MEDIA RELEASE
September 22, 2020
Iqaluit, NU – As part of the Representative for Children and Youth’s (Representative) 2019-2020 annual report, efforts were made by the Representative for Children and Youth’s Office (RCYO) to provide an overview of what it means to be a young Nunavummiut, in connection to Government of Nunavut (GN) services.
The intention of the Status of Young Nunavummiut section was “to provide baseline information that could be used by GN decision makers to inform their decisions and assist in providing a clear, collaborative direction as to the best way forward”, says the Representative, Jane Bates.
Based on information received from child- and youth-serving GN departments for this section, it is evident that basic information about these GN services is not being tracked accurately, consistently, or even at all, despite departmental policies. In some cases, inaccurate information was provided by the department’s own admission. Statistics that were provided highlight that more must be done to support and protect Nunavut’s young people. “Departments cannot continue to be complacent about the important role they play in the lives of young Nunavummiut and their families,” says Bates.
In the Message from the Representative section of the annual report, Bates connects the Status of Young Nunavummiut section with knowledge and observations made based on the office’s work, during her first year as the Representative. “The three most prominent things brought to my attention were that some Government of Nunavut employees are not being held accountable for their decisions and/or actions; that by not acknowledging and addressing the abuse that some children experience it is being condoned; and that there is an accepted complacency that this is ‘just the way of the North’ and action does not need to be taken to address arising problems.”
The RCYO’s 2019-2020 annual report was tabled in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut on September 21, 2020.
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Media Contact:
Kim Foster
Manager of Communications and Public Awareness
Representative for Children and Youth’s Office
867-975-5091 | kfoster@rcynu.ca
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