Silent protest in Iqaluit demands more elder care facilties and supports in Nunavut

About 20 people gathered outside Nunavut's Legislative Assembly Friday morning, facing temperatures below -25 C, to show their silent support for a Coral Harbour, Nunavut, family that's trying to bring their father home from a dementia facility in Ottawa.

The protestors also called for the government to provide more elder care facilities in the territory, and more supports to help families care for their aging relatives and community members at home.  

Among them was Sarah Netser, whose father Raymond Ningeocheak, has been receiving care for dementia for the past year at Embassy West Senior Living Facility in Ottawa. 

Ningeocheak served almost 40 years as the second vice-president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the land claim organization for Nunavut which represents about 30,000 Inuit. 

The family has already signed a waiver to bring him home, acknowledging that the health facilities in Coral Harbour can't deal with his needs, and assuming responsibility for his care. 

However, they can't get medical approval to move him, said Iqaluit lawyer Anne Crawford, who helped organize the silent protest.

Without approval, the Nunavut health department won't pay the cost of his travel home, or for equipment like a hospital bed. That would leave the family on the hook for more than $45,000 in expenses. 

Crawford is helping the family in their discussions with the government and describes herself as an elder's advocate.  

"They're looking for an appeal or a second opinion to see if it's practical for him to come home," she said.

"He does have a right to return. He can't be arbitrarily detained. But the [Nunavut government] is not willing to pay for the costs of his travel unless their criteria are satisfied." 

Netser told the CBC News her father can't get medical clearance because he is waiting for a neurological appointment.

It's been a year, and she said there's still no word on when that appointment will happen.

Netser said the family would rather he wait at home.

"He's lonely and longing to be with family.… If he's around them, I think he will gain his spirit back," she said. "And I think if he's eating his own country food he will gain more weight back."