'Where do I go now?' Program for intimate partner violence victims in Nunavut cancelled

Emma Tranter · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 07, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

A aesculapian programme for victims of gender-based unit successful Nunavut has ended, leaving those who attended it with fewer places to turn. 

For the past fewer years, survivors in Nunavut person had the enactment to attend the Intimate Partner Violence Traumatic Brain Injury (IPV-TBI) program, run under the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and the Pan Am Concussion Program. 

The aviator programme started successful 2020, wherever it was archetypal delivered successful Rankin Inlet and led by Dr. Michael Ellis, a neurosurgeon with expertise successful concussion and encephalon wounded with the Pan Am Clinic successful Winnipeg. It was aboriginal brought to Winnipeg and Nunavut clients were flown down for treatment. 

Now, the programme has abruptly stopped. 

"Recently, Victim Services was informed that the Pan Am Clinic is nary longer successful a presumption to judge caller IPV-TBI referrals from Nunavut, effectual immediately," Christine Aye, manager of assemblage justness with Nunavut's justness department, told CBC News successful an email. 

Delma McLeod is simply a psychiatric caregiver who provided intelligence heath attraction to patients successful the program. 

"What's happening to these women that I've seen? These families that I've seen? I don't cognize what's happening," McLeod said. "They surely request ongoing care, and it's conscionable stopped."

According to Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, the complaint of unit against Inuit women is 14 times higher than the nationalist average.

Impact connected victims of convulsive crime 

Nunavut's nationalist prosecution bureau besides referred its clients to the program. 

Philippe Plourde, Nunavut's main national prosecutor, said the programme ending volition person a "negative interaction connected the services and enactment offered to victims of convulsive transgression successful Nunavut."

"This programme had the imaginable to importantly amended the services to victims of convulsive transgression successful Nunavut, and we are alert of victims who went done the programme and obtained precocious prime services and support," Plourde said. "We are hoping that different programs volition beryllium created to supply the specialized aesculapian enactment to victims successful their way to healing."

Patients' aesculapian question was besides paid for by the Nunavut government 

The justness section said Nunavut Victim Services volition besides proceed to research options "for individuals who whitethorn beryllium experiencing symptoms of traumatic encephalon wounded arsenic a effect of violence."

"We stay committed to raising consciousness of this contented and advocating for the trauma-informed services that victims and survivors request and deserve," the section wrote. 

McLeod said resources for victims are constricted successful Nunavut, but this programme provided a solution. 

"I've seen the impacts of the intimate spouse unit similar depression, anxiety, post-traumatic accent disorder, which includes slumber issues, appetite issues, assemblage aches and pains, conscionable the database goes connected and on," McLeod said. 

She said erstwhile the programme started, she was seeing astir two people a week. In caller years, that fig has jumped to sometimes 25 clients successful a day. 

Pilot task couldn't continue, wellness authorization says 

In a connection to CBC, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said the program was a aviator project, and due to the fact that of abstraction and assets limitations, it can't continue. 

"We are presently looking to find a much suitable semipermanent location successful transportation with the provincial Intimate Partner Violence program," the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority wrote. 

"We continue to research options to supply this attraction successful a exemplary that is sustainable and integrated with existing services passim the broader wellness strategy successful Manitoba and Nunavut." 

McLeod said the cancellation volition lone marque it much hard for radical to get help. 

"Like everyplace these women are going, it's being drilled successful that that they're not important," McLeod said. "And this last stroke of this programme being, well, we can't bash it anymore."

She said she hopes the programme volition someway beryllium capable to continue. 

"Where are these radical who are shutting this happening down? Because I'd similar them to spot the crying faces that I person to look at. They're like, wherever bash I spell now? What bash I bash now?"

"I had to look astatine these women and say, I can't spot you anymore."