Indigenous services minister says more support needed for people in Nunavut
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says the federal government needs to do more to support people living in Nunavut, particularly when it comes to the territory's long-standing housing crisis.
The Liberal politician made his first-ever visit to Nunavut this week, spending two days in Iqaluit.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Miller said overcrowded housing in Nunavut was "a vehicle for spread" of COVID-19. Last fall, a COVID-19 outbreak in Arviat, Nunavut, infected 339 of the community's 3,000 people and killed one person.
"For Nunavummiut, that's not a surprise," Miller said Friday.
With more than half of Nunavut's residents living in overcrowded homes, as highlighted in MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq's territorial housing report, Miller said people are left more vulnerable.
"Most people don't look at housing through a health lens," said Miller. "They see it as somewhere to live ... but they don't see it through the health lens that many people in Nunavut have been saying for ages and have been ignored."
He said remoteness shouldn't mean communities such as those in Nunavut are left behind the rest of the country.
"We have to make sure that Inuit get first-class treatment in a country that everyone looks at as a first-class health-care system."
Miller said the pandemic showed systemic racism affects remote communities like those in Nunavut when it comes to accessing health care.
With no intensive care unit in the territory and only one hospital for its 25 communities, COVID-19 patients who needed treatment were flown hundreds of kilometres to southern Canada.
"One case of COVID in the North costs a lot more than one case of COVID in the south," he said.
Miller also addressed Qaqqaq's scathing farewell speech in June when the New Democrat announced she wouldn't seek re-election. In it, Qaqqaq said she was racially profiled by security on Parliament Hill and didn't feel safe at work.
"I am horrified ... but that is her reality and that is what she lived," Miller said. "The House itself is a parochial, paternalistic beast."
Later Friday, Miller and Ahmed Huseen, minister for Families, Children and Social Development, touted the Liberals' budget commitments to build Indigenous-led shelters for people experiencing gender-based violence.
Applications for shelters and transitional housing will open in September, with funding earmarked for 38 emergency shelters and 50 transitional homes across Canada.
Aluki Kotierk, president of the land claims organization Nunavut Tunngavik Inc, said the money is much-needed, but too little, too late.
"It doesn't meet our needs. We have a current housing crisis. But I think we're encouraged because this is the beginning," Kotierk said in an interview.
She said her organization had requested $500 million for housing in Nunavut, but the 2021 budget only set aside $25 million.
"We were very disappointed with that," Kotierk said.
Although it was Miller's first time in Iqaluit, he noted the Nunavut capital is a regular campaign stop for politicians from all parties.
"A lot of politicians come here, but ... I do want to see what challenges that smaller communities face. The farther removed you are, the more in the back of people's minds you are," Miller said.
Liberal cabinet ministers made another announcement Friday in the North, with Hussen and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland touting their budget commitments to child care and early learning in Whitehorse.
---
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2021
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
3 law officers serving warrant are killed, 5 wounded in shootout at North Carolina home, police say
Three officers on a U.S. Marshals Task Force serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded in a shootout Monday at a North Carolina home, police said.
'Shocked and concerned': Calgary principal charged with possession of child pornography
A Calgary elementary school principal has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities announced Monday.
Health authority confirms cockroaches at B.C. hospital, insists they 'do not bite'
The Vancouver Island Health Authority is downplaying what staff describe as a cockroach infestation in a medical unit of Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
Toronto police arrest 12 people, lay 102 charges in major credit card fraud scheme
Toronto police say 12 people are facing a combined 102 charges in connection with an investigation into a major credit fraud scheme.
Winner of US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer
One of the winners of a historic US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
Britney and Jamie Spears settlement avoids long, potentially ugly and revealing trial
Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears will avoid what could have been a long, ugly and revealing trial with a settlement of the lingering issues in the court conservatorship that controlled her life and financial decisions for nearly 14 years.
WATCH 'Double whammy': What happens if you don't file your taxes by the deadline
The clock is ticking ahead of the deadline to file a 2023 income tax return. A personal finance expert explains why you should get them done -- even if you owe more than you can pay.
Local Spotlight
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Haida Elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.