http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/740876--suicides-turn-focus-on-stricken-north

Published On Sat Dec 19 2009

Written by Tanya Talaga

Ontario will place special focus on the plight of First Nations children's aid societies when the province reviews the laws that govern child welfare, youth justice and adoption practices next year, theStar has learned.

Northern children's aid societies are in the midst of fighting a suicide epidemic while also going broke. In the last year, 13 teens living in the remote communities along the James and Hudson Bay coasts, and, throughout the isolated north have committed suicide – all by hanging. The youngest to die was 14.

"Our agency is faced with an unprecedented regional suicide crisis," said Ernest Beck, executive director of Payukotayno James and Hudson Bay Family Services in Moosonee, a train- and fly-in-only community of 2,800. Beck has asked the Ontario government for emergency funding for four suicide prevention workers to help manage the crisis.

Children and Youth Services Minister Laurel Broten told theStar she had not spoken to Beck about this request, but will look into it. Broten, along with Aboriginal Affairs Minister Brad Duguid, plans to travel to the north in January to meet with First Nations community leaders and children's aid staff to see the problems they face first-hand. "I know that there are significant challenges in the north," Broten said. "Additional short-term money is not everything needed. I also know strong, child welfare alone won't be enough."

There is no simple fix to the issues of poverty, despair and isolation in the north, she added.

Payukotayno is struggling under a crushing debt load that leaves the agency unable to provide the same level of service children in southern Ontario receive. Last week, the government gave the agency a $2.3 million bailout after Beck threatened to lay off all 120 staff members and shut the agency down because of lack of money. However, the funds will only last until the end of March.

The costs of protecting and serving children in the north are comparatively high. Payukotayno often must dish out $400 a minute to charter a plane to rescue a child in crisis in a remote, fly-in reserve such as Attawapiskat or Kashechewan. Beck said they don't get extra funds to handle this cost.

"You can't do a lot here without paying a premium," said Beck.

The government review of the Child and Family Services Act will place special focus on children's aid societies' compliance with their obligations to provide services to First Nations children. A review of the legislation is conducted every five years. The government will also meet with First Nations representatives and service providers.

"This is an opportunity to look at the broad issue of how the act is working, how aboriginal children can be cared for – how the customary care model is working and how we can best support families," Broten said. "Maybe the foster care system isn't as strong – can we strengthen it? That is what we are looking at."

The findings of the review should be available by March 31, 2010.

High costs of living translate into a lack of foster homes, said Payukotayno's director of services, Marlene Kapashesit. Groceries in the Moosonee store cost nearly double those in the south – a box of Tide detergent costs about $17. Close to 70 Payukotayno kids have been shipped as far south as Toronto because of a lack of foster beds.

"We would really like to see our children come back," she said.