Tell us your troubles, Quebec ministers ask Inukjuak youth

Quebec government ministers usually head north from Quebec City to Kuujjuaq when it’s time for a public consultation on important provincial issue — but last Thursday Quebec’s ministers responsible for youth questions and native affairs went to Inukjuak where they heard what Nunavik youth want to see in the government’s new youth action strategy.

Jonathan Epoo, the president of Saputiit, Nunavik’s youth association, said he and representatives from other regional and local organizations laid all their cards on the table, so Quebec’s new strategy will better meet the needs of Nunavik youth, who make up about 60 per cent of the region’s population.

The province-wide consultation, which wraps up this month, is looking at 12 “strategic choices” for its youth action strategy, which will run from 2005 to 2008. Quebec says it intends “to improve the support offered to young people, improve their health and well-being, foster their educational success and integration into the workforce, and enhance the place they hold in society.”

“We told them about the realities we face, the language barrier,” Epoo said in an interview from Kuujjuaq about Saputiit’s presentation to the ministers. “And their funding programs and criteria — these need to change a bit, so we can tap into their programs. They’re more meant for the South.”

For example, travel costs aren’t usually included in youth project budgets. This is a huge hurdle for anyone in Nunavik who wants to do anything, Epoo said.

As well, the funding allocation used by Quebec to calculate subsidies is based on population size. This per capita formula works squarely against Nunavik’s smaller communities.

“This does not reflect our needs,” Epoo said. “We need to find a more fair system. We get penalized, yet we’re expected to reach the same results.”

At the consultation, the ministers heard about Nunavik’s high drop-out rate from school, social problems, the need for jobs, environmental concerns and social issues, such as suicide.

“They said they wanted to play an active role in suicide prevention, which was good to hear,” Epoo said.

Epoo said the ministers listened attentively to everything said, but made no promises. Still, in Epoo’s opinion, the meeting seemed to be more frank and open than usual.

During their brief stay in Inukjuak, the ministers also visited Inukjuak’s youth centre, where they heard from many youth about the programs offered there. The youth centre is in a renovated building in the community, and is equipped with a computer room as well as common space for other activities.