Latest news with #Nunavik
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Catching Babies at Home – Cree midwifery celebrates historic milestone
An amendment to provincial regulations governing midwifery that took effect May 22 enables Indigenous trainees in community-based programs to provide full perinatal care throughout pregnancy, birth and new life. The change follows a campaign by the Cree Health Board, the Inuulitsivik Health Centre, the Ordre des sages-femmes du Québec and other organizations. 'We changed the law,' said Jasmine Chatelain, managing director of the CHB midwifery education program. 'Now our students are no longer limited and can learn all requirements for becoming a licensed midwife. The by-product is that Indigenous people can become midwives.' The health board's groundbreaking midwifery training program, Eeyou Istchee Pimâtîsuwin Chiskutimâchuwin (EIPC), launched last July with four learners in Chisasibi and one in Waskaganish. But they were legally restricted from delivering a baby and other procedures, such as injections and vaginal exams. The CHB hired students as Primary Care Community Representatives to provide counselling, take blood pressure, weigh babies, and check an unborn baby's position in the womb. Learning side-by-side with practicing midwives, they supported childbirth with what Chatelain calls 'four-handed catches'. 'Our program is focused on learning by doing so every single client has a student who follows them,' Chatelain explained. 'They do all the pre-natal and post-natal visits, a lot of the counselling and education, partly because they speak Cree. Our students can go on medevacs when women are transferred in labour or for something urgent.' However, before the regulatory change, only students in a Trois-Rivières university program and immigrating midwives in approved bridging programs were allowed to perform many professional acts. Despite Nunavik's longstanding community education program, Indigenous trainees were completely omitted from the law. The Ordre des sages-femmes du Québec regulates midwifery acts in the province, and were instrumental partners in lobbying the government to change the law. The OSFQ also collaborated with the EIPC program to ensure Cree graduates have equivalent competencies to university programs. 'We could not have done this without them,' Chatelain asserted. 'They've been very outspoken about being in this tricky position, responsible for public safety and wanting to be part of reconciliation, supporting Indigenous self-determination.' Several individuals and organizations issued letters of support for the regulatory change, including the National Council of Indigenous Midwives. It currently applies to four Indigenous midwifery programs running in Quebec's Cree, Inuit, Akwesasne and Innu communities. While expectant mothers from Nunavik were sent to Moose Factory starting in the 1970s, women began refusing to leave and communities mobilized to create the Inuulitsivik Midwifery Service in 1986. The EIPC program worked extensively with Inuulitisivik education coordinator Kimberly Moorhouse and her team to develop its curriculum. As the self-paced program requires trainees to attend 60 births, they will have access to clinical learning opportunities outside of the region to increase their birth volume, such as the Inuulitsivik Health Centre or Val-d'Or hospital. Expanding their exposure to different skill sets and environments will better prepare trainees to expect the unexpected. 'In Chisasibi now, we're doing 85% or 90% of pregnancies,' said Chatelain. 'Once a month, students lead a breastfeeding drop-in and it will be up to 30 people showing up. Every time the students do something public, we have an amazing turnout, so the community is really responding to it.' By the end of March, the Chisasibi trainees had accompanied 22 births, 300 pre-natal visits, 177 post-natal visits and 45 school workshops and community health education activities. Pre-natal and post-natal midwifery services expanded to Waskaganish last September, with births expected to begin towards the end of this year. Midwives are already doing 80% of follow-ups. One student began in Waskaganish in March with another to be added when capacity is available. A third birthing hub will eventually be developed in Mistissini. 'In labour, mothers are going right into their maternal language so having people there who can speak with them is incredible,' said Chatelain. 'There's a level of empathy. These students know what it's like to have their baby in Val-d'Or so can connect with these women in a way no other midwife can.' The EIPC program began with a week on the land, making a teepee, gathering medicines and learning traditional ceremonies. Elder Jane Matthew has shared her wealth of lifetime experience, from catching her first baby at about age 7 to her last one three years ago at age 91. 'We did a demonstration of how it was done a long time ago when women gave birth in the teepee,' recalled student Linda Gray. 'There was a placenta ceremony and naming ceremony. That helped me connect with my roots. It was awesome how the course started off.' Gray embodies the commitment of Cree midwives to reclaim the traditional practice, moving from Mistissini last summer to join this first cohort. Coming from a lineage of midwives, Gray has experienced the joy of witnessing babies being born surrounded by their families without having to leave their community. Although there are challenges participating in a program that continues to evolve and being on call all week to meet mothers, Gray wouldn't have it any other way. She believes bringing births back to the territory makes family bonds stronger with young fathers becoming more involved. 'When you catch that baby you're overjoyed,' Gray said. 'My first baby I attended to, I was crying with the little girl there at the birth of her sister. It's magical. We have a planned teepee birth this summer, so I'm excited for that. It will be my first time.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Kativik Regional Government requests audit of Nunavik police
The Kativik Regional Government (KRG) has passed a resolution requesting an audit of the Nunavik Police Service. The resolution, passed Thursday, calls for a review of police operations and ways to make policing better reflect Inuit culture. The audit request follows two fatal police shootings in seven months — in Salluit in November, and Kangiqsualujjuaq earlier this month — the latter being the 16th police-related death in Nunavik since 2017. Police chief Jean-Pierre Larose said he is in full support of a review. "We are transparent and maybe [we need] somebody who thinks outside the box … to help us find solutions and improvements," he said. KRG is asking the Makivvik Corporation to help it find an auditor, who would report back to the council by fall 2025. Mylène Jaccoud, a professor of criminology at Université de Montréal, was in charge of Indigenous policing issues in the Viens Commission inquiry. That was launched in 2016 by the former provincial Liberal government after allegations of police misconduct against Indigenous women. She said the audit is a good step, though it should look at structural transformation of the policing model in Nunavik, rather than just the operations. She said the problems with the Nunavik Police Service are well-known and don't need further study. "We know that there is a problem of underfunding. We know that we are still waiting for the recognition of [Indigenous] police as an essential service," she said. "If we want to address this problem of the absence of Inuit police officers, it's absolutely necessary to change the policing model … a police [model] which is not oriented toward repression, but seen as a police who is very close to the communities that they share." The police chief however, doesn't believe the police model needs reform, and reiterated his pledge to implement every recommendation from investigations into the shooting in Salluit, once those final reports are presented. "Certainly we can improve it or adjust it, but right now we have positive results," Larose said. Community policing model Jaccoud said she doesn't believe the Nunavik Police Service is a truly autonomous Inuit police service — rather, that it's a southern-style team that happens to have oversight from KRG, the regional authority in Nunavik. "The majority of police officers are police officers from down south and I think that the change of governance should go to work on a real autonomous Inuit police service," she said. During the Viens Commission inquiry, she pitched — unsuccessfully — for a specific police school or training program for Indigenous police officers. Larose said the Nunavik Police Service is restarting a cadet program in a bid to recruit more Inuit, though he recognizes the challenges of Inuit policing Inuit communities. "They know everybody. They have relatives, cousins, parents and it's hard for them … and I understand they're kind of isolated from their community being a police officer. So we have to work on that," he said. In terms of solutions to how policing works in Nunavik, Jaccoud looks to other provinces for inspiration. Ontario has an inspector general of policing, who's tasked with ensuring policing regulations are followed, as well as a complaints agency. In several western provinces, there's the Hub model, which was pioneered in Prince Albert, Sask., in 2011. It's a multi-agency intervention that mobilizes social services for those in need before harm is done. "They just share information, they work together, they meet weekly, they plan together, action plans and appropriate intervention. That kind of model of policing is more oriented toward prevention than repression," she said. More funding in tripartite agreement Last month, the Nunavik Police Service received a five-fold increase in funding through a tripartite agreement between the KRG, Quebec and federal governments. The renewal of the agreement, from 2024 to 2029, is worth $562 million. Larose has previously spoken out about the lack of resources for the Nunavik Police Service. He said this new funding can help them bring on more officers and investigators, offer higher salaries to address staff retention, and provide more cultural awareness training. "I would like my police officers to get involved in the community, and families, at least two days per year to work with them, to go on the land, to do some activities with them, to better understand their lifestyle and their culture," he said. Another priority for him, he said, is expanding the mobile intervention model, currently in place in Puvirnituq, Que., which pairs police officers with social workers.
CBC
7 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Villages across Nunavik want utilidors for water: but there's barriers
Regional authorities say they've explored the idea of utilidors for many years in Nunavik, but there are two main barriers: money and permafrost. Samuel Wat explains.
CBC
28-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Teachers vote to approve deal with Nunavik school board
Social Sharing Teachers and support workers in Nunavik have overwhelmingly voted in favour of an agreement-in-principle with Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, the region's school board. The Association of Employees of Northern Québec (AENQ), which represents the teachers and support staff, and the board announced Wednesday they'd reached the agreement earlier this month, narrowly avoiding a strike. In this latest round of voting, 90 per cent of teachers and 95 per cent of support staff were in favour of the deal. "We're relieved, even though we knew our members were going to approve the agreement," said Larry Imbeault, AENQ president. "We're relieved that we didn't need to put more pressure and ultimately go on strike." Background check issue resolved The parties had been negotiating for more than 30 months. One of the final sticking points was the period of time teachers would have to respond to a request of a criminal background check. The board wanted the power to break a contract and effectively fire the employee if they hadn't responded within 10 days. The union was concerned the response window was too short and that it could lead to people losing their jobs if they simply hadn't checked their emails on time. The parties finally agreed that the school board would inform the union for every request of a background check. "We framed this provision a bit more to allow the union to defend its members if necessary," said Imbeault. "Of course we would have preferred what we'd asked for at the start … [but] both the union and members are satisfied with this compromise." In the coming weeks, the school board and the AENQ will be working together to finalize the collective agreement, which will then be brought to teachers. That agreement will run until March 31, 2028, with the next round of negotiations expected to start in October 2027.
CBC
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Leaders across Nunavik want utilidors for water. Experts say it's not easy.
Social Sharing As Puvirnituq, Que., continues to grapple with its water shortage, officials are looking at permanent solutions to aging infrastructure across Nunavik. On Monday, a state of emergency was extended for another 10 days. In the past, leaders across Nunavik have called for utilidors to be installed in their communities. Those are corridors for providing utilities like water either underground or above ground. Hossein Shafeghati, the public works director at the Kativik Regional Government (KRG), said that's an avenue they've considered for many years, but there are two main barriers — money and permafrost. In 2019, a feasibility study for utilidors just in Kangiqsualujjuaq — an average-sized Nunavik village with a population of under 1,000 — estimated the cost to be $170 million. "With the inflation we have had in construction projects … if we were to start this year, it would probably be around $300 million," Shafeghati said. Most of Nunavik is covered in permafrost, a thick layer of soil where temperatures are below for at least two years, and that makes burying water pipes underground a challenge. Michel Allard, an emeritus professor with Laval University's geography department, has been studying permafrost thaw in Nunavik and Nunavut for decades. "It's not easy to dig in the permafrost," he said, adding that permafrost melt is a gradual process. Given the rising population over time, he said many Nunavik communities built water pumping stations near lakes to draw more water for delivery and sewage ponds to dump wastewater, in the absence of a utilidor system. "As the size of the community increases, water consumption increases as well," Allard said. "People feel the need now to have water from the tap. That means having pipes or buried pipes … to bring the water directly to the houses." Pipes in other Arctic communities In Nunavik, only Kuujjuarapik has a utilidor system. Shafeghati said that's because the village is built on sand, rather than permafrost and it's easy to excavate. "So the pipes are buried at a safe depth with a very low risk of freezing," Shafeghati said. "Incidents of freezing happen quite often, but that [happens] closer to the surface … and they have a municipal crew that is trained and equipped with the tools they need to address those freezing events rapidly." Further north in Nunavut where there is permafrost, partial piped systems exist in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Resolute Bay. Allard has studied the system in Iqaluit, which is also possible because of the community being largely built on sand. He also looks to other circumpolar countries like Alaska and Greenland for inspiration, which have pipes above ground too. "[In Greenland] they have utilidors, but they also have insulated and heated pipes that run on the surface … they build on hills, they build on bedrock, much more so than we do in Nunavik," he said. However, he said digging those ditches, and blasting that bedrock, can be costly and complex and he stressed that each community has its own geology to consider. 'There's nothing much left' Shafeghati said he's calculating budgets for some new projects, but "there's nothing much left" from provincial funding. "To put anything underground, it's not realistic with that kind of money," he said. He said in many municipalities across Canada, funding is distributed per capita. "That might sound fair, but it's not equitable, so it should be a needs-based system," he said. Quebec's Indigenous Affairs Minister Ian Lafrenière said he's not opposed to the idea of exploring utilidors in Nunavik, but he said he first wants to complete the post-mortem with local authorities into what has gone wrong in Puvirnituq. "I want to see the results of this complete review, because if there was a need for money … nothing was proposed to us. So let's look into it. If it is an issue with money, we're flexible," he said. He said there are several funding agreements on a yearly basis for all services in Nunavik amounting to roughly $800 million, and several agreements had funds unspent. Shafeghati believes utilidors in other parts of Nunavik are possible. In the meantime, he said he's looking at other avenues such as subsidized private-public partnership and improving the water trucking system. That includes working on boosting the workforce, currently dominated by men. "We will need more education … because this is very labour intensive. Or we should perhaps invest in housing to bring in workers from the outside because a lot of our villages have very, very young populations."
