Statistics Canada releases fact sheets on Inuit regions

Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat are more likely to live in crowded homes, are less likely to have post secondary education credentials and are less likely to live with both of their parents than non-aboriginal people in the same area, according to new data released by Statistics Canada.

Its new fact sheets summarize information on Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat — the four Inuit regions in the country: Nunavut, Nunavik in northern Quebec, Nunatsiavut in Labrador and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Northwest Territories.

The data comes from the 2011 Household Survey and the 2012 Aboriginal People's Survey. 

Language, education and health

For example, the data shows 83 per cent overall of Inuit who live in Inuit Nunangat speak their traditional language well enough to carry on a conversation. 

Non-aboriginal people living in Inuit Nunangat were nearly three times more likely to have post a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree than the aboriginal population. 

In 2011, almost 40 per cent of Inuit in the region lived in a crowded house, which is defined as more than one person per room. By comparison, 15 per cent of First Nations residents and four per cent of non-aboriginal people lived in similar conditions. The homes Inuit were living in were also more likely to be in need of repair.

Two-thirds of Inuit children 14 or younger lived with both parents, compared to 85 per cent of their non-aboriginal counterparts. Twenty-five per cent of Inuit children 14 or younger lived in a lone-parent family. Inuit children in Inuit Nunangat were also significantly more likely to live with relatives or be in foster care than non-aboriginal children. 

When it came to health, there was a gap between Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat and Inuit living in other parts of the country. Forty-four per cent of Inuit over the age of 12 living in the region rated their health as excellent or very good. Outside of Inuit Nunangat, that number was close to 60 per cent.

'It implies there is a larger issue with us'

Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, says he's disappointed with the way Statistics Canada packaged and released the fact sheets. 

Obed says Inuit should have been involved before the information was released.

"The fact that Inuit weren't a part of the creation of these summary reports or weren't a part of even looking at this information before it was released speaks to a larger disconnect that still exists between the federal government and how it acts versus what it says it wants to do in partnership with Inuit," he says.

"The way this data is packaged and the way it's presented to the world is that of a deficit, so the Inuit numbers are always the bad numbers and it implies there is a larger issue with us."

Duane Smith, chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, agrees.

"Maybe next time they're considering this, they would work closer with us so the data that's being gathered is not being done in isolation but being done collaboratively so the information can be used more beneficially for both parties to apply."

Francois Nault, director of aboriginal statistics with Statistics Canada, said Inuit were consulted when the questions for the survey were written. He said the agency doesn't interpret the data it collects, it just presents it.

Nault says he looks forward to working with Inuit groups in the future.​