Housing, mental health, addictions among the issues Nunavimmiut care most about this election

Carbon taxes, military bases, fighting against tariffs – these are some of the big-ticket policy announcements heard from the major parties so far in this federal election campaign.

But in Nunavik, many residents say they just want action to address the basics, like food insecurity, mental health and addictions treatment. 

Nunavik is part of Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou, the third-largest riding by area in the country. 

The riding encompasses many different cultures, including Naskapi, Anishinaabe, Cree, Inuit and Francophone, and each community has its own unique stories and challenges. 

CBC has asked several Nunavimmiut about the issues they care about.

20-year-old Mary-Jane Qinuajuak wants youth to have a voice, and for federal politicians to actually listen to them. 

"I just want a place, or even something online, where youth can freely talk without any judgment," she said. 

As Inukjuak's youth house coordinator, she sees several issues youth struggle with in her community, including food insecurity, education, bullying, and mental health. She said she was bullied growing up, and she doesn't want anybody else to experience what she went through.

She doesn't believe there are enough resources, such as therapists, to address those issues, and she doesn't believe Nunavimmiut are being given the opportunities to have new experiences. 

"They should involve youth [to help them] … see new changes in their environment, in their region," she said. 

Rates of suicide are estimated to be five to 25 times higher in Inuit Nunangat, compared to the Canadian average. That's according to a 2021 report from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, which drew data from the 2012 and 2017 Aboriginal Peoples Surveys. 

Across Inuit Nunangat, the lifetime prevalence of having suicidal thoughts was the highest in Nunavik, according to the report, which also details the intersections between mental health and addictions.

Quaqtaq's Charlie Okpik is the president of Nunalituqait Ikajuqatigiittut Inuit Association (NIIA), which is funded by Health Canada to help Nunavimmiut struggling with substance use. He believes intergenerational trauma is often a driver of addictions. He went through that himself after he was sexually assaulted.

"It's something that's not easy to talk about… children being left alone, having no mom, being neglected by your mom or dad. … there is no one in the world who is perfect," he said in Inuktitut.