Three years after damning report, Nunavut still failing its children: watchdog

The eastern Arctic region of the Northwest Territories split off in 1999 to become Nunavut. But split into a separate territory seems to have done little to improve the bleak lives of many of its 35,000 residents, certainly not its most vulnerable children.

An audit completed last December said Nunavut is still not measuring up to child-protection standards three years after the Auditor General of Canada issued toughly-worded report on conditions. According to QMI Agency, the new report found that out of 395 foster-child cases, only 13 per cent had been checked on after a year. Fewer than a third of all foster children had received visits from social workers at all in 2013.

The 2011 audit found the territory's Department of Health and Social Services was not meeting key responsibilities when it came to protecting and caring for children, youth and their families.

"Although it reacts quickly when it is made aware of children in need of protection, the Department is not meeting many other requirements of the Child and Family Services Act and its own standards and procedures," the 2011 report said.

[ Related: Suicide of 11-year-old Nunavut boy sparks outrage, but what will change? ]

Among other things, the department failed to do safety checks of foster homes, complete annual compliance reviews of its child-protection files or track the status of children in care.

And the revamped Department of Family Services is still falling short today.

"Overall, the Department of Family Services has made unsatisfactory progress in acting on commitments the government made in response to recommendations in our 2011 report," Auditor General's fresh report found.

"Despite its efforts, serious gaps remain in compliance with key child protection standards of the Child and Family Services Act."

The report did find the department had reduced its shortage of social workers and supervisors somewhat, but "sustained work is needed in this area, as ensuring ongoing capacity remains a challenge."

The department also is not consistently collecting basic information about children in care and is not getting timely information from communities. It's also done little to engage parents and communities on children's well-being.

"The Department of Family Services has a key role to play in ensuring that children are protected from violence, neglect, and other forms of abuse," Auditor General Michael Ferguson said, according to QMI Agency.

"I am concerned that children are not getting the level of protection and care set out in the Child and Family Services Act."

The report noted the department agreed with the findings.

[ Related: Crime rates in North still higher than in rest of Canada ]

“We’re hoping that with the training in place, and more social workers in communities, that we’ll start to see some improvement,” Michelle Salvail, principal for the audit report, told NunatsiaqOnline.

She noted the new Department of Family Services has only been operating for a year.

“So to get it up and running added some challenge to the department, as they’re trying to implement our recommendations," Salvail said.

Nunavut has crime, substance-abuse and suicide rates that consistently rank among the highest in Canada. Its unemployment rate, officially about 13 per cent, is double the national average.

Statistics Canada figures released last summer showed Nunavut had the country's second-highest rate of reported crime in 2012, second only to the Northwest Territories. The crime rate in the territory rose one per cent that year while it fell three per cent in Canada as a whole.

The Globe and Mail, which focused on Nunavut in 2011, said the depressing statistics suggest creation of the territory as a home for Inuit people, was a failed experiment in nation-building.

"Is it at risk of becoming our own Haiti of the Arctic Circle, or can something be done to reverse the damage?" the newspaper asked.