Elders' home, transitional housing among Nunavik priorities for new federal funds

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Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-30 16:34:17.0
Tags: [National, Quebec, Housing, Indigenous, Healthcare, Seniors]

The Government of Canada announced $130 million in funding for Inuit treaty organizations, with more than $32 million allocated to Makivvik to support regional priorities in Nunavik. Makivvik plans to put the funds toward a new elders' home in Kuujjuaq, Quebec, and transitional housing in Montreal, following the relocation of 13 elders due to structural issues at a previous facility. Additional allocations from the $130 million package include $16.9 million for the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, $15.5 million for the Nunatsiavut government, and $65 million for Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated under the federal Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Fund.

Twelve New Sober Living Spaces Open in Prince Albert

Source: Saskatchewan - Government News
Date: 2026-10-21 21:00:00.0
Tags: [Saskatchewan, Healthcare, Social Services, Indigenous]

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Lori Carr announced $556,000 in annual funding to the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) to establish 12 new second-stage sober living spaces housed in two fourplexes in Prince Albert. Client intake began on August 7, 2026, with full operational capacity achieved on October 1, 2026, providing structured, substance-free, and culturally responsive environments for individuals continuing their recovery journeys. This initiative contributes to the Government of Saskatchewan's broader target of adding 500 new addictions recovery spaces across the province under the Action Plan for Mental Health and Addictions, bringing the current total to 414 available spaces out of the 500 goal, backed by a record $674 million investment in the 2026-27 Provincial Budget.

Q&A | Rise in tuberculosis cases result of more detection efforts, Nunavut CPHO says

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-13 18:14:32.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Social Services, Indigenous]

Nunavut's Department of Health reported 32 active cases of tuberculosis across seven communities in the first three quarters of 2026, compared to 26 cases the previous year, though Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Ekua Agyemang notes the figures remain down from 36 cases in 2024 and 67 in 2023. The territorial government, with support from the Canadian Red Cross, deployed mobile public health teams to establish TB clinics in Iqaluit, Kinngait, Kugaaruk, and Sanirajak, alongside outbreak-containment teams in Arviat and Naujaat. Dr. Agyemang attributed the recent uptick in detected cases to enhanced diagnostic screening capabilities rather than an overall programmatic regression, while emphasizing that persistent systemic drivers such as housing overcrowding and food insecurity—partially mitigated via food hampers provided alongside Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI)—continue to impact disease transmission.

Inuvik’s Crystal Lennie appointed to national health council

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-10 10:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Indigenous, Governance]

Crystal Lennie of Inuvik has been appointed as one of 16 members to the governing council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the federal agency overseeing national health research funding. Appointed by Health Minister Marjorie Michel, Lennie brings northern and Inuit perspectives to the council, aiming to leverage community-led data and Indigenous knowledge to direct policy changes regarding food security, homelessness, and housing. Lennie has extensive prior experience with national bodies including Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami's National Inuit Committee on Health and the Inuit Public Health Task Group.

Behchokǫ̀ woman fights brain cancer and an 8-year wait for housing

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-09 10:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Housing, Indigenous, Social Services, Healthcare]

Phoebe Nadezo, a 49-year-old resident of Behchokǫ̀, Northwest Territories, has faced an eight-and-a-half-year wait for a social housing unit while battling brain cancer and homelessness since 2015. Housing N.W.T. reports that 168 applicants are currently on the social housing waitlist in Behchokǫ̀, where the average wait time is approximately two years. While Housing N.W.T. has cited recent initiatives—including five modular homes near completion, 10 units under construction, and a $480 million joint territorial-federal investment announced in July 2026 under Build Canada Homes for up to 560 units—local leaders like Monfwi MLA Jane Weyallon Armstrong point to systemic failures, such as over 10 boarded-up detached homes sitting empty due to a lack of repair budgets.

Beginning immunizations for viral respiratory season

Source: British Columbia - Government News
Date: 2026-10-07 16:45:00.0
Tags: [British Columbia, Healthcare, Seniors, Indigenous]

The Government of British Columbia, through the Ministry of Health, has launched its 2026-27 viral respiratory immunization campaign, securing nearly two million doses of influenza vaccine, 1.5 million doses of updated COVID-19 vaccines (Moderna Spikevax, Pfizer Comirnaty, and Sanofi Nuvaxovid), and introducing a targeted, free respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) program for seniors aged 75 and older and Indigenous individuals aged 60 and older. Notifications via the provincial Get Vaccinated system began on October 5, 2026, with appointments opening on October 13 across health authority clinics, over 1,400 participating pharmacies, and primary-care providers. The campaign aligns with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization guidelines to protect high-risk priority populations, including young children, seniors, pregnant individuals, and those with chronic health conditions.

Health Canada outlines plans for $144.8M in N.W.T. health care

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-05 17:04:20.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Indigenous, Social Services]

Health Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories announced a bilateral health funding agreement totaling over $144.8 million, making the Northwest Territories the first jurisdiction in Canada to renew its ten-year national health accord. The funding includes $51.2 million under the Working Together stream directed toward physician training and recruitment, primary health-care team integration, and mental health programming over the next seven years. Additionally, $70.2 million in federal funding matched by $23.4 million in territorial funding will support 16 infrastructure projects across 12 communities, including an MRI machine space at Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife, a CT scanner in Inuvik, six health cabins in remote communities, a community wellness centre in Délı̨nę, and specialized spaces for an Indigenous clinic.

Inuvik program to provide housing, transitional supports for men after addictions treatment

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-02 12:28:10.0
Tags: [National, Housing, Social Services, Indigenous, Healthcare]

The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation is preparing to open the Transitional Housing and Recovery Program (THARP) in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, featuring a four-bedroom house with eight beds. The facility aims to provide men returning from southern addictions treatment with safe housing, employment readiness training, after-care recovery support, land-based healing, and independent living skills. Program staff are completing training and navigating final government guidelines, with a projected opening as early as the end of the month.

New federal petition calls for permanent health funding for residential school survivors

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-01 21:42:25.0
Tags: [National, Indigenous, Social Services, Healthcare, Justice]

Winnipeg Centre Member of Parliament Leah Gazan submitted a House of Commons petition containing 930 signatures calling on the federal government to make health resource funding permanent for Indian Residential School survivors. The petition specifically targets the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program—established in 2006 under the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement—which provides cultural, emotional, and mental health counseling and is currently scheduled to sunset in March 2028. Additionally, the petition demands permanent federal funding for the Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Fund, which assists Indigenous communities in conducting archival research and locating unmarked graves. The initiative also renews legislative calls to criminalize residential school denialism via a private member's bill initially re-tabled in October 2025.

Q&A | N.W.T. health care has 'absolutely' improved over past 3 years, says new minister

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-28 14:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Governance, Indigenous]

Following the sudden resignation of Lesa Semmler as the Northwest Territories health minister in September 2026, Nunakput MLA and Housing N.W.T. Minister Lucy Kuptana stepped in as interim Health Minister. Kuptana stated that territorial healthcare has improved over the past three years through modernized medical travel, small community models of care, updated equipment negotiated via non-insured health benefits, and regular visits from specialized eye and dental teams. The interim minister also highlighted ongoing challenges regarding escalating pre-COVID cost controls, medical travel expenses, staffing shortages, and the critical need for expanded territorial aftercare and residential addiction facilities in partnership with local NGOs and Indigenous Services Canada.

'Father of Nunavut' has one more fight left: to live in the territory he helped create

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-22 08:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Seniors, Social Services, Indigenous, Justice]

Supporters of John Amagoalik, known as the 'Father of Nunavut,' filed two notices of application for judicial review in the Nunavut Court of Justice against the territorial government after it declined a request for $16,000 per month to cover his accessible housing and daily personal support worker care in Iqaluit. Amagoalik, who requires complex medical care following a partial leg amputation, was previously sent by the Department of Health to Embassy West Senior Living in Ottawa, where 73 Nunavut elders are currently housed due to a lack of territorial facilities. Friends and supporters formed the John A. Committee, raising $30,000 to temporarily bring him home, and are now seeking a court order to compel the government to adequately fund his long-term care needs within the territory.

Province Awards Grants for Suicide Prevention

Source: Saskatchewan - Government News
Date: 2026-09-10 23:00:00.0
Tags: [Saskatchewan, Healthcare, Social Services, Indigenous]

The Government of Saskatchewan is awarding 44 grants totaling more than $400,000 under the second year of its Suicide Prevention Grant Program, with each successful applicant receiving up to $10,000. Recipients include community-based organizations such as the Afro Tribes Festival Incorporated, Indigenous communities, school divisions, and municipalities. This program forms part of the broader Pillars for Life: The Saskatchewan Suicide Prevention Plan, backed by a provincial investment of $2.3 million specifically for suicide prevention initiatives within a broader $674 million mental health and addictions budget for the year.

Health study begins examining potential oilsands impacts on Fort Chipewyan

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-10 12:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Alberta, Indigenous, Healthcare, Environment, Energy]

A 10-year, $12-million federally funded health study named Project Monument Hill has officially begun to examine potential links between oilsands developments and cancer rates among residents in the northern Alberta Indigenous community of Fort Chipewyan. Overseen by the Métis Nation, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, and the Mikisew Cree First Nation—with the federal government playing an observer role—third-party researchers will analyze current and historical health data, monitor environmental conditions, and evaluate traditional land use. The study follows decades of community concern regarding industrial projects upstream along the Athabasca River, such as Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine and Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills mine.

Saddle Lake Cree Nation asserts treaty rights over access to gender-affirming care

Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-09 21:56:42.0
Tags: [Alberta, Indigenous, Healthcare, Justice, Governance]

Saddle Lake Cree Nation is asserting its sovereign treaty rights under the "medicine chest" clause of Treaty 6 to create protections for gender-affirming care on reserve lands and territories. The initiative directly challenges Alberta provincial legislation, specifically Bills 26, 27, and 29, which implemented restrictions on transgender youth regarding medical treatments, name and pronoun changes, and sports participation. Backed by Two-Spirit family physician Dr. James Makokis, the Nation plans to bring in Canadian-trained clinicians to provide uninterrupted medical services on reserve lands outside provincial jurisdiction.

Nunavut’s first trauma and addictions centre will have Inuit-focused healing programming, says director

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-09 10:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Healthcare, Indigenous, Social Services, Infrastructure]

Annie Aningmiuq has been appointed as the first executive director of Aqqusariaq, Nunavut's first-ever trauma and addictions centre. The 24-bed facility, stemming from a 2019 agreement signed by Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated alongside federal and territorial governments, will feature Inuit-focused healing programming including on-the-land activities, traditional hunting tool workshops, and a cultural sewing room. While construction has faced delays and a final opening date is not yet set, the facility aims to provide localized care so Nunavummiut can access treatment without leaving the territory.

Denmark passes compensation bill for thousands of Inuit in Greenland forced to get IUDs

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-03 14:28:17.0
Tags: [National, Indigenous, Justice, Healthcare, Social Services]

Following a 2025 joint Greenlandic-Danish inquiry revealing that approximately 4,000 Greenlandic women and girls were subjected to forced intrauterine device (IUD) implantations and sterilizations between 1966 and 1991, the Danish government passed a bill awarding eligible victims a one-time compensation of roughly $64,000 CAD. This legislative action has prompted Inuit women and advocates in Canada—where historical and ongoing forced and coerced sterilizations of Indigenous women have been documented into the 2010s, including 22 documented cases in Quebec between 1980 and 2019—to renew calls for a formal federal apology and financial restitution. While the Canadian federal government has not issued an apology or compensation program, it recently amended the Criminal Code in June to criminalize forced and coerced sterilization, alongside facing at least four active class-action lawsuits.