Making amends in the Arctic
Trudeau pledges to take action on relocations, treatment of Inuit tuberculosis epidemic
IQALUIT, Nunavut — The federal government pledged Thursday to take steps to address the painful historical memories of Inuit who experienced relocations and mistreatment during the tuberculosis epidemic of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
The announcement came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat down with Inuit leaders and signed a joint declaration in Iqaluit — his first visit to the territories since the 2015 election — committing to multiple future meetings.
There is a lot of work left to address the unique social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues Inuit face every day, but progress is being made, Trudeau said.
“The Inuit-Crown partnership committee will play an important role as we take action on the priorities that matter to Inuit and Canadians,” he said.
The hard part begins now, said Natan Obed, the president of Canada’s national Inuit organization.
“We’re going to come together with senior officials that are going to decide how to craft action on things like land claim implementation, on health issues — whether it is suicide prevention or tuberculosis — housing and infrastructure or language and culture.”
Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett, Health Minister Jane Philpott and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos were also part of Thursday’s discussions about severe housing and health challenges in the North.
Indigenous people continue to face serious health challenges, including high rates of chronic and contagious diseases and shorter life expectancies, Health Canada data suggest.
Tuberculosis infection rates are about 50 times higher among the Inuit population compared to the general population, the department said last year.
Trudeau also met Thursday with Nunavut’s premier, Peter Taptuna, and made an impromptu visit to a local women’s shelter to drop off goods.
In the evening, the prime minister attended a community gathering at a high school attended by dozens of people, including a number of territorial and federal employees.
During the event, Trudeau was confronted by 34-year-old Zoya Martin — a biologist in the public service who is on maternity leave to care for her eight-month-old son, Parker.
She demanded to know more about what the government was doing about the problemplagued Phoenix payroll system, which resulted in more than 82,000 government workers being underpaid, overpaid or not paid at all.
Trudeau seems genuinely frustrated by the problem, Martin said.