Report highlights gaps, innovations in northern mental health care
National report calls for federal spending and to write mental health care into law
A new report from the Canadian Mental Health Association says innovations like Inuit paraprofessionals, a mobile addictions treatment program, and the new Inuit-designed addictions and treatment centre in Iqaluit demonstrate change is coming to mental health services. (Image courtesy of the Canadian Mental Health Association)
“Change is coming” and more culturally appropriate mental health supports are becoming available in Nunavut, according to a recent report on the state of Canada’s mental health system.
The Canadian Mental Health Association report, The State of Mental Health in Canada 2024, says more innovative services are being provided in Nunavut, which has the highest rates of suicide and self-harm in the country.
Innovations — including Inuit paraprofessionals trained to provide mental health support, an on-the-land-based mobile addiction treatment program near Cambridge Bay, and an Inuit-designed addiction and treatment centre being constructed in Iqaluit — are noted in the report.
But the place where a person lives in Canada still matters when it comes to the services available to them, said Leyna Lowe, national senior research and policy analyst at CMHA.
“This report tells us that people receive drastically different care depending on their home province or territory and that people across Canada are doing worse in some places, particularly in the north and in rural parts of Canada, and distress is higher among Indigenous and racialized populations,” Lowe said in a news release on the report.
In October, the Nunavut government announced a five-year plan to prevent suicides and support young people.
The plan outlined 25 action items that included strategies like promoting Inuit culture in schools, increasing employment, and strengthening helpline services.
Despite the province of Québec reporting the highest rates of good mental health across Canada, Indigenous populations experience a high suicide rate and face disproportionate levels of inadequate housing.
“In 2019, the rate of suicide in Nunavik, northern Québec, when adjusted to 100,000 population, is 177.1 compared to Québec’s overall suicide rate of 13.1/100,000,” the report said.
It noted 27 per cent of the Nunavik population live in housing that requires major repairs and 47 per cent live in housing that is considered crowded.
In Nunavut, the study found a rate of self-harm nearly six times higher than the national average of 64.9 incidents per 100,000 population.
The rate of death by suicide in Nunavut was nearly seven times the national average.
“The data on service access are scarce, but we know that Nunavut has about one-third the mental health, addictions and substance use health care providers compared to the national average,” the report says.
The CMHA report calls on the federal government to write mental health care into law to guarantee funding and to invest 12 per cent of health care spending in mental health, addictions, and substance-use services.
As someone who has lived through challenges and sought counseling to cope, I see the importance of having consistent, experienced mental health support in Nunavut. It’s vital to have someone physically present in the community, not just fly-in psychiatric nurses or doctors, to avoid having to retell your story repeatedly.
Unfortunately, many youth mental health workers hired in Nunavut are in their early 20s and lack the life experience needed to truly understand the struggles people face. Elders, who used to be pillars of support, are often burdened with their own challenges—raising grandchildren or coping with adult children relying on their pensions.
So, where can people turn? While we have options like the ELC, PFC, or school counselors, there are concerns about the qualifications and behavior of some staff, such as public intoxication. For these centers to truly serve the community, the Government of Nunavut needs to ensure their mandates are clear and their staff maintain a positive public image to build trust.
If we want to address the high suicide rates, we need better resources, consistent support, and people who are equipped and trusted to help.
“If we want to address the high suicide rates, we need better resources, consistent support, and people who are equipped and trusted to help.”
I think knowing why someone has emotional problems is more useful. It helps most to know the problem
If you are able to help – by identifying the reasons for your own challenges or by relating the direct reasons for suicide by someone close to you – what specific or general items are on those lists?
Thank you for the question. While understanding the root causes of emotional struggles is certainly important, addressing high suicide rates requires more than just knowing ‘why.’ People need access to consistent resources, trained professionals, and trusted, local support systems to work through these challenges effectively.
I can personally recall at least half a dozen individuals whom I have know since they were a small child, who took their own lives because they lacked access to one-on-one counseling. In smaller communities, mental health staff often work remotely or only come to the community after a suicide or death has occurred. This reactive approach doesn’t provide the consistent, preventive support that’s needed.
We cannot force people to avoid substances, but it’s worth noting that three of the suicides I’m aware of involved individuals under the influence of alcohol or hard drugs. Prevention requires us to address these gaps in mental health services while also recognizing the broader issues that contribute to substance use and emotional distress.
Sorry for your losses, ‘GF’; it has been a struggle here also
Regarding your comment: “I can personally recall at least half a dozen individuals whom I have know since they were a small child, who took their own lives because they lacked access to one-on-one counseling” no one is suggesting that therapy can’t be helpful or that therapy doesn’t come in many forms
Treatment, whether through internal changes (attitude and perspective we’ll say), circumstances (removing roadblocks to acquiring basic physical needs, for example), externally (through advice or medication, for example) can be best administered when one knows the causes of emotional duress ALL the answers lie within.
How can you expect consistency when the GN seems to go out of its way to alienate nurses?
Continuous casual contracts have been eliminated, which means you had people willing to go up on a regular rotation who will no longer have access to benefits or a pension, as they are now casual employees.
Duty travel usually takes more than six months to pay out what nurses are owed.
Regular pay is often wrong, or features ‘corrections’, like being charged multiple months of rent after supervisors assured nurses that given the conditions in their quarters, they wouldn’t need to pay.
Managers are often overtly hostile to agency staff,
Consistency is a function of retention, and despite such a heavy cultural focus on family, residents of the territory seem remarkably embittered when medical staff fly south on a regular basis to see their families, children, and loved ones.