What to do if you have concerns about the treatment of children in Nunavut
Anyone with information about child abuse and neglect is legally required to report it
The Government of Nunavut has several resources for making complaints about the treatment of children and youths in the territory. (File photo)
When a former caregiver with the Department of Family Services wanted to showcase the many problems she saw at the department’s foster care facility in Kinngait, she went to Facebook.
She posted photos from the facility showing dirty dishes, a cluttered bathroom and a toddler sleeping on the floor of an office using only a blanket and a window drape for bedding.
The post, published May 1, got some attention. As of Wednesday, it has 37 comments and 235 shares.
However, for Nunavummiut wanting to raise concerns about the treatment of children and the Department of Family Services’ work, there are other ways to do it.
Who should report child abuse or neglect?
Everyone.
Anyone who has “reasonable grounds” to believe a child might need protection has a legal duty under the Child and Family Services Act to report it to community social services workers or the RCMP.
Failing to make the report is punishable by a fine of $5,000 or imprisonment of up to six months, or both.
Who are the community social services workers?
They are the first-line Family Services employees stationed in each Nunavut community who gather the reports of child abuse and neglect and forward them higher in the department for further investigation and action.
In the reporting period of 2022-23, they received 2,504 complaints across Nunavut, excluding Kivalliq and South Qikiqtaaluk, according to the department’s annual report from that time frame.
Who should I reach out to if I have complaints about the department of Family Services?
The Department of Family Services recently created a phone number and email address for a “clear, respectful, and confidential” way to raise concerns about the department’s work.
Nunavummiut can send their concerns and inquiries to yourvoicematters@gov.nu.ca, or by phoning 1-844-FWCHILD (1-844-392-4453), and should receive a response within 14 business days from Family Services staff.
Is there an independent entity that can hear the complaints?
The territory’s Representative for Children and Youth can be another destination to express concerns.
Among other things, the representative is mandated by law to “assist and advocate” for Nunavut youth in relation to the services of any government department.
“We encourage anyone with a concern about services the child’s getting from the government in Nunavut, to address them with the department, but to reach out to us as well because our role is to make sure that children, youth and their families are being heard by the departments,” said Jarrett Parker, the office’s director of children and youth advocacy service.
The office worked on 84 individual advocacy cases in 2023-24, according to its annual report.
Even though under the law the office cannot act as a legal counsel, it can support the youth or their family in communicating with the government, will do a review and give recommendations to the government on how the situation can be resolved.
How bad is the situation in Nunavut Family Services?
It’s a crisis. At least, according to the Office of the Auditor General it is.
Since 2011, there have been four reports underlining the same issues related to staffing, funding, lack of oversight and other issues that contributed to “significant deficiencies” in the Department of Family Services’ work.
A 2025 followup report, which included a content warning as the material may “negatively impact readers,” says that while the department has made “initial actions” to address those issues, “much work remains to be done.”
“Anyone who has “reasonable grounds” to believe a child might need protection has a legal duty under the Child and Family Services Act to report it to community social services workers or the RCMP.
Failing to make the report is punishable by a fine of $5,000 or imprisonment of up to six months, or both.”
Id have to be making 5-10 calls a night, without exaggeration. There’s 5-10 year olds butt picking cigs every-single night around the offices that’s not the dead of winter and smoking them. There vandalism nearly daily. Every social worker in town already knows these kids have horrible homes. There’s no capacity to be able to deal with them though. RCMP cant do anything, social services cant do anything.
We have the same issue across our communities. Rampant youth neglect and abuse resulting in them lashing out with their own bad activities and vandalism. Those youth will become the same ones that grow up with no future neglecting their kids and the cycle continues.
There just isn’t the capacity to truly take on the issue. Minimal social workers because we don’t have an infinite budget, minimal shelters, let alone shelters that provide constructive activities and don’t group group troubled kids that then form a pack and go out causing havoc.
The issue isn’t even close to being touched on. The surface, unscratched.
Great comment, we need editorials of this caliber.
There are many young children *8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17) being inviting into male adult homes to smoke marijuana and hashish and this is being reported to SS and SS are not doing a damn thing about it. There are many underage children and teens going into their wooden shacks behind the parents home and are getting stoned on marijuana, hashish and also drinking beer, wine and liquor. Once again, SS are contacted and the following days these same young teenagers and young children are in the shacks smoking their drugs. There are many single parents within this community allowing their young sons to bring in other children and young teens to smoke marijuana, hashish and to drink beer, wine and liquor with the single parent. Once again, SS do talk to the single parent mother but still allow the young children to be at her home to smoke drugs. When are we as a Inuit culture going to learn that we can’t allow our underage children to smoke drugs with us or to consume any sort of alcoholic beverage with us. Such a SHAME!!!!!
Thank you for your honesty. Either the fathers of the children are going to have to become responsible or a birth control campaign started. The situation is criminal, will (has) ruin your community and is inherently abusive to half the population (all female).
It would also be nice if people who notice these things offer to help. Being a single parent, especially to multiple children, is very hard. Sleep deprivation causes severe mental disorders and you best believe a single parent to young children is sleep deprived to the max. Not condoning neglecting or abusing children, but a lot more support for parents is needed. Physical support.
No. This is a bail out. You choose to have children you couldn’t support. We do not need to further encourage such poor, irresponsible behaviour via more safety nets. Even worse having multiple when said person could likely not afford the first one.
When you can’t support a child you shouldn’t have it period. There’s already copious amounts of safety nets. How much do you honestly want hard working people who go to jobs that most don’t even enjoy in the day, lose a high percentage of their pay to taxes which then cover those safety nets.
How much more do you want to bleed the working populace who is making the responsible choice to earn income tyring to support their families. Why do we have to tax them more just to pay for someone who can’t stop having kids they can’t afford.
you have clearly never experienced the hardship of being abandoned with small children. More support for single parents is needed. I stand by my statement regardless of opinions like yours.
Also, go do ur TED talk for the women and children abused, graped, and neglected by their partner/parent and see how much they appreciate it. You have no idea the circumstances of the people who need help. All you care about is yourself and that is the problem with society today (as evident by your comment and all the thumbs down by people who don’t like helping their community). Btw I work too and so do many other single parents. You think a government subsidy does any help when you’ve had 4 hours of sleep for 17 months straight? Ha. You have clearly had a very charmed life.
Why aren’t you encouraging a healthier sleep pattern than 4 hours a night? You do know it’s your responsibility to put them to bed at a reasonable hour. That will leave you more time to sleep.
Because nursing a newborn or your baby – it doesn’t work like that?? Clearly many of you have no idea what it’s like to be solely responsible for baby’s and young children and hopefully you never do because you wouldn’t be able to cope.
I think the responsibility to raise and care for kids takes a whole community. The kids are bored and parents seem to be so busy to push them into activities that grow their minds. Yes, resources are limited but these kids need a chance to grow into healthy adults.
We all know kids fall through the cracks but those cracks are often the fault of the parents and the community for not wanting to upset anyone especially social services…