Ottawa puts $50M behind Inuit-led university as part of major announcement for northern communities

Ottawa will contribute $50 million to help build the first Inuit-led university in Canada and more than $170 million for tuberculosis elimination, food security and child and family supports in Inuit communities.

Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty made the announcement in Kuujjuaq, Que., on Thursday afternoon at a meeting with the Kativik Regional Government, which provides municipal and administrative services to the Nunavik region of northern Quebec.

"Together, we can create lasting opportunities that empower Inuit communities to thrive and shape their own future," Gull-Masty said in a statement.

"These investments reflect our commitment to addressing long-standing gaps in health and community services, while supporting Inuit-led priorities and strengthening the foundations that sustain vibrant, healthy communities in the North."

The long-awaited funding, which is intended to improve the quality of life for Inuit, is being welcomed by Inuit leaders after the dollar figures were notably absent from last fall's federal budget. But they're calling on Ottawa to go even further to address the inequities between their communities and others in Canada.

"This funding will make a meaningful difference in the lives of our children and families," said Pita Aatami, president of the Makivvik Corporation — the legal representative of Inuit in Nunavik.

"However, much work remains to close long-standing gaps and address the systemic challenges that Inuit continue to face."

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The federal government says it will continue working with Inuit partners on solutions that reflect their priorities and support strong communities.

The federal commitment of $50 million for the first Inuit-led university in the country set to be built in Arviat, Nunavut, will be funded through Budget 2025's Build Communities Strong Fund. Support was promised in the budget, but it didn't specify a dollar amount until now.

"Inuit Nunangat University is a transformative initiative that will strengthen Inuit-led education and community well-being, and contribute to long-term economic and social development across Inuit Nunangat," Housing Minister Gregor Robertson said in a statement.

"Learning and working at home means that more Inuit will have the opportunity to grow in the North."

Ottawa is also committing $115 million to renew the Inuit Child First Initiative, which was set to expire at the end of March.

The program is a temporary measure to ensure Inuit children have equal access to health, social, educational services and other essential supports without delay, including food vouchers.

More than three-quarters of Inuit children in their homeland — known as Inuit Nunangat — experienced food insecurity in 2022, according to Statistics Canada. 

The Inuit Child First Initiative has up to 7,000 funding requests that have not been adjudicated by Indigenous Services Canada, according to figures shared with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) from the federal department. 

"That is an indication that there are huge administrative challenges with this initiative," ITK president Natan Obed, who heads the national representational organization of Inuit.

Obed told CBC News he's made it known to Gull-Masty that one of the first orders of business should be to respond to those waiting for the initiative's funding, then work on improving the program with long-term funding. 

Gull-Masty's office said the $115 million extension will ensure service continuity until March 31, 2027, as Indigenous Services Canada works with Inuit partners on a long-term, Inuit-led approach.

Along with support for Inuit children and families, Gull-Masty is set to unveil $30 million for the Nutrition North Canada subsidy to ship food and essential items to 124 isolated northern communities. 

The retail-subsidy program is meant to reduce the cost of perishable food and essential items.

An additional $6.7 million is being set aside for the Northern Isolated Community Initiatives Fund to support businesses and community groups in finding ways to grow and distribute food locally.

The federal government will also spend $27 million over five years to support Inuit-led, community-specific efforts to be rid of tuberculosis by supporting better prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Obed commended the government for its pledge, but said even more needs to be done to ensure the disease is completely eliminated from Inuit communities, especially as the federal government is preparing to spend billions of dollars to shore up Arctic security. 

"If the government of Canada wishes to expand its footprint in Inuit Nunangat through the military … I would imagine that Canadian soldiers don't want to contract TB either," Obed said. 

In 2018, ITK and the federal government committed to eliminate tuberculosis in Inuit Nunangat by 2030.

It's unclear if that target will be met.

Inuit communities still have some of the highest rates of the disease in the world. Nunavik ended last year with a record number of tuberculosis cases.

Jessika Huard, the tuberculosis elimination program manager at the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (NRBHSS), told CBC News at the height of last year's outbreak that the health system is far from the only tool needed to fight tuberculosis.

"We need housing, infrastructure and other social services to all work together in order to fix this," she said. 

The jurisdictions of Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories also play an essential role in the work to be rid of tuberculosis.

"Inuit are dying of tuberculosis," Obed said. "This is a disease that has tremendous ramifications for the sustainability of our communities and the cost of our health-care system."

Obed is calling on Ottawa to take more leadership, with targeted funding for housing and health infrastructure, food security and poverty reduction. 

"We are still waiting for the government of Canada to honestly come to the table and work towards the elimination of tuberculosis as if it is the crisis that it is in our communities," Obed said.

More than $1.8 billion has been directed to housing and infrastructure in Inuit Nunangat, according to Gull-Masty's office. Last year's federal budget included a commitment of $2.8 billion for urban, rural and northern housing across all First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities.

"We are committed to that work and that work does not stop here — this is one step in this process," Gull-Masty said in a statement to CBC News.

"We will continue to work with Inuit to achieve our shared goal of elimination tuberculosis by investing in science, health professionals and Indigenous partners."