Ottawa, ON, June 3, 2019 – The ITK Board of Directors met May 29 and 30 in Ottawa on a packed agenda that included funding allocation models on key priority areas including Inuit Early Learning and Child Care, Nutrition North Canada (NNC) Harvester Support Program, Canada’s Tobacco Control Strategy, the National Inuit Health Survey, and tuberculosis elimination. The Board also supported continued work to establish an Inuit specific equivalent to Jordan’s Principle (following the establishment of the Child First Initiative), and approved an Inuit Nunangat chapter for inclusion in the federal government’s Arctic Policy Framework.

The five key priority areas and funding allocation model decisions made were:

The National Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework was released in September 2018, and with it approximately $111M/10 years in Inuit-specific funding was announced, beginning in 2018/19. The ITK Board made a decision to allocate the second year of funding following the same model as the first year, and ask the Inuit Early Learning and Childcare working group to return to the Board of Directors in the fall of 2019 with options for allocation models for years three to ten.

The 2018 fall economic statement announced $62.6 million over five years starting in 2019-2020 for the Nutrition North Canada (NNC) program, of which $40 million would be used “to introduce a Harvesters Support Grant [HSG] to help lower the high costs associated with traditional hunting and harvesting activities,” with Inuit, through the ITK Board structure, determining the flow of funding between regions. The ITK Board came to a decision on funding allocation for the four Inuit regions, including a combination of base funding for administration as well as amounts using a formula incorporating per capita and number of communities, to be distributed over the next five years.

The 2018 federal budget announced the renewal of the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy (re-named Canada’s Tobacco Strategy or CTS) and recently approved Inuit-specific funding totalling $7,396,791 over 5 years. The ITK Board allocated these funds to the four Inuit regions using a funding formula which takes into account smoking prevalence and population size, as well as a base amount for administering the program.

Budget 2018 announced “$82 million over 10 years, with $6 million per year ongoing, for the co-creation of a permanent Inuit Health Survey (IHS). Funding will build capacity in Inuit communities to develop and collect survey information and support Inuit self-determination in setting the research agenda in their regions and communities.” The Board decided to use a funding allocation model for the first two years which takes into account factors most relevant to survey design and implementation, including number of communities. This model will be used as the Survey is being established and reassessed for the implementation phase.

In the 2018 federal budget, $27.5 million was allocated to implement regional action plans aimed to achieve tuberculosis elimination in Inuit Nunangat. Funding will allow regions to implement activities from their regional TB elimination action plans. The ITK Board allocated these funds to regions using a funding formula which takes into account the burden of active tuberculosis and population size, as well as a base amount for administering the program. The Board acknowledged the need for addition funding for the elimination target date of 2030 to be realized.

The Board also discussed the Child First Initiative and directed ITK to continue work to establish an Inuit specific equivalent to Jordan’s Principle that will support the social and health needs of Inuit children. The Child First Initiative is an interim measure to address a gap within the current service delivery framework for Inuit children to receive a variety of care and services from very simple needs like baby formula to more complex services and equipment. The Child First Initiative has provided more than 350 instances of support for Inuit children across Canada within its first year, and it is expected that this number will grow over the next five years of implementation.

The ITK Board acknowledged the commitment by Ruth Kaviok, outgoing NIYC President, for her work during her term as this was her final ITK Board meeting during her term as President.

ITK’s Board of Directors is made up of the elected leaders of each of the four land claim areas as voting members. Non-voting members are the leaders of the National Inuit Youth Council, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, and the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada.