By Canadian Press

Groups gather to discuss spate of suicides in northern Quebec region of Nunavik

Oct 30, 2018 | 3:00 PM

MONTREAL — The regional health board serving northern Quebec is repeating calls for action as local officials gather for an emergency meeting this week to discuss a spate of suicides in Nunavik.

The number of suicides in the remote region’s 14 Inuit communities is being called a crisis, and experts are in Kuujjuaq until Wednesday to discuss a response.

The local school board sounded the alarm earlier this month, calling for action after the suicides of at least two students this school year.

Some media reports have pegged the number of deaths in 2018 at 15 — in a region that has just 12,000 people.

In a statement Tuesday, Nunavik’s regional board of health and social services said it is committed to working with other local groups to improve the situation.

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“What we are going through in Nunavik is not necessarily individual based,” says Minnie Grey, executive director of the health board. “It’s a collective societal problem that needs to be addressed collectively.”

A spokeswoman for Indigenous Services Canada said the federal government was not asked to attend the meeting, but senior ministers in the Trudeau government have said they are ready to help if needed.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

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Groups gather to discuss spate of suicides in northern Quebec region of Nunavik

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