Nunavut suicide inquest: Education system 'failing' in mandate

Overcrowded housing and poor school attendance are among thesystemic issues that Nunavut needs to address, testified several government witnesses Monday at a coroner's inquest into the territory's high rate of suicide.

"Ourtruancyrates are high. Our lack of attendance rates are high. We know that," saidCharlotte Borg, Nunavut's manager of student support services.

When asked if suicide prevention programs are being implemented in Nunavut's schools, Borg testified that the territory is trying to address the factors that contribute toNunavut's high rate of suicide and institutingmental health programming aimed at "developing the protective factors in our children."

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"We recognize that we're not being successful."

Borg said this is a good time to address anyissues, because the education department is in a "process of realignment."

In 2013, the Auditor General of Canada released a report outlining a number of ways the territory's education system is falling behind, noting thatonly 25 per cent of children who begin studying in Nunavut's school system graduate from high school.

"If our mandate as a department is to graduate 100 per cent of our students and 75 per cent aren't graduating, we recognize we are failing,"testified Borg.

High turnover rate a recurring issue

Borg, along withall ofthe other witnesses who testified Monday, pointed to the high turnover rate among staff in Nunavut as a significant barrier to implementing suicide prevention programming.

"People from the South come with open and generous hearts[but]it's just so hard to overcome... the constant state of turnover," saidBorg.

For the entire territory, Borg said there are only 3.5 guidance counsellors. Teachers in many small communitieshave to fill that roleon top of their regular duties andstruggle todividetheir time betweenproviding academic and emotional support for students at different levels of achievement.

Those representing other government departments echoed that sentiment, adding that it's important to provide adequate support staff.

"We do the best we can," testified Joanne Henderson,director of Children and Family Services, who said that social workers in communities often work alone and with as many as 20 clients at one time.

"We find creative ways of dealing with families."

Henderson said her staff encounter widespread issues such as overcrowded housing and childabuse regularly and that the government needs to fund more positions.

"If we want to do any real work, we need to have more workers."

'Sense of hopelessness'

Lori Kimball, thepresidentand CEO of theNunavutHousingCorporation, produced a number of statistics illustratinghousing issues that plague the territory.

In Nunavut, 52 per cent of people livein social housing.

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There are 3,000 people on the waitlist many of whom share overcrowded accommodations.

"The number oneway we see housing contributing to suicide is the overcrowding situation and the hugewaitlistfor housing in the territory and the sense of hopelessness that comes along withthat."

Kimball produced a specific dollar amount that she says will deal with the social housing backlog.

If the Nunavut Housing Authority were to receive $1 billion in federal funding, Kimball saidit could build 250 units a year and solve the issue in 20 years.

Suicide meetings 'tense,' 'difficult'

Last week, the suicide inquest revealed thatNunavut'ssuicide prevention strategyis failing to meet its goals and made 42 recommendations.

Borgsaid those recommendations are "not problematic" for the department, but implementing them could, perhaps, prove "challenging."

Throughout the inquest, the partners of the strategy have discussed the different views on how collaboration among the Government ofNunavut, theRCMP, the Embrace Life Council andNunavutTunngavikInc. should work.

NTI'sNatanObedand researcher Jack Hicksboth said they felt the government was bogging down the process with its complex approval processes, but bureaucrats with the Department of Health have testified that expecting one person to speak on behalf of the entire territorial government is naive.

Like all of the government employees who have testified so far,Borgwasn't at the table when the suicide prevention strategy was drafted.

"There was a difficult dynamic," saidBorgabout her first "confusing" experiencesattending meetings ofthe implementation committee."As a representative of educators, I could not say yes or no.

"I couldn't figure out why the meetings were so tense."

Despite the drama between partners,Borgsaid the commitment of each partner toward preventing future suicides was never in doubt.

"There was a sense of urgency," she said. "It's a committee about life and death, after all."

Collaborate, don't point fingers

Sheila Levy,executive director with the Kamatsiaqtut helpline, testified that her organization was not properly consulted on the writing of the suicide prevention plan.

"We're mentioned it in a lot, but in terms of coming to us and talking to us about what we need and what we should be doing and how we can do what they see is necessary that hasn't been done."

Levy said she was personally there for "part of the writing of it," but only from the Embrace Life point of view.

"Our experiences are relevant," she testified, but she also argued that the most important thing now is to focus on the future.

"I think we really need to collaborate on suicide prevention, not point fingers, not lay blame."