Healey Akearok is well aware of the task at hand, and while she\u2019s not making any big promises yet, she said she is listening to people\u2019s thoughts about what needs to change.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I’m actually committed to is learning and listening, visiting our frontline staff, continuing to engage with our communities and ultimately, I think we are all committed to seeing improved outcomes for our children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
WATCH | Nunavut’s new Family Services minister faced with a big job ahead:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766604250_402_default.jpg\")
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Nunavut’s new Family Services minister faced with a big job ahead<\/p>\n
Faced with numerous damning reports into the department, Gwen Healey Akearok is well-aware of the task at hand. While she\u2019s not making any big promises just yet, she says she is committed to listening to people\u2019s thoughts on what needs to change. The CBC’s Samuel Wat reports.<\/p>\n
Jane Bates, Nunavut\u2019s representative for children and youth, is optimistic about the new leadership, but stressed the need for clear standards and procedures for children in care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As of March 2025, there were 444 children in the territory receiving family services from the government, and 89 outside the territory \u2014 a huge number, in Bates\u2019s view, considering the size of Nunavut’s population.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe department hasn’t set out what the expectations are, so every child isn’t getting the same service if they’re a child in care,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766604250_369_default.jpg\")
The Department of Family Services in Iqaluit. The department has been the subject of numerous reports by the Office of the Auditor General since 2011. (Matisse Harvey\/Radio-Canada)<\/p>\n
Healey Akearok acknowledges those concerns, but she points to the Ilagiitsiarniq Strategic Action Plan 2023-2028,<\/a> which she believes provides a clear roadmap for transparency and accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe foundation of the strategic plan is [also] based on the concept of Inunnguiniq, which is the philosophy for Inuit in Inuktitut of supporting a child from infancy all the way into adulthood in a way that helps them become capable,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The OAG\u2019s 2025 report however found the plan “lacked targets and baselines needed to measure progress, specific timelines and clear accountabilities.”<\/p>\n Poverty a precursor<\/p>\n Margaret Hollis, a researcher for Amautiit Nunavut Inuit Women\u2019s Association, believes there needs to be more emphasis on poverty as a contributing factor to children being taken into state care.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem is if you don’t have enough money to supply the necessities of life for your children, well, that is the threshold for when children get apprehended, when their parents cannot supply the necessities of life, and the income assistance system in Nunavut pretty much makes that true,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Jeneca Fanjoy, the director of Qupanuaq, says all levels of government need to put more money on the table to help Nunavummiut afford the bare necessities. (Submitted by Jeneca Fanjoy)Barriers to access<\/p>\n![\"Jane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766604251_427_default.jpg\")
Jane Bates, Nunavut’s representative for children and youth, stresses the need for the Family Services department to set clear standards and procedures for children in government care. (Samuel Wat\/CBC)Cases of harm and neglect<\/p>\n