Provincial Health Minister Philippe Couillard has announced that the Quebec government will spend $36.4 million to protect children from abuse and violence in Inuit communities.
The infusion, announced August 24, is part of the more than $ 170 million the province pledged to the area during the two-day Katimajiit Conference in Kuujjuaq. Federal, provincial and Inuit leaders talked about ways to bolster the region and the future of Inuit generations to come.
The new cash will be used to provide more services and to hire and house social and medical workers.
Quebec also announced more funding; $27.5 million for economic development, a $9 million fund to help lower the costs of transportation in the region, an $8 million contribution toward a project to expand the airstrip at Puvirnituq, and $2.8 million for marine infrastructure in 14 communities, to name a few.
The announcements come less than a month after the Inuit signed a self-government deal that would see them take over health and education in Nunavik and give them municipal powers like taxation.
