Inuktut is available here. The french version is available here.
The President of Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada (PIWC), Rebecca Kudloo, today issued the following statement on the Government of Canada’s funding for safe shelters announcement:
“Today’s safe shelters announcement by the federal government is what concrete action toward meaningful reconciliation with Inuit women looks like.
“During the last year, Pauktuutit met with many federal cabinet ministers, including Minister Miller, Minister Vandal, Minister Bennett, Minister McKenna, Minister Monsef and Minister Fortier to advocate on key issues important for the safety and wellbeing of Inuit women and children.
“During these meetings, we told the Ministers our highest priority was funding for five safe shelters for women and children — one in each region within Inuit Nunangat and one in Ottawa, which has the highest population of urban Inuit in Canada.
“These ministers engaged and listened respectfully to the voices of Inuit women. They said they recognized more needed to be done and they were supportive of Pauktuutit’s request for funding for shelters. Today, they made good on their words and delivered.
“This announcement addresses a glaring funding gap that has existed for many decades for Inuit women.
“Pauktuutit was especially pleased to see the guarantee of long-term operational funding for the new shelters was also included in the announcement. This will ensure the shelters’ stable operation for years to come and that healing and other programs — designed and delivered by Inuit, for Inuit — will be in place for women and children who need them.
“Pauktuutit estimates the funding for the construction of the five shelters will be approximately $20 million. This funding is a down payment on the investments that must be forthcoming to respect the human rights of Inuit women, including the right to safety and security of their person.
“Pauktuutit looks forward to working with our Inuit Nunangat partners, as well as Inuit organizations in Ottawa, to co-develop the applications for these shelters which are so urgently needed and will no doubt save lives.”
— Rebecca Kudloo
Pauktuutit is the national non-profit organization representing all Inuit women in Canada. Its mandate is to foster a greater awareness of the needs of Inuit women, and to encourage their participation in community, regional and national concerns in relation to social, cultural and economic development.
For more information, please contact:
Susan King,
sking@pauktuutit.ca,
613-724-1518