2025 Follow-up Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Legislative Assembly of NunavutOpening Statement to News Conference

Andrew Hayes, Deputy Auditor General, Office of the Auditor General of Canada—5 March 2025

Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Andrew Hayes, the Deputy Auditor General of Canada. I’m here to discuss the follow‑up report on child and family services, which our office delivered to the Nunavut Legislative Assembly today. I will deliver my statement in English, with Inuktitut and French versions available for your convenience. Par ailleurs, n’hésitez pas à me poser vos questions en français.

In 2023, our audit report on Child and Family Services in Nunavut described a system in crisis, plagued by multiple failures in every area examined. We found deficiencies in the government’s response to reports of suspected harm, in the screening of new foster homes, and in following up on the safety and well‑being of children, youth, and young adults placed in care in the territory or elsewhere in Canada.

Our 2023 report marked the third time since 2011 that the Office of the Auditor General of Canada had raised these concerns, pointing to systemic problems affecting the delivery of child and family services in Nunavut.

Given the ongoing risk to children, we urged the Government of Nunavut to take immediate action to protect vulnerable young people. The lack of progress was so persistent that we also decided to conduct regular follow‑up audits to focus on the progress made by the Government on key deficiencies we identified.

The report we are making public today is the first of our status updates.

In audit work from May 2023 to October 2024, we found that initial steps have been taken to address the failures affecting services for children, youth, and their families. The Department of Family Services has taken actions aimed at improving staffing, training, and supervision of its workforce. In October 2024, the Department presented a strategic plan with 80 action items aimed at improving protection and support services for children, youth and families.

Based on our follow‑up audit work, our determination is that most of the recent actions undertaken by the government will enable, or have enabled, progress toward improving outcomes for vulnerable youth.

But my message today remains filled with caution. The bottom line is that while initial actions have been taken, they have yet to produce appreciable changes to the outcomes for vulnerable children, youth and their families. That means that children and youth in Nunavut still remain at risk of not receiving the protections they are entitled to under Nunavut’s Child and Family Services Act—a situation that we have been reporting on for over a generation.

There is a substantial amount of work that remains to be done if outcomes are to improve. There remain serious concerns over how the Department of Family Services responds to referrals and undertakes investigations. We found that the Department continued to face challenges in areas such as office space and staff housing, which affect its ability to deliver its services. And while the Strategic Action Plan is far‑reaching, it lacks targets and baselines, clear accountabilities, and specific timelines to measure progress. The Department must prioritize actions that have concrete outcomes.

The overall protection and support of children is a critical responsibility of any government. The well‑being and safety of young people—as well as their families and community—are also core Inuit values. That is why, once again, we urge the Government of Nunavut to make it a priority to expedite efforts that will protect the vulnerable children and youth of the territory.

In 2023, Karen Hogan, the Auditor General of Canada, asked the government of Nunavut to take a whole‑of‑government approach to protecting children and youth in the territory’s 25 communities. Today, we are renewing our call to the Government to take coordinated and urgent actions to help safeguard Nunavut’s children and youth and support the territory’s families and communities.

Given the substantial amount of work that remains to be done to improve outcomes for vulnerable children, youth and their families, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada will regularly report on developments in this area.

Thank you. I am now ready to take your questions.