MLA presses for more youth shelters in Nunavut
Adam Arreak Lightstone points to hundreds of referrals to family services case workers for child abuse
Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone makes a call in the legislative assembly Tuesday for more child emergency centres in Nunavut. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
A Nunavut MLA is calling for more safe havens for youth across the territory, citing hundreds of referrals to case workers for child harm listed in a recent child and family services annual report.
“I hope the minister [of family services] will one day commit to child emergency shelters in our communities,” said Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone said in the legislative assembly Tuesday.
He noted the director of child and family services’ annual report for 2021-22 indicates there were 518 referrals for child sexual harm during that period, with 458 of these reported in the South Baffin region.
These numbers are included in a table that lists referrals for child services case workers to intervene in situations related to child protection, broken down by the type of harm reported. For example, there were 716 referrals for child physical harm; 1,519 for inadequate care and supervision; and 662 for exposure to family violence.
In the legislature, Lightstone highlighted the effectiveness of the Umingmak Centre for youth in Iqaluit. The Umingmak Centre provides support to youth while RCMP and child and family services investigated reports of child abuse.
Lightstone asked if there are plans to build or help create other child advocacy centres in Nunavut, or plans to assist the Umingmak Centre.
Family Services Minister Margaret Nakashuk agreed it would be good to have centres similar to Umingmak in smaller communities, as the GN relies on it as do other communities around Nunavut, but “There’s just not enough supports available for children and youth to try and keep them safe.”
Nakashuk said it’s not only the Department of Family Services that can address the problem of child sexual harm.
“It takes all of us,” she said. “It takes parents, it takes community members, it takes grandparents.”
She said her department works with other departments to ensure programs are in place.
A shortage of staff has also been an issue in the Department of Family Services, Nakashuk said.
She told Nunatsiaq News her department does not have current numbers on how many staff it needs to add, but noted it is trying to increase supports for staff.
On the first day of the legislature’s fall sitting on Oct. 19, Nakashuk apologized on behalf of the GN and the Department of Family Services for failing to protect vulnerable children in its care.
The apology followed a report from Canada’s auditor general, released in May, that was highly critical of the quality of care child and family services provided to vulnerable children in Nunavut between the period of Jan. 1, 2019, to May 31, 2022.
I am a little confused by the response from the Minister of Family Services. The blame goes to lack of staff.
I find it ironic that of all the employment opportunities listed is the current issue of this newspaper there is not one (1) job ad for Family Services.
Sounds like the Minister has crafted up a response that is acceptable to the assembly. Not good enough for the victims.
Accountability folks. Taima.
What a pathetic evil society. Yes more places for the abused children to go to, but what about fixing your pathetically life in Nunavut so that children grow up in good families. I think the World Health Organization and human rights should sweep right through The north, start a campaign to eliminate the evil vultures and culprits abusing children over and over, .
Majority of beneficiaries who have taken Nursing, Social Work programs with NAC end up taking either office, admin work, while the new certified SW end up preferring to work for the school as school counselors or youth committee, Pullariavik etc, due to either fear of being targeted by families they have intervened in or they just simply being offer more money or prefer not to work with long time SW employees who have are only in it for the money now and not the children’s life or elders that are being abused.
I would question the quality of these programs beneficiaries are taken or what’s available to them like the nursing school being in the north, with very low exposure in a teaching environment. I would think that a nursing teaching hospital should have that wide variety. Not every hospital can provide that environment, and it’s results could be a less than enough to benefit the future of that nurse, Do the same hospital have a medical teaching for physician? Usually the nurse and doctors are taught in a similar school. Concerned here for incompetence , making many shy away from hands on nursing.
I’m inclined to believe that many people do opt for the easier jobs, in lieu of being trained adequately. Head office desk, is not front line. There is too, an invisible almost, invitation for beneficiaries to advance , yet not ready to. It’s motivated by two aspects : one being the notion that beneficiaries need to be hurried into head office quickly to prove that things are going well. The other aspect is from the employee themselves, seeking to escape responsibilities if not trained to do the job in the first place, from poor quality programs.
As a previous nursing graduate from NAC, who has gone on to complete a Master’s in Nursing/Nurse Practitioner degree and work in various roles, including upper management, I can say that there is plenty of opportunity for learning and hands on care for the students during their studies. The skills taught to nursing students at NAC are actually advanced care skills that nurses in the “south” are not routinely taught through standard curriculum. As well, unless the program has changed, students do clinical rotations in various areas of health care throughout their studies and, later in the program, they spend a summer at the QEII Hospital in Halifax, so the Instructors at Dalhousie may also evaluate their skills, and a summer at a CHC in another NU community. We do not necessarily need a tertiary level teaching hospital to ensure well educated nurses-we need enough teachers to share the skills and students who are dedicated to their studies.
That’s very interesting and I’m not sure if you’re correct.
I also took the NAC Nursing program. NAC Grad is completely correct. My class did a clinical semester at QEII and the Nova Scotia Hospital. Our Dalhousie peers and instructors were consistently impressed with our clinical skills and knowledge compared to Dalhousie students. NAC students tend to get much more clinical time and 1:1 teaching. Almost the entire fourth year of the program is advanced practice courses that prepare you for the scope of practice of a CHN.
My classmates who work in southern hospitals have never had any issue keeping up with their colleagues who attended southern hospitals. The real reason many don’t go into clinical nursing with the GN? QGH and health centres are not competitive employers. You can get better compensation, benefits, and work environment almost anywhere else.
Youth Shelters are not the solution. The one here is Cambridge is so neglectful of their shelter residents, its very poorly managed by people who don’t care for our community but rather the money in their pocket is their driving force. The poor kids are neglected and not getting help.from anyone. Not more youth shelters, support programs that thr federal government cut money on. Its a sad orphanage that isnt helping the kids or parents. Don’t start institutionalizing children all over again. Oh My Goodness, scary neglectful nunavut government.
Theses shelters are only seem like that in the north. You’re not going to find too many around the country compared to other small communities. It’s because people love and care for kids. The way kids are abused in the north should be highlighted more around the world. What’s the problem in the north? Is that the way people deal with pass traumas, abused their kids. You had no respect for yourself , or your kids, and I don’t think you have any respect from people elsewhere in this country, when it comes to your raring of children. That not everyone, but it’s a many , too many.