Cruise North Expeditions Launches New 2011 Routes; Plans

Kuujjuaq, QC, November 12, 2010 -- Inuit owned Cruise North Expeditions has launched Arctic 2011 dates, rates and itineraries on http://cruisenorthexpeditions.com/. This year we'll be venturing to both Greenland and Canada's Arctic for most of our expeditions, and making a stop at St. Pierre and Miquelon for the first time. We'll also be adding Puvirnituq, Nunavik as an embarking and disembarking port, which will further distribute cruise industry benefits to Nunavik.




Early Bird Discount Extended:

Cruise North Expeditions has extended the early bird booking deadline from January 14 to February 25, 2011 to ensure everyone has a chance to take advantage of these savings. So now if you book and pay in full by Feb. 25 on any of our 2011 expeditions, you will save $400 USD per person. http://cruisenorthexpeditions.com/homepage.aspx?area=expeditions§ion=spiritmountains

Lights, Camera, Action: 2011 Photolife Workshops a go:

The Photolife Arctic cruise workshops continue for 2011 with renowned photographers Stephen Gorman, Daryl Benson and Richard Berry.

The professional landscape and wildlife photographers will lead photo groups aboard Cruise North to help with shots and provide tips when needed. They’ll do on-site demonstrations and evaluations and, while on ship, present lectures on different photo skills and themes, all intended to further develop participants’ skills. For more details visit: http://cruisenorthexpeditions.com/homepage.aspx?area=expeditions§ion=optional

Arctic Clean Up Expedition available for all:

Since 2005 Cruise North has been recruiting volunteers for week-long missions to clean up a heavily polluted abandoned mining site in Canada’s Arctic. The goal was to bring the site back to its pristine Arctic conditions for nearby residents and inhabitants to enjoy. This would mean taking four separate trips since 2005 to haul countless loads of waste from the area to send south for proper disposal.

We reached our goal in 2009, when the Cruise North team and many dedicated volunteers removed the remaining debris from the site. During the five-year mission we hauled out hundreds of rusted fuel drums, dozens of propane tanks and truck batteries, and piles upon piles of scrap metal.

In 2010 we began our next mission, and are keeping up the good work in 2011. We are cleaning up old waste sites in and around Canada’s newest national park, Torngat Mountains National Park in Northern Labrador. While the focus is on environmental preservation, the project includes informative presentations and discussion of stewardship issues such as park management, research and exploration, student learning, and tourism. There are also plenty of opportunities to go ashore with Inuit and experience the Torngat Mountains through a cultural lens.

Voluntourism and travellers from around the world have urged us to make this expedition available to all, and we listened! Now anyone can book the Clean Up Expedition which will be from September 14-22, 2011. For more details visit: http://cruisenorthexpeditions.com/homepage.aspx?area=expeditions§ion=arcticcleanup

Contact:
Jillian Dickens
Cruise North Expeditions Inc.
111 Peter St. Suite 200
Toronto, ON
Canada M5V 2H1
416-660-7660
jillian@cruisenorthexpeditions.com
http://www.cruisenorthexpeditions.com

Journal de Québec – Arts et spectacles - Elisapie Isaac à Lévis

Journal de Québec – Arts et spectacles - Elisapie Isaac à Lévis

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: Peu entretenus et vite malpropres

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: Peu entretenus et vite malpropres

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: Gérés comme des HLM

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: Gérés comme des HLM

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: 1,2 million $ pour un jumelé

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: 1,2 million $ pour un jumelé

Speaking the Same Language

Speaking the Same Language

CBC News - North - Canadian Opera Company to tour Nunavik

CBC News - North - Toronto-based Canadian Opera Company to tour Nunavik

NunatsiaqOnline 2010-11-03: NEWS: Makivik Corp.: Plan Nord must meet Nunavik’s needs

NunatsiaqOnline 2010-11-03: NEWS: Makivik Corp.: Plan Nord must meet Nunavik’s needs

Greenpeace and Cree have erected blockade to protect Broadback Valley Forest

MONTREAL, Nov. 3 /CNW Telbec/ - Greenpeace and the Cree Nation of Waswanipi have erected a symbolic blockade in the heart of Quebec's Boreal Forest to protest against the construction of logging roads that will open the Broadback Valley Forest to industrial exploitation.

Today, Greenpeace and Chief Paul Gull of Waswanipi, revealed a giant photo of the blockade at EACOM Timber Corporation's headquarters in downtown Montreal. This afternoon, they will go to the Montreal office of Prime Minister Jean Charest to ask that his government take action on this file.

"We are telling EACOM to immediately and publicly suspend its logging project in the Broadback Valley, one of the last intact wilderness areas in Quebec and the only remaining pristine lands of the Waswanipi Cree Nation," said Nicolas Mainville, Greenpeace forest campaigner. "EACOM's logging plans will cause irreversible ecological damage and adversely affect the Cree way of life.."

Ten members of the Waswanipi Cree Nation along with Greenpeace created the blockade a few days ago by cementing a massive billboard into the ground at the end of a partially built logging road 200 kilometres north of EACOM's Matagami mill, blocking further construction. The 6' by 12' billboard reads in Cree and French: "The path of destruction stops here."

EACOM is the new owner of Domtar's Quebec operations. The company plans involve building bridges over the Broadback River and logging in ancestral Cree land and pristine woodland caribou habitat. Although the company has recently shown some openness to the creation of a large protected area in the Broadback Valley Forest, Greenpeace and Cree remain concerned.

"Fifty nine out of our sixty-two traplines we administrate have already been logged and fragmented. Those last wild areas are what are most valuable to our community and the time has come to protect them from further industrial activity," said Allan Saganash from the Waswanipi Cree Nation, Director of the Joint Working Group on Forestry. "We need a healthy forest if we want to continue to fish, trap and hunt on our territory. We are here to say that industrial logging in the Broadback Valley will do the complete opposite," said Paul Gull, Chief of the Waswanipi Cree Nation.

The Waswanipi tallyman (hunting territory leaders), the Grand Council of the Cree, Greenpeace and other environmental organizations have repeatedly asked the Quebec government and logging companies to recognize the ecological and cultural value of the Broadback Valley and to ensure the permanent protection of its biodiversity.

Greenpeace documented the ecological values of the Broadback Valley in its recent scientific report called "Refuge Boreal." Published last May, the study scientifically documents the importance of woodland caribou habitat, old-growth forests, the large carbon stores, plus the importance of the cultural values for the Cree in this 22 000 km² area.

"The future of the Broadback Valley is ultimately in the hands of the Quebec government," said Mainville. "If Jean Charest's government grants EACOM or any other company a licence to implement such a controversial logging plan, it would be a significant step backwards for forest protection and respect for aboriginal rights in Quebec."

Aboriginal, Inuit foster families would be ideal

Aboriginal, Inuit foster families would be ideal

Offering a better licence to drive - Canada - Macleans.ca

Offering a better licence to drive - Canada - Macleans.ca

NunatsiaqOnline 2010-10-25: NEWS: Cape Dorset mayhem prompts calls for booze controls, trigger locks

NunatsiaqOnline 2010-10-25: NEWS: Cape Dorset mayhem prompts calls for booze controls, trigger locks

Picture from Cornwall, ON RCMP

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: Manque de logements

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: Manque de logements

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: 120 000$ et 16 semaines de vacances par année

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: 120 000$ et 16 semaines de vacances par année

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: 6,19 $ pour un sac de chips??? C'est vrai!

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: 6,19 $ pour un sac de chips

CBC News - North - Inuit dog killings no conspiracy: report

It has been alleged that about 20,000 Inuit sled dogs were killed in the eastern Arctic through the 1950s, '60s and '70s.


CBC News - North - Inuit dog killings no conspiracy: report

Slaughter of Inuit sled dogs misguided policy that needs apology: report - Winnipeg Free Press

Picture of Simon Qamaniq


Slaughter of Inuit sled dogs misguided policy that needs apology: report - Winnipeg Free Press

Globe and Mail (Toronto) Editorial

CRISIS IN CAPE DORSET










Answers for Cape Dorset’s violence

The rampage of violence that caused Cape Dorset's entire RCMP detachment to be sent on stress leave this month is a symptom of a greater ill afflicting Nunavut. The federal and territorial governments are already armed with proposed solutions that could offer hope to those in despair. They have a responsibility to act.

Young men in Cape Dorset, a Baffin Island community of 1,200, are charged with two murders and are involved in a suspicious death, as well as in a series of shoot-'em-ups on the streets. In each case, they demonstrated a wanton disregard for the well-being of others. More often, though, young men in small Northern communities turn guns on themselves.

The federal government, and the government of Nunavut, must confront the underlying cause of their despair, and address the complex mental health issues that drive youths to self-destructive acts. Nunavut not only has a rate of sexual offences 10 times higher than the rest of Canada, and the highest homicide rate in the country, but its suicide rate for 15- to 24-year-old men is 28 times higher.

In any other part of Canada, these dismal outcomes would be declared a national emergency. Yet there has been little public outrage, or political will to deal with the crisis. Nunavut has no alcohol treatment centre – or suicide prevention strategy. Some community leaders are loath to speak of suicide.

The government of Nunavut has an opportunity now to do the right thing. A special committee spent 18 months researching how others treat the underlying causes of self-harm. They found that by investing in mental-health services, Australia managed to reduce by half some types of suicide among men.

The committee's suicide prevention strategy recommends: building mental-health treatment and addiction centres; providing parenting and anger management classes for youth, and early childhood development programs; training people in suicide intervention. “We are not yet addressing the underlying causes,” says RCMP Chief Superintendent Steve McVarnock, a committee member, along with government officials and members of the land claim organization.

All societies have a base level of suicide, caused by mental illness. When the rate spikes in a sub-population, the causes are socially determined. Fifty years ago, suicide among the Inuit was almost nil. Rates began to climb when the Inuit way of life was disrupted through a coerced movement into settled communities, and the imposition of residential schools, says Jack Hicks, a suicide researcher at the University of Greenland. While today some Inuit are excellent parents, others never had the opportunity to learn this skill, resulting in an intergenerational transmission of historical trauma.

Canada has the resources to reverse these shameful outcomes. The government must overcome a historical reluctance to acknowledge the significance of mental health, and swiftly implement a suicide prevention strategy. The youth of Nunavut must know they are not forgotten.

Teen arrested in new Cape Dorset gun incident

CRISIS IN CAPE DORSET






A teenage boy in Cape Dorset, Nunavut, has been arrested after allegedly threatening to use a firearm on another youth, marking the third gun-related incident in the Baffin Island community in just over a week.


RCMP in Cape Dorset say they received a call at about 8:50 p.m. ET Friday about two youths fighting.


"One of the youths had threatened to obtain and use a firearm to harm the other," police said in a news release Monday.


Police said officers found the teen and arrested him before he could obtain a firearm. They also seized "a number of unsecured firearms that the youth had access to." The firearms were seized for "safety and storage reasons."


South Baffin MLA Fred Schell, whose constituency includes Cape Dorset, said he knows two 15-year-olds were involved in the incident.


"I can't mention any names but I guess they had a fight and the one kid that lost said, well, he's going to go home and get his grandfather's gun," Schell told CBC News on Monday.


"We have to deal with these youth and explain to them what's right and what's wrong. It's a serious issue."


The arrested teenager appeared before a justice of the peace in Cape Dorset on Saturday and was released on strict conditions, RCMP said.


Police did not indicate what charges he faces but he is to make a court appearance Nov. 3.


Friday's incident was the third alleged firearms-related offence in a week in Cape Dorset, a community of about 1,200.


On Wednesday, two youths were taken into custody after a shootout with RCMP.


Three days before that, on Oct. 10, police charged a 19-year-old man after a 3½-hour armed standoff at a Cape Dorset home. After the standoff ended, RCMP found the slain body of the man's older brother inside the house.


Community groups in Cape Dorset held a meeting Thursday to discuss the spate of recent gun violence.


Nunavut RCMP Chief Supt. Steve McVarnock told CBC News on Thursday that alcohol appeared to be a factor in the two earlier gun-related incidents. However, police said neither drugs nor alcohol played a part in the latest incident.

Volkswagen’s all new pick-up the Amarok, inuit for wolf

Volkswagen’s all new pick-up the Amarok, inuit for wolf, has been honoured with the International Pick-up Award 2011.

The accolade, awarded for the first time this year, was judged by the highly regarded panel, representing 23 countries, that elects the prestigious International Van of the Year awards.

During the judging process, the Amarok was praised by the jury for its ‘effortless off-road abilities’, while its capacity on-road was judged to be the best against all other competitors. The jury was also impressed by the Amarok’s interior, in particular, the layout and generous space for both front and rear passengers in the double-cab cabin.

The jury commented: ‘The new Volkswagen Amarok distinguishes itself by fantastic driving qualities, both on- and off-road. It sets new standards in the pick-up category in respect to load capacity, payload, interior room, comfort, ergonomics and fuel consumption.’

Battle-hardened by being involved in the 2010 Dakar Rally as the official support vehicle, the VW Amarok will finally arrive in the UK during 2011, and boasts the largest load dimensions in its class with a load area of 2.52 m² (1,555 mm long, 1,620 mm wide, with width between wheel arches of 1,222 mm), a maximum payload capacity of 1,057 kg and maximum towing limit of 2.8 tonnes.

Packed with advanced features the double-cab includes EDL (Electronic Differential Lock), ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation), ESP (Electronic Stabilisation Programme) with Hill Hold Assist, Hill Descent Assist and off-road ABS designed to significantly shorten stopping distances on loose surfaces.

UK prices and specifications for the Amarok will be released nearer the launch, with a single cab option Amarok following soon after.

Author: Richard Lawton, October 13, 2010

Mounties pulled from Nunavut hamlet after rash of gun violence

Gloria Galloway
Ottawa— From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Oct. 15, 2010 8:32PM EDT
Last updated Friday, Oct. 15, 2010 9:27PM EDT





A spate of armed standoffs in the tiny Nunavut community of Cape Dorset began months before it was decided that the four RCMP officers stationed there had to be pulled out this week for what their commander says is “advanced health intervention.”

There were two homicides in the past month alone in the hamlet of 1,200 that is a world-renowned Inuit art colony. The most recent occurred on Sunday when a 19-year-old man is alleged to have fatally shot his 23-year-old brother.

More related to this story
•Cape Dorset violence demands action
•An apology for the Inuit five decades in the making
•The year artists made big splashes in small ponds
In that particular volley of gunfire, one round – either by accident or design – was shot through the wall of an RCMP officer’s home and lodged itself in his bathtub while he and his wife and two small children were attending a Thanksgiving celebration elsewhere.

The force decided at that time that the four Cape Dorset Mounties had to be removed to deal with the trauma, “because of the threat, and risk that they were exposed to,” Chief Superintendent Steve McVarnock told a news conference in Iqaluit on Friday. The plan was to fly them out to Iqaluit on Wednesday.

But in the wee hours of the morning before they were to leave, two 15-year-olds fired shots in a residential street. Three of the officers responded and one of the youths took a shot to his side. An external team of officers is now in Cape Dorset to investigate allegations that the bullet came from an RCMP gun.

The young man will recover from his wound, for which Chief Supt. McVarnock said he and his officers are grateful. The injured teen’s friend is in custody and another team of officers investigating whether the boys should be charged.

Meanwhile, a third team is still working on the Sunday homicide.

In total, there are now 17 officers in the town, five of whom will stay to replace the four who were taken out.

It’s not easy being part of a four-man force in one Canada’s remote northern communities.

“They have had more of their share in the past four months,” said Chief Supt. McVarnock. “And this recent incident this weekend when a round actually went through the house ... I guess I would ask you to put yourself and your spouse, and your family in that situation,”

An investigation into another unrelated killing that occurred Sept. 19 has yet to be completed, though an 18-year-old has been charged with second-degree murder. Police say alcohol was a factor in that death – as it has been in much of the mayhem in the community over the years.

But there was none consumed prior to shootings this week, officials say. And, in some ways, that is even more frightening because there is no demon to blame.

Mayor Cary Merritt called town leaders to a meeting on Thursday night to come up with ways to handle the crisis. They will meet again over the weekend and present solutions next week.

Fred Schell, the local MPP, was at the Thursday gathering. The first resolution, he said, was that the many guns lying loose in homes in the community of hunters must be locked away. “One suggestion, of course, was to get cabinets or trigger locks,” said Mr. Schell, “which I have volunteered to supply if anybody can’t afford it.”

Mr. Schell said he knows all of the young men involved in the shootings this week. Like so many others in Cape Dorset, they are all sculptors.

“In general they are good kids and good people. It’s just that they made a wrong decision, something sparked it and they got into an argument or something, and this happened,” he said. “I think it would help if, definitely, the guns were locked up.”

Journal de Québec – Actualités - Oui au rôle élargi

Journal de Québec – Actualités - Oui au rôle élargi

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: Coût de la vie très élevé

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: Coût de la vie très élevé

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: La meilleure façon de soigner (PUVIRNITUK, Nunavik)

Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: La meilleure façon de soigner

My Montreal: Inuit students adapt to life at college

John Abbot College is helping Inuit students cope with the challenges of being on their own






Students in Montreal's colleges are settling into regular routines in what for many of them is their first time living on their own.

The culture shock for Inuit students coming from the Far North is much greater than for students heading downtown from the suburbs.

Sapina Snowball, in her final semester at John Abbott College in Ste. Anne de Bellevue, says everything is feeling somewhat alien to her.

"I'm stuck in two worlds right now," said Snowball.

Part of her is focused on studying and socializing with fellow students. The rest is thinking about her home town of Kangiqsualujuaq in Nunavik.

"My family is there. Of course I want to spend time with them, or the other me wants to stay here," she said.

No options in Far North

Inuit who want to attend post-secondary education almost certainly must leave home: there are no schools of higher learning in northern Quebec, and only one college in each of Canada's three territories.

Counsellor Gail Richardson says the homesickness takes a severe toll.

"Just being away from home, facing severe homesickness, being away from family and friends, being away from the land, the villages... It's a completely different life," said Richardson.

Melissa Ruston, who is set to graduate this year, knows the challenges all too well.

Back in Nunavik she was a top student.

"I was like the best in the class," said Ruston. "Sorry to brag but I always got the academic achievement, outstanding effort." At John Abbott she's maintaining a 70 per cent average.

"Oh my goodness its very challenging, especially the educational system up north is very low, it's very limited.

"When I came down here, I had to work twice as much," said Ruston.

Her twin brother could not handle the transition and dropped out.

Last year eight of the 21 Inuit students at John Abbott did the same.

So far this year, one student left after just a few days.

Helping students cope

John Abbott is a leader in helping aboriginal students adapt to life in the south.

First-year Inuit students must stay in a residence exclusively for aboriginal students, and they have free access to a resource centre staffed by Louise Legault.

"This room in itself is a place where they can do homework, use the computers, eat lunch meet their friends," said Legault.

They are also required to take two courses geared to improve their basic academic skills, improve their English, and helping them choose a career path.

"There's a lot of support," said Ruston. "They give us tips and advice on how to write essays. They give us tutors if we need any."

Students come back



While many students fail to thrive during their first exposure to urban life and rush back home, many do return.

Raingi Uquaituk first attempted to study at John Abbott in 1999, but dropped out when she became pregnant.

A decade later, and with a second baby at home, Uquaituk is back and determined to finish what she started.

"It's not really easy, especially when I got pregnant and I had to stop for what I was doing, but I always come back," she said.

Uquaituk is due to graduate in December, having finally accomplished what she could not do back home.

'Experimental Eskimos' tells story of attempt to assimilate Inuit kids in 1960s - Winnipeg Free Press

'Experimental Eskimos' tells story of attempt to assimilate Inuit kids in 1960s - Winnipeg Free Press

Arctique: Carnet de Nord | Le Vif Weekend

Arctique: Carnet de Nord | Le Vif Weekend

Fifteen-year search for pedophile Canadian priest ends — with him going free - thestar.com

Fifteen-year search for pedophile Canadian priest ends — with him going free - thestar.com

From Nunavut to Lourdes (A serious failure of our justice system)

Category: Religion
Posted on: October 4, 2010 10:51 AM, by PZ Myers


Eric Dejaeger is a Catholic priest and pedophile who benefited greatly from church policy: when it was learned that he was a child-raping monster, the Catholic Church did the upright, moral thing and kept him on as a priest, but simply shipped him off to the Canadian north where he'd only be raping the Inuit. When the law caught up with him even in that remote place, he fled…and guess where he found shelter and employment? Back in the arms of Mother Church, of course.

The Belgian-born priest, who became a Canadian citizen in 1977, is wanted for three counts of indecent assault on a male and three counts of buggery for incidents involving minors and alleged to have occurred between 1978 and 1982 in Igloolik. These charges were laid after he completed a five-year sentence in April of 1995 (a penitentiary stint, a halfway house then probation) for abusing children in Baker Lake, then part of the Northwest Territories, now part of Nunavut. Dejaeger left Canada before his first court date in June of 1995 and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

Six years later, the Interpol red alert was circulated. Nine years after that, in May of this year, Belgian journalist Douglas De Coninck published an article detailing Dejaeger's life on the lam. The priest worked with pilgrims in Lourdes and participated in masses. A member of the Oblate Order of Mary Immaculate, he was living at the order's villa in Blanden. Several months after the article appeared, Dejaeger voluntarily turned himself in at the Leuven police station.

Unfortunately, the Belgian police just turned him loose again, stating that there was no extradition order from Canada. He's on the run again. Given his history, I can guess where we'll find him: turn over a few churches, and he'll be found nestling amongst the friendly priests.

But let's not just blame religion! There's also another nasty story here, of secular authorities turning a blind eye to his activities. He'd been brought before a Canadian judge who didn't seem to think Dejaeger was such a bad fellow.

Oddly, Justice Ted Richard of the Northwest Territories Supreme Court wrote in his sentence decision that Dejaeger was not a pedophile even though "it does not appear that he stopped this activity on his own but only when he was caught." It's unclear how he was caught.

Dejaeger admitted to, among other sexual acts, having anal intercourse with boys and digital vaginal penetration with girls. Yet Richard seemed to praise the priest's restraint:

"Because of the age of the victims of these assaults, consent is not an issue or a factor to be considered. However, it should be noted in fairness to the offender here that no violence was used in committing these assaults," Richard wrote 20 years ago.

Priests don't use violence, usually. They've got the shackles of tradition and dogma to hold their victims down for them.

And of course the real crime here is that these monsters in dog collars were dumped on the native peoples of Canada to rip their way through several generations, and there is no sign of remorse for that from the Vatican.

article source
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/10/from_nunavut_to_lourdes.php

Drinking to Forget | Features | The Link

Drinking to Forget | Features | The Link

Centre d’hébergement Inuit dans Villeray : quelles responsabilités? Quelle suite ? - Politique - Actualités - Progrès Villeray

Centre d’hébergement Inuit dans Villeray : quelles responsabilités? Quelle suite ? - Politique - Actualités - Progrès Villeray

NunatsiaqOnline 2010-09-21: NEWS: Man charged in Kangirsuk death

NunatsiaqOnline 2010-09-21: NEWS: Man charged in Kangirsuk death

NunatsiaqOnline 2010-09-20: NEWS: Nunavik leaders struggle with youth protection challenge

NunatsiaqOnline 2010-09-20: NEWS: Nunavik leaders struggle with youth protection challenge

Nunavik: le nombre d'enfants en détresse reste élevé

Entre 2006 et 2009, les signalements d'enfants en danger ont carrément explosé. Le nombre de cas a augmenté de 110% dans les villages de la baie d'Hudson, et de 57% du côté de la baie d'Ungava.

Photo: Agnès Gruda, La Presse



Les services pour les enfants en difficulté s'améliorent à pas de tortue dans le Grand Nord québécois. Mais les progrès restent extrêmement précaires, et les statistiques sur la réalité des jeunes Inuits donnent froid dans le dos.

Agnès Gruda
La Presse

Trois ans après avoir publié un rapport accablant sur la situation des enfants du Nunavik, la Commission des droits de la personne et de la jeunesse a dressé, hier, le bilan du chemin parcouru.

Ce qui en ressort, en gros, c'est que si les services sociaux sont mieux organisés, la proportion d'enfants en détresse reste ahurissante. Ainsi, 30% des jeunes Inuits de moins de 18 ans font l'objet d'un signalement à la Direction de protection de la jeunesse. C'est six fois plus que dans le reste du Québec.

Cette année, la DPJ a retenu 1341 signalements, ce qui représente plus de 23% de tous les enfants et adolescents du Grand Nord québécois. En d'autres mots, près d'un jeune Inuit sur quatre vit une situation de détresse suffisamment aiguë pour avoir besoin de protection.


Entre 2006 et 2009, les signalements d'enfants en danger ont carrément explosé. Le nombre de cas a augmenté de 110% dans les villages de la baie d'Hudson, et de 57% du côté de la baie d'Ungava.

Cette tendance ne constitue pas nécessairement une mauvaise nouvelle. Elle signifie que la Loi sur la protection de la jeunesse est maintenant appliquée au Nunavik, ce qui n'était pas le cas il y a trois ans, fait valoir la vice-présidente de la Commission, Sylvie Godin.

N'empêche: dans son rapport, la Commission écrit: «La situation des enfants du Nunavik demeure encore aujourd'hui très alarmante, car la détresse sociale semble s'intensifier.» Et dans certains villages du Grand Nord, le tissu social s'est carrément dégradé depuis trois ans.

«Notre bilan peut paraître timide», reconnaît Sylvie Godin, qui souligne toutefois que le Nunavik part de loin. Et qu'il n'était pas évident d'implanter un modèle d'intervention étranger à la culture inuit.

Déception

«Je suis très déçu de constater que la situation ne s'est pas améliorée autant que nous l'aurions souhaité», dit Pita Ataami, président de la Société Makivik, responsable du développement du Nunavik. Selon lui, un grand pas a cependant été franchi dans les dernières années: les mauvais traitements dont souffrent les enfants du Nunavik ne constituent plus un tabou. «Les gens commencent à en parler, nous reconnaissons maintenant que nous avons un problème, que certains parents négligent leurs enfants», dit-il.

Dans son bilan, la Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse revient sur les 21 recommandations qu'elle a formulées il y a trois ans. Plusieurs d'entre elles ont été suivies, du moins en partie. Mais sur certains points, rien n'a bougé.

Ainsi, les problèmes de recrutement restent aigus dans le Grand Nord. Un intense rattrapage a permis de pourvoir tous les postes à la DPJ du côté de la baie d'Ungava. Ce n'est pas le cas du côté de la baie d'Hudson, où le tiers des postes n'étaient pas comblés. Cela force les employés à faire de nombreuses heures supplémentaires, ce qui contribue au surmenage et à l'incessant roulement du personnel.

Le rapport reproche au gouvernement du Québec de ne pas avoir amélioré les conditions de travail des employés qui font le choix de travailler dans le Grand Nord. Mais depuis la rédaction du rapport, Québec a annoncé un investissement supplémentaire de 280 millions de dollars qui devrait améliorer le taux de rétention du personnel au Nunavik, se réjouit Sylvie Godin.

En revanche, la situation des familles d'accueil est toujours extrêmement instable. Les adoptions traditionnelles ne sont toujours pas évaluées mais, surtout, la pénurie de logements exacerbe tous les autres problèmes sociaux. Or, sur ce point, rien n'a bougé, déplore Mme Godin, selon qui la situation du Grand Nord exige que l'on reste «en mode urgence.»

Avec ce bilan, la Commission termine son intervention au Nunavik - même si elle se réserve le droit de se pencher ponctuellement sur les problèmes du Grand Nord. «Nous sommes prêts à prendre nos responsabilités», assure Pita Ataami.

Enfants inuits en danger - Les gouvernements savent, mais ne font rien

Le manque et le surpeuplement des logements au Nunavik représentent une menace très lourde pour le développement et le bien-être des jeunes Inuits
Collectif d'auteurs 20 septembre 2010 Actualités en société
L'actualité récente ramène à l'ordre du jour politique un dossier qui traîne depuis des années: celui du manque de logements au Nunavik. En 1997, la Commission des droits de la personne et de la jeunesse, alertée par le manque de services offerts aux enfants en besoin de protection, concluait une enquête longue de cinq ans en soulignant à gros traits que le surpeuplement des logements au Nunavik représentait une menace très lourde pour le développement et le bien-être des enfants.

Les travailleurs sociaux qui oeuvrent là-haut répètent aujourd'hui la même chose. On ne réglera rien de substantiel dans la vie des enfants inuits si les gouvernements, conformément aux obligations qui les lient par la Convention de la Baie James et du Nord québécois, ne répondent pas aux besoins pressants de ces communautés du Nord.

Santé physique

Les familles inuites vivent dans un environnement résidentiel toxique: leurs logements sont trop petits, surpeuplés, et ne répondent pas aux exigences d'une vie sédentaire qu'ils n'ont pas choisie. La littérature scientifique nous aura appris depuis déjà une bonne quinzaine d'années que le surpeuplement résidentiel a un impact important sur le développement des enfants.

Leur santé physique en est gravement affectée: ils sont notamment plus vulnérables aux infections (y compris les otites à répétition) et aux maladies pulmonaires chroniques. Sur le plan de leur bien-être psychologique, les enfants vivant dans ces conditions de surpeuplement sont plus nombreux à présenter des symptômes de détresse et des problèmes de maîtrise de leurs comportements et d'apprentissage à l'école.

Également, les tout-petits vivant entassés dans des logements exigus réussissent moins bien les tests de développement cognitif. Selon les recherches disponibles, ces retards s'expliquent par le fait que les parents ont tendance à moins interagir, donc à moins stimuler leurs jeunes enfants dans un environnement surpeuplé, afin de se protéger d'un envahissement constant.

Mauvais traitements

La densité résidentielle jouerait également un rôle important dans les mauvais traitements subis par les enfants. Plusieurs études contemporaines font état d'une corrélation très élevée entre le surpeuplement du logement et la violence physique et les violences sexuelles envers les enfants.

De fait, au moins une étude indique que le surpeuplement, lorsqu'il dépasse 1,5 personne par pièce, contribue significativement à la manifestation de mauvais traitements envers les enfants, même en tenant compte de nombreuses autres conditions de vie difficiles des familles. Le fait de devoir vivre avec des adultes autres que ses parents augmente aussi les risques que l'enfant subisse des violences physiques ou sexuelles.

Les gouvernements savent

Les gouvernements savent. Ils ne peuvent pas prétexter l'ignorance. La proportion d'enfants de moins de 17 ans dans la population est deux fois plus élevée au Nunavik que dans l'ensemble du Québec. Les gouvernements savent que les enfants inuits sont six fois plus à risque d'être signalés à la protection de la jeunesse que les autres enfants du Québec. Les gouvernements savent que les services de protection seuls n'arriveront pas à colmater les brèches et encore moins à réduire le problème. Les gouvernements savent que ce phénomène et la détresse des communautés et des familles ne cessent de s'amplifier. Ils savent également que toutes ces dérives pourraient être grandement atténuées si on répondait correctement aux besoins légitimes et urgents des familles inuites en matière de logement. Il manque 1000 logements pour les familles du Nunavik, mais, bien sûr, il y a le Colisée de Québec...


Photo: (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press) Kuujjuaq

Le manque de logements au Nunavik - Les gouvernements savent

Les auteurs soulignent que la littérature scientifique démontre que la densité résidentielle aurait un impact sur la santé physique et psychologique des enfants du Nunavik.

Deux articles de Marie Tison parus dans La Presse du 13 septembre ramènent dans l'agenda politique un dossier qui traîne depuis des années: celui du manque de logement au Nunavik. En 1997, la Commission des droits de la personne et de la jeunesse, alertée par le manque de services offerts aux enfants en besoin de protection, concluait une enquête longue de cinq ans en soulignant à gros traits que le surpeuplement des logements au Nunavik représentait une menace très lourde au développement et au bien-être des enfants. Les travailleurs sociaux qui oeuvrent là-haut répètent aujourd'hui la même chose. On ne règlera rien de substantiel dans la vie des enfants Inuits si les gouvernements, conformément aux obligations qui les lient de par la Convention de la Baie James et du Nord Québécois, ne répondent pas aux besoins pressants de ces communautés du Nord.
Les familles Inuits vivent dans un environnement résidentiel toxique: leurs logements sont trop petits, surpeuplés, et ne répondent pas aux exigences d'une vie sédentaire qu'ils n'ont pas choisie. La littérature scientifique nous aura appris depuis déjà une bonne quinzaine d'années que le surpeuplement résidentiel a un impact important sur le développement des enfants. Leur santé physique en est gravement affectée: ils sont notamment plus vulnérables aux infections (y compris les otites à répétition) et aux maladies pulmonaires chroniques. Sur le plan de leur bien-être psychologique, les enfants vivant dans ces conditions de surpeuplement sont plus nombreux à présenter des symptômes de détresse et des problèmes de contrôle de leurs comportements et d'apprentissage à l'école. Également, les tout-petits vivant entassés dans des logements trop exigus performent moins bien aux tests de développement cognitif. Selon les recherches disponibles, ces retards seraient dûs à ce que les parents ont tendance à moins interagir, donc à moins stimuler leurs jeunes enfants, dans un environnement surpeuplé, question de se protéger d'un envahissement constant.

La densité résidentielle jouerait également un rôle important dans les mauvais traitements subis par les enfants. Plusieurs études contemporaines font état d'une corrélation très élevée entre le surpeuplement du logement et la violence physique et les abus sexuels envers les enfants. De fait, au moins une étude indique que le surpeuplement, lorsqu'il dépasse 1,5 personnes par pièce, contribue significativement à la manifestation de mauvais traitements envers les enfants même en tenant compte de nombreuses autres conditions de vie difficiles des familles. Le fait de devoir vivre avec des adultes autres que ses parents augmente aussi les risques que l'enfant subisse des violences physiques ou sexuelles.

Les gouvernements savent. Ils ne peuvent pas prétendre à l'ignorance. La proportion d'enfants de moins de 17 ans dans la population est deux fois plus élevée au Nunavik que pour l'ensemble du Québec. Les gouvernements savent que les enfants Inuits sont six fois plus à risques d'être signalés à la protection de la jeunesse que les autres enfants du Québec. Les gouvernements savent que les services de protection seuls n'arriveront pas à colmater les brèches et encore moins à réduire le problème. Les gouvernements savent que ce phénomène et la détresse des communautés et des familles ne cessent de s'amplifier. Ils savent également que toutes ces dérives pourraient être grandement atténuées si on répondait correctement aux besoins légitimes et urgents des familles Inuits en matière de logement. Il manque 1000 logements pour les familles du Nunavik, mais bien sûr, il y a le Colisée de Québec...

Le pere abuseur de jeunes Inuits ne sera sans doute pas extrade

Le pere abuseur de jeunes Inuits ne sera sans doute pas extrade