurting. Our RCMP, our nurses, our remaining local staff—they are burning out, too. Everyone is stretched. And we are losing more lives while action lags behind.
We need long-term, full-time, culturally safe mental health services that are embedded within communities—not flown in. We need Inuit and community members trained and empowered to be part of the solution. We need the departments that oversee these mandates to be more than reactive—we need them to lead with presence, compassion, and courage.
This isn’t just about health. It’s about housing, poverty, employment, trauma, and healing. It’s about making our people feel seen, heard, and worth fighting for—not just in reports, but in real life.
Please—we need more than reaffirmed words. We need action, presence, and change that reaches the people who need it most, before we lose more of them.
The suicide emergency is primarily an education and skills training emergency. For the modern world schooling needs structure and kindly discipline. It needs to start in early grades in school because its traditional absence simply doesn’t work in a modern community. That was not necessary in pre-settlement living because it was enough just to survive–and you managed not to starve to death.
My bestest friend of all friends died by suicide. He wasn’t into alcohol or drugs, didn’t have mental health problems. He commited suicide when his partner ended their relationship. And some of my friends also commited suiced over females. Not just a health problem, but sometimetimes a broken heart problems.
I disagree with the decision not to announce a public health emergency suicide crisis in Nunavut. As per the story above 445 deaths as a result of suicide in 13 years is too many. How many were not reported as suicide? I have actively engaged with the minister sharing some of my thoughts as to what Nunavut could do. I sent two very detailed emails. I heard nothing back. Recently while attending CASP National Suicide Prevention Conference in Toronto I was made aware of what the Government of BC have done to create a clinical suicide prevention framework. Statistics suggest that most people that die from suicide have engaged with health care. I suggested to the Minister that a committee could be struck in Nunavut to create a similar framework here in Nunavut. I am interested in actual action, rather than just more money. Please see the BC framework here: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/SuicidePrevention_Framework.pdf
Reading all the comments l, trying to give out solutions to the problem and I appreciate that. But one isnt spoken enough is loneliness
Suicide is a nasty nasty word. Suicide not the answer to your problems, it does not end the pain. Suicide transfers the pain to the ones who loved you most, your pain ends up living in them for the rest of their lives. Suicide is the easy way out, it is very selfish.
Feelings and emotions are temporary, they come and go as they please and with time you learn to deal with them in a healthy manner.
If you are having difficulty with your feelings and emotions, please reach out for help someone can teach you ways to cop with them in a healthy way that does not harm yourself or others.
May we all find the strength to keep living during difficult times in our life.