To communicate the little-known reality of the Inuit

To begin, all the previous texts were to serve to communicate the little-known reality of the Inuit people through their conditions of life. During my research, I realized that the history of many indigenous peoples were alike. The texts thus became more general, however, keeping in mind the real distinctions of far-away communities living away from one another affected by very similar problems. An example of these differences relates to Inuit communities. No roads, no judges, no equal opportunities for employment, but with the same tax obligations as all other Quebecers.  Their nordicity is not served very well in Nunavik: racism and discrimination don't set the tone for human rights.

Housing in Nunavik affects all aspects of an individual's life

While "overcrowding" is both a cause and an effect, it is still possible to delineate the main causes of overcrowding in Nunavik. This has a ripple effect on all the members of the household, including the children: stress, incest, the inability of children to study because there is no privacy, beating of wives and children, quarreling and yelling.

Looking to the future, a priority on everyone's doorstep

How does the future look to the women of Nunavik?

How do they think they will organize community efforts to build resilient families and individuals?

How do they think they will teach non-violence and components of healthy relationships while developing codes of conduct that promote respect and strengthen non-violence?

How will they deal with poverty, food shortage, violence, suicide and generalized gender inequalities serving as prerequisites for trafficking in women and how will they protect their girls?

How will find the resources to ensure the children are safe?

Create Hope and an Echo of Humanity for the Indigenous People

I will not do a retrospective of the year because if we were to use a Quebec thermostat to measure the mood of Canadians in 2015, the needle would have fluctuated in different directions until the last election on October 19, 2015.

Risk factors require that they be recognized and dealt with

A few months ago, I heard a First Nations woman say how happy she was that she had had a child, a beautiful healthy girl. But her next sentence literally froze me to the bone. She said: “I started fearing for my girl because she was a girl”.

Increased awareness regarding the safety and support of women and children

Although there is increased awareness regarding the safety and support of women and children affected by domestic violence, resource constraints create a challenging context for the delivery of effective services and real justice to women and children. In a previous work experience, the department assuring support to the community had one full-time person and one occasional additional person for just so many months a year. The community workers were there to translate and negotiate which made for an inordinate amount of work distributed amongst the agents. It was impossible to ever get it all done.

First Nations and Inuit children are made more vulnerable by the impact of many placements

The welfare of children is a responsibility shared by the entire society, but because of their vulnerability and dependence, some children suffer from poverty, abuse, injustice and inequality of access to protection.

Domestic Violence has Devastating Effects on the Children and Their Future

"We lose dignity if we tolerate the intolerable" (Unknown author)

My presence at Amnisty International in May 2015 and then my participation at the World’s March for Women October 4th 2015 to honour the missing and assassinated indigenous women has convinced me that it is impossible to dissociate mothers from the children in the project No Child Should Have to Take the Long Way Home.