Opening Statement to the Standing Committee on Oversight of Government Operations and Public Accounts
Child and Family Services in Nunavut
(2023 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut)
19 and 20 September 2023
Andrew Hayes
Deputy Auditor General
Ullaakkut. Good morning. Mr. Chair, we are pleased to be here in Iqaluit today to discuss our audit report on child and family services in Nunavut, which was tabled in the legislative assembly on May 30th of this year. With me today are James McKenzie, the principal responsible for the audit, and Liliane Cotnoir, director.
We looked at whether the Department of Family Services and the Department of Health, with the support of the Department of Human Resources, provided services to protect and support the well‑being of vulnerable children and youth and their families.
We found failures in all the areas we examined, starting with the Department of Family Services’ response to reports of suspected harm to children. We reviewed 92 referrals and found that for 20 of them, the department had not done the required screening to assess the child’s risk and circumstances. As for the remaining referrals, 60 of them required an investigation because of risks to a child. We found that half of the investigations were not completed.
For children and youth placed in foster care in the territory, the department did not have evidence that essential screenings and check‑ins were done. In the case of 23 children, youth, and young adults who were placed in care outside the territory, we did not see evidence that community social service workers checked in monthly with these vulnerable young people, as they were required to do. These check-ins are important to ensure their well-being and to confirm that they are receiving the level of care they need.
We identified a number of persistent root causes that were linked to the department’s failure to protect Nunavut’s at-risk children and youth. They include funding, the inability to hire and retain permanent staff, and a lack of housing, office space, and timely training for community social service workers.
These challenges were compounded by poor information management practices. For example, the Department of Family Services did not have reliable data to answer the most basic question of how many children and youth it was responsible for. Having access to reliable, accurate, up‑to‑date information in a central system—and training staff to use it—is essential for continuity of knowledge and informed decision making.
For the past 12 years, the departments we audited have all agreed with our recommendations, but we have yet to see vulnerable children receive the protection they deserve. In fact, our 3 separate reports since 2011 paint the picture of a system that has failed the children and families that it is meant to protect and support. For this reason, we made the decision to not issue more recommendations in this third report, as our previous recommendations still stand.
This report is more than statistics, trends, and a compilation of facts. In May, when this report was released, the Auditor General spoke of a system in crisis. While the COVID‑19 pandemic prompted a rapid mobilization of resources to deliver a fast and far‑reaching response, the long‑standing crisis facing vulnerable children and families in Nunavut has yet to result in a response from the government equal to the acute issues at hand.
Given the gravity of the situation, we felt an obligation to use a different approach. This included not issuing recommendations, but also sending letters to the Deputy Minister to convey the deeply troubling nature of our early findings. Similarly, when the Auditor General released this report in May, she called for a whole‑of‑government approach to protect the territory’s vulnerable children and youth. We asked the Government of Nunavut to compel the 3 departments—the Department of Family Services, the Department of Health, and the Department of Human Resources—to collaboratively take urgent and necessary concrete actions to help safeguard Nunavut’s children and support the territory’s families and communities.
In response to our findings, the Department of Family Services is preparing an action plan, which should include actions and contributions by other departments from across the Government of Nunavut. Our office will monitor the implementation of this plan and work with the government and the legislative assembly on solutions that will make a difference for vulnerable children and youth.
The issues we raised are long-standing and systemic. We recognize that they find their roots in socio-economic issues that are broader than a single audit. But they still require each of us to ask the question: What needs to change for these children and their families to receive the help and support they need?
Mr. Chair, this concludes my opening statement. We would be happy to answer any questions the committee may have. Nakurmiik. Thank you.