A political crisis erupted when Senneterre’s emergency room was closed evenings and nights last year. People from this Abitibi village of 3,000 who were unfortunate enough to fall ill outside of business hours (8am to 4pm) had to drive 30 or 45 minutes to get to Val-d’Or, otherwise a time for amos The rescue service became more and more complicated.
Posted at 5:00 am
A man died on the way to the hospital.
Meanwhile, health services are no longer available in four of the seven Nunavik villages located on the Hudson Bay side. We take care of emergencies and more. Four of the seven local pharmacies are completely closed. In one of them there is only one nurse on duty, my colleague Ariane Lacoursière reported on Wednesday.
All of these Inuit villages in northern Quebec are isolated. You can only get to the next place by plane – if necessary in winter with the Skidoo. For more than 5000 people there is no plan B.
But the people there had to demand that the army be heard.
No question of bringing back the army (two months before the elections), François Legault decided.
For once, an important minister will be there. Christian Dubé announced that he would be there “in the next few days”.
A visit from the health minister will not solve the problem. But you have to go there to understand the living conditions in which the Inuit of Quebec are imprisoned.
Not only is there a lack of staff to take care of the people. It is missing from almost all services. Above all, there is a lack of living space, and we often live in groups of 10 or 12 in rooms that should accommodate a family of four.
True, all hospitals in Quebec are understaffed, especially in such remote villages. There is no line to go to work there, even in rotation.
But until the Red Cross was deployed, as if an unforeseen catastrophe had struck the region?
It’s beyond embarrassing. It’s a national disgrace.
The CAQ government is no more to blame than anyone else. For 50 years, Nunavik has had no shortage of reports of failing social services, health care, or the judiciary.
We can even credit the current government for appointing a “special rapporteur” who has just presented a very concrete, even personal, document on justice in this vast area, home to less than 15,000 people in 14 villages.
Jean-Claude Latraverse practiced law in the region for 20 years, first in defense and then as a prosecutor for the DPCP. He lived in Kuujjuaq for several years. He knows the area and the people.
Despite this, he was told in his deliberations that all promises of help from the government were worthless and that this system, in which he believed, had never really welcomed Nunavimmiut – the inhabitants of Nunavik.
I have to say it was quite a shock, although not a revelation. The shock came mainly from the fact that I was part of an inadequate colonial base system that perpetuates some form of racism, and that I only recognize it in hindsight.
Jean-Claude Latraverse, Special Rapporteur
As Mr. Latraverse presented his report, we were accidentally told that dozens of cases had been adjourned because no judge was available for the court tour. You risk being abandoned completely.
Apparently, even in this emergency situation, the Quebec court found no one to dispense justice. Has the Court really done the impossible to provide these essential services? I doubt.
In your opinion, how can this justice be taken seriously?
Mr. Latraverse notes that the Inuktitut word for judges in Nunavut (in the extreme north of Canada) means “those who talk about what happened a long time ago”.
Yes, the need is immense. In a single year, out of a population of 12,362, 1,356 people were prosecuted – more than 10 times the Quebec average. Reports to the protection of minors reach frightening proportions – often every second child – neglect, abuse, violence against the background of alcohol and drugs.
One more reason to prevent business interruptions at all costs. And adapt the judiciary to local reality.
The lawyer makes 60 very sensible recommendations to Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, but also to local leaders and judges. I still feel like repeating what I was told in the 1990s when I interviewed the “wandering” judges, who clearly saw that this southern judiciary was misaligned and often got nothing.
Additionally, if it just won’t be returned by those who claim to be spending it, that’s because we’ve failed Nunavik once again, even for the basic necessities of humans.