Without a dedicated agency or commission, Nunavut Inuit and other marginalized northern peoples face a future of systemic barriers in accessing justice and defending their rights. That’s just one of the serious gaps highlighted in a lengthy review of Nunavut’s Human Rights Act by the Amautiit Nunavut Inuit Women’s Association.

The 88-page report was funded by Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan. It saw Amautiit scrutinizing the lack of legal protections for Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ (two-spirited, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual) individuals in Nunavut. The analysis, part of ongoing efforts to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, sheds light on significant gaps and shortcomings in current legal frameworks.

Amautiit’s analysis of publicly available data highlighted three major deficiencies within Nunavut’s human rights systems. Firstly, there is a notable absence of an agency dedicated to promoting and safeguarding human rights in Nunavut. This gap is compounded by deliberate decisions not to establish a Commission within the Human Rights Act, leading to a lack of accessible public information, awareness and understanding of human rights.

In its report, Amautiit also recommended the urgent creation of a Human Rights Commissioner to address these shortcomings and ensure the effective protection of human rights across Nunavut.

Inadequacies identified by the report extend to the operations of the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal, which has demonstrated limited effectiveness since its establishment in 2005. With only two cases heard and decisions published over nearly two decades, the tribunal’s function appears compromised. A lack of clarity in processes, accountability mechanisms, and compliance with relevant legislation further exacerbates the situation.

This project was made possible with funding from the Amautiit Nunavut Inuit Women’s Association and Crown-Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. To read the full report, visit the Amautiit Nunavut Inuit Women’s Association web site.