Nunavut suicide prevention plan focuses on supporting young people

Cabinet ministers, representatives from RCMP, NTI and Embrace Life Council sign five-year plan

Cabinet ministers and organization leaders gather at the legislative assembly Wednesday to sign the Inuusivut Anninaqtuq Action Plan – Nunavut’s five-year suicide prevention plan. From left: Culture and Heritage Minister Daniel Qavvik, Family Services Minister Margaret Nakashuk, deputy Premier Pamela Gross, Health Minister John Main, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Aluki Kotierk, Embrace Life Council executive director Cecile Guerin, RCMP Staff Sgt.-Maj. Pauline Melanson, Premier P.J. Akeeagok and Justice Minister David Akeeagok. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)

By Jeff Pelletier - Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A new suicide-prevention plan for Nunavut focuses on supporting and empowering young people, and comes with a signed commitment from the Government of Nunavut and other organizations.

Premier P.J. Akeeagok, Health Minister John Main and leaders from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., Nunavut RCMP and Embrace Life Council signed the Inuusivut Annirnaqtut 2024-2029 — a five-year plan for preventing suicides in Nunavut.

Main presented the 48-page document, which outlines 25 “action items” Wednesday in the legislature.

Some of the youth-focused items include developing Nunavut-specific strategies to prevent violence and bullying, promoting Inuit culture and wellness in schools, increasing youth participation at leadership tables, and developing safe spaces for youths in all communities.

Other strategies listed include increasing Inuit employment through training and career assistance, strengthening helpline services, and enhancing treatment services for substance use.

“It’s a really well-prepared and thought-out plan, and that’s why I am so excited and hopeful,” Main said, speaking to reporters.

According to information filed by Main in the legislature earlier this week, between 2010 and the first three months in 2024, there have been 451 suicides involving Inuit living in Nunavut.

During that same period, there were also seven suicides involving non-Inuit people.

The new plan was drawn up in consultation with young people, elders, mental health experts and Nunavut’s Inuit organizations, Main said, and builds on issues addressed in previous suicide action plans.

Akeeagok said a 2021 student protest in Iqaluit influenced the creation of the new prevention plan.

“They wanted action on suicide prevention,” Akeeagok said in the legislature.

“They wanted hope.”

Another theme of the new plan is accountability.

Each of the action items designates which Nunavut government department or organization is responsible for its implementation.

“This action plan really does speak to the importance of accountability through appropriate evaluation methods, and reporting and monitoring to ensure this action plan is doing what it’s intended to do,” said Opal McInnis, president of the board of Embrace Life Council.

“Our hope is to see the number of deaths decrease, but also to promote community resiliency, to see enhanced collaboration, to really see people working together, communicating more effectively when it comes to wellness issues.”

Here are resources for people in distress 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).

 

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(9) Comments:

  1. Posted by Go Figure on

    Addressing suicide prevention in Nunavut necessitates a committed workforce that fulfills their roles with professionalism and respect. I’ve observed numerous youth workers, wellness coordinators, and community counselors failing to uphold these standards, often engaging in unprofessional behavior, such as public intoxication or prioritizing personal interests over their responsibilities. The Government of Nunavut alone cannot shoulder this burden; it requires a collective community effort. These professionals must also take accountability for their actions and enhance their understanding of work ethics to better serve our communities.

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  2. Posted by MH Worker on

    As someone who currently works in mental health in Nunavut, its good to see any progress on these issues. However they mention that mental health professionals and workers were consulted on this when as far as I am aware not a single employee in our office was spoken to about what needs we are noticing in the community.

    I am sorry but this plan seems to have alot of nice strong language but I see nothing that will change what we are currently doing already. Mental Health senior management needs to start actually listening to those of us on the ground working with members in our communities instead of passing these useless acts that only serve to show that they “have done something”.

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    • Posted by Eye Sore on

      Holding an elder’s hand for appearances only, that’s all it is. Mr. Photo Ops/Traveling Man receives exclusively positive coverage; negative news is always ignored and has been for three years.
      Hopefully, he’ll quit and seek the NTI presidency. The Nunavut Government’s mess will persist for the next government.

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  3. Posted by unimpressed on

    I’d like to follow up on comment #2. If you download the strategy as a .pdf you can search it by keywords. Try searching it for ‘mental health’, ‘trauma’, ‘abuse’, alcohol’, ‘drugs’, and ‘substances’, and see what comes up. Not much. I look around my community at the mental health services that are actually available, especially for people suffering from intergenerational trauma, and I despair. There are plenty of ‘action items’ in this fourth Action Plan, but the elephant in the room is still not receiving the attention in requires if the suicide situation is going to improve. I also noticed that this new action plan presents no data. Have the first three Action Plans actually made a difference? Has the suicide rate gone down? We’re not told. Really nice layout, tho.

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  4. Posted by bewildered on

    Prevent Suicide?!!
    It will never work.
    Once a person is in a dark and lonely place, this person will eventually find a softer or harder way to end one’s life.
    You cannot Prevent a Suicide.
    We attempted suicide but failed.
    Those who died by suicide could not have been prevented or stopped.
    Word games.
    Photo Ops.
    Window Shopping.

    What will work is telling our stories of why we attempted suicide and start afresh.

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    • Posted by clearheaded on

      One of the goals of suicide prevention strategies is to take actions which result in their being fewer people ending up in dark and lonely places. Getting people help before they find themselves in crisis. The evidence is overwhelming that many, but not all, suicides can be prevented. Other places have done it, and we can too.

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  5. Posted by Debert on

    Great intentions. Unfortunately the people are not in place to deliver on them.
    At some point. The GN has to realize the that civil service is riddled. With incompetent employees.
    There are good people working for the GN. But far too few.
    The civil service of Nunavut. Is failing in all departments. The municipal governments are no better. I know so many people here in Nunavut. Whose lives could be so much better. But again I say incompetency, absenteeism with no remorse. For the people they serve. Incompetence by southern hires. And there are lots of them. They should face the same consequences. Start doing your job. Or see ya later.
    GN needs to stop hiding from the truth. And starting fixing the GD disaster!

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    • Posted by Pork Pie on

      Oh trust me, there is plenty of incompetence by people other than ‘southerners’ … of course lurching lazily into these kinds of tropes is to be expected when peoples minds are scattered and amped on emotion.

      The government has a roll here, but can’t always be looked at as the sole source of our salvation. There needs to be grassroots work on this at the community level.

      As an aside, it’s funny to announce an action plan to develop “Nunavut-specific strategies to prevent violence and bullying.” Good and needed, but the action plan it to develop action sometime in the future? Yea… wow, inspiring work.

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  6. Posted by Tooma on

    In any other places they go to church. But their churches are kept unimportant so as to keep it clean and have it operated. They make these too important here in Nunavut, churches where pastors can determine which person goes to to which church, but in different countries, it’s not as common for churches to make it more community activities within their villages. They make these to important, churches, suide prevention, it’s too much in Canada.

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