Nunavik ends year with record number of TB cases, as officials promise funding announcement to come

Nunavik is ending the year with another record number of tuberculosis cases, as provincial and federal officials say more resources are coming to stop the spread of the disease in the region and across Inuit Nunangat.

As of Dec. 10, the region has recorded 112 active cases – the highest reported level in recent history. 

Jessika Huard, the tuberculosis elimination program manager at the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (NRBHSS) said that means the region now has one of the highest rates of tuberculosis in the world. 

Huard said NRBHSS has yet to secure additional funding from the Quebec government to execute a tuberculosis action plan presented earlier this year. However, she believes the discussions are going well and it’s now a case of striking deals with other government departments.

“The health system... can't really fix it all. I mean, they can obviously be a lot more engaged, but we need housing, infrastructure, and other social services to all work together in order to fix this,” she said. 

"In any southern region, a disease with this incidence would trigger emergency funding and large-scale intervention – and that would have happened a long time ago."

In June, Nunavik’s 14 mayors listed nine calls to action for the Quebec government, including to declare tuberculosis a public health emergency. While that declaration didn’t happen, Kangiqsujuaq Mayor Qiallak Nappaaluk says their outcry has spurred more action from all levels of government.

“They’re trying to get more places for the hospitals, they’re trying to get X-rays so [people] don’t have to leave the community,” Nappaaluk said. 

In a statement to CBC News, Quebec’s Ministry of Health and Social Services said a working group has started work to address all aspects of the tuberculosis crisis in Nunavik, which includes finding the necessary resources from various partners including the federal government.

Meanwhile, the federal minister of Indigenous Services, Mandy Gull-Masty, is calling on her provincial counterparts to work with the Canadian government to ensure there is adequate care and safety. 

“As the member of Parliament for a region greatly impacted by tuberculosis, I have a responsibility to listen to my constituents – as do all parliamentarians across the country,” she said in a statement. 

In 2018, the federal government and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) set the goal of eliminating tuberculosis across Inuit Nunangat by 2030, and halving incidence rates by 2025. 

The budget that year came with $27.5 million over five years to support the initiative. Five years later, the government pledged another $16.2 million over three years – meaning that funding is set to end in March 2026. 

While the fall budget didn’t have any funding specifically to combat tuberculosis across Inuit Nunangat, Gull-Masty says a funding decision in the next fiscal year is forthcoming.