Panel

Since 1985, Inuit in Nunavik, QC have been calling for the establishment of a post-secondary institute in the region. There have been several public consultations in the past four decades that have repeated this call and two feasibility studies on the topic. The latest study in 2023 concluded that the population of the region’s 14 villages needed to be consulted to see what the people of the region want in terms of a post-secondary institution, and to determine how best to meet the needs and desires of the population. The Kativik Ilisarniliriniq (school board) took it upon itself to run the consultations.

Nunavik is severely underserved for post-secondary education. It is the only region in Quebec that does not have post-secondary institution. Nunavik is the only northern region in Canada that is not home to a post-secondary institution. The results are predictable: According to the University of Laval report “Employment in Nunavik: Profile and Trends”, only 5.5% of the local population over 15 years of age holds a post-secondary diploma, degree, or certificate, compared to 41.7% for the whole of Quebec. In Nunavik, 35% of the jobs require a post-secondary certification of some kind.

The gap between the qualifications of the local population and the demands of the job market has left Nunaviummiut underrepresented in the technical, professional, and administrative positions of the institutions that govern their region and are less likely to earn a living wage than the disproportionately Southern workforce that populates the professional and technical ranks of the region’s organizations. These organizations have been running several on-the-job training programs and pilot projects for decades in the region. While some of these projects have borne success, if post-secondary education in the region remains a patchwork of pilot projects, on-the-job training, and students flying thousands of kilometers from home for years at a time, post-secondary education will remain out of reach for far too many Inuit.

The presenters are part of the team that carried out the public consultation for Kativik Ilisarniliriniq in 2023-2024. They will present their methodology and preliminary findings from the consultations, as well as explore some of the legal and institutional barriers and potential pathways to opening a post-secondary institute in Nunavik.