NWT Inuvialuit ready to support their child services | Polarjournal
Signed in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, the agreement was signed by (from left to right) NWT Minister of Health and Social Services Lesa Semmler, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, IRC President Duane Smith and Vice President Evelyn Storr. Photo : GC Aboriginals / Facebook

An historic financial agreement was signed last week to enable the Inuvialuit to develop their child and family support services. This agreement could pave the way for other Inuit communities to deal with this sensitive issue.

More than 500 million Canadian dollars (over 350 million euros) will be provided by the Canadian government to support and implement the Northwest Territories (NWT) child and family services.

This federal funding, spread over the next ten years and supplemented by a contribution of over C$200,000 (over 130,000 euros) per year from the territory, makes the Inuvialuit the first Inuit to be able to develop their own family and child support services.

“This historic agreement forges a path forward for Inuvialuit to rightfully determine how best to support the well-being of their families, reinforce their way of life, and strengthen ties within their communities, including by preserving children’s connections to their culture.”, states a press release issued on September 30 by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC). The latter is the representative body of the Inuvialuit, the Inuit of the Western Arctic.

According to a 2021 report by NWT Child and Family Services, 57% of the territory’s children and youth are Indigenous. Yet they account for 98% of the 1 044 children and youth in the care of Child and Family Services between 2020 and 2021. Illustration photo: Michael Wenger

Thanks to this agreement and the funding granted, the Inuvialuit will be able to develop and manage their own child and family support services, as provided for under the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Child, Youth and Family Services Act. Also known as Bill C-92, this legislation came into force on January 1 2020 and confirms the rights and jurisdiction of Canada’s Indigenous peoples with regard to child and family services.

In many ways, child protection is a real problem for communities in the North. In the absence of local facilities and staff, young people are often sent to institutions or families in the south of the country. Separated from their communities by thousands of kilometers, young people are unable to maintain a link with their families, their loved ones, their culture and even their mother tongue.

While this issue is common to all of Canada’s northern territories, the Inuvialuit, by signing this financial agreement, are setting a precedent for other Inuit groups to exercise their jurisdiction over child and family services.

The agreement was signed on September 30, a date that could not be more symbolic. It corresponds to the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. Celebrated every year in Canada, it aims to promote reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous communities, while commemorating the history of residential schools. The legacy of residential schools, and the placement of children far from their families, has only served to rekindle wounds that are still very much alive.

Hence the need for these communities to regain control of their child and family services, while ensuring that children and young people can remain in their communities of origin.

Mirjana Binggeli, Polar Journal AG

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