Nunavut's representative for children and youth tables 1st annual report

Since opening its doors last fall, staff atNunavut'schild and youth advocate office have handled 61 cases, allrelated to complaints with the territorial government.

"Of the 61 cases to date there are some common themes we are seeing," saidSherryMcNeil-Mulak, the Representative for Children and Youth.

"We are seeing that at times there are not enough services in particular areas on the ground for children and youth, for example mental health services."

McNeil-Mulaksaid many of the cases were in relationtothe departments of Health, Justice, Education and Family Services.

The Office of the Representative for Children and Youth has tabled its first annual report, outliningthe organization's first year from 2014-2015, and including details on staffing policy, training procedures and its budget.

The office finally opened its doors Sept.30, 2015, after a decade of lobbying for a child and youth advocate in the territory. Its role is to ensure children and youth's rights are protectedand to ensure their access to government services.

"There has been a tremendous amount of work that needed to take place over the development phase," said McNeil-Mulak.

"My days, and the team's days, ranged from pencils to policy."

Along with getting theoffice up and running and developing policy, McNeil-Mulak said hiring and training a full roster of staff was a challenge.

The report shows that 270 non-Nunavut residents applied for the organization's nine positions. Another 74 Nunavut residents applied, of whom21 were beneficiaries.

Eight of nine positions have been filled, all with northerners, three of whomare beneficiaries.

The report also outlines a budget surplus for 2014-2015 of $820,856. McNeil-Mulak said part of those savings come from her being hired halfway through the year.

"In those initial months after I was here the [rest of] the office also needed to be staffed," she said.

Because most of those positions are now filled, she does not expect a repeat of last year's surplus.