Efforts continue to attract Healthcare workers through expansion of Come Home Incentive.

The provincial Government has expanded the criteria for the healthcare professionals eligible to receive the Come Home Incentive, first announced in October 2022. With this change, the incentive is now available for eligible Clinical Psychologists, Respiratory Therapists, Radiation Therapists, Cardiology Therapists and Medical Physicists.

The incentive aimed at encouraging former residents of Newfoundland and Labrador who are now living away to come home and work. As the original incentive is available to eligible individuals who have been living outside the province for at least 6 months.

The Honorable Tom Osbourne, Minister of Health and Community Services will be available today, Thursday, January 26 at 11:15 am to discuss the initiative. The availability will take place at the main lobby of East Bloc, Confirmation Building and will be livestreamed on Facebook.

The province says they are confident that the expanded Come Home program will continue to help boost the attractiveness of our health community and the ultimate goal of improving access to care in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Nain Inuit Community Government held a meeting on January 24, 2023.

During this meeting, an issue on loose dogs was discussed, and the following actions are being taken.

– Dog traps have been set out around Nain; and
– Two dog catchers will be working together for the next 2 weeks in an effort to catch more dogs.

Also, the NICG will be making changes to the dog control regulations to deter dog owners from letting their dogs loose.

These changes include significant increases to seizure and impounds fees.

The first seizure and impounding will now cost $500 plus licensing fees if they have not already been made, and the second seizure and impounding will be $750.

If a dog is seized and impounded a third time, it will not be handed back to the owner and instead be sent to the SPCA.

The effective date for these changes will be posted once it has been determined.

This notice is to give owners a caution as to what will be happening.

AnânauKatiget Tumingit Regional Inuit Women’s Association Inc. has partnered up with the Keepers of the Circle.

The Keepers of the Circle is a non-profit organization that focuses on projects and workshops to allow opportunity for Indigenous women to participate in impact assessments in Canada and within our Territory.

We spoke to Johanna Tuglavina the Agency Lead for Keepers of the Circle.

Tuglavina says she recently came back from a 2-day conference in Gatineau Quebec.

They had 4 drum dancers from Nain who performed at the conference.

Click here to find out more about this 2-day conference.

The annual Bell Let’s Talk Day is held today January 25, 2023, across Nunatsiavut and Canada.

The Nain Department of Health and Social Development is holding a contest for community members today.

We spoke with Elsie Russell who is the Mental Health and Addictions Worker.

She says the prize to win this contest is a New Pelican Sled that is 94 inches.

Russell says you can participate in this contest in two different ways:

1. Go to the Nain DHSD Nunatsiavut Facebook page and please use hash tag #BellLetsTalkNain, every hashtag used is an entry.
2. everyone that fills out a bubble card with a photo will also have an entry.

The contest will be drawn today around 4pm to find the lucky winner of the brand-new Pelican Sled.

Always remember to help a friend who is struggling and please reach out.

We can reduce the stigma around mental health by making conversation around mental health every day.

The new 2023 Bell Let’s Talk awareness campaign, “Let’s change this”, highlights the shift from awareness to action by asking all Canadians to take meaningful steps to create positive change for the mental wellbeing of themselves and others. On January 25, and every day, we encourage everyone to be a part of the change by taking one or more of the following actions:

– Choose a mental health organization to learn about or support;
– Help a friend struggling with their mental health by learning how to support them;
– Ask about how your school, workplace or community is creating change for mental health;
– Nurture your own well-being by practicing and learning mental health strategies;
– Get involved in a mental health initiative or organize an event to support mental health; and
– Engage in conversations about mental health to fight stigma.
–
Share your actions by using #BellLetsTalk to inspire others.

The Department of Health and Community Services reminds people if you or someone you know needs help, support is available including:

– 811
– Bridge the gapp www.bridgethegapp.ca
– Doorways; find walk-in counselling services by visiting nl.bridgethegapp.ca or calling 811

The Provincial Government continues to build upon the work of Towards Recovery: The Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan for Newfoundland and Labrador to improve the mental health and well-being of the province and has released the Provincial Alcohol Action Plan: Reducing Harms and Costs in Newfoundland and Labrador and Our Path of Resilience: An Action Plan to Promote Life and Prevent Suicide in Newfoundland and Labrador to continue its efforts.

As the Federal Government announced funding last Thursday to tackle the overrepresentation of Inuit people in jail, the head of Labrador’s Inuit Government urged policymakers to visit his region and understand the issues for themselves.

Nunatsiavut Government President, Johannes Lampe said Inuit in the region are targeted by police and forced to navigate a justice system that does not understand their language, history, or current circumstances.

“Come and see the poverty that Inuit are living today, where at times you are so poor, you have to do what it takes feed your family,” said Lampe told reporters. “Where food security is prevalent, high prices, and not having the means of obtaining a boat or a snowmobile to help you get out on land to find that fish, partridge, or a seal.”

Lampe joined the press conference by video last Thursday, as did Justice Minister David Lametti, who announced 1,17 million dollars in funding over several years to help overrepresentation of Inuit from the Nunatsiavut region in the justice system.

The Nunatsiavut region comprises five fly-in communities along Labrador’s north coast. Part of the money will fund a cultural awareness educator who will help criminal justice officials better understand why disproportionate number of Inuit end up in correctional facilities, Lametti said. It will also support the Nunatsiavut government’s community-based justice services.

Lametti did not have statistics specific to Inuit in corrections, but numbers last April from Newfoundland and Labrador Justice Department showed Inuit women are overrepresented at the province’s only women’s jail.

Though Inuit women represent less than one percent of the province’s population, they accounted for nine percent of inmates at the Correctional Centre for Women in Central Newfoundland between April 1, 2011 and April 1, 2021.

Lampe said the numbers are too high.

The Department of Health and Social Development office in Nain held their first Wooding group yesterday.

We spoke with Rutie Lampe who is the Mental Health and Addiction worker.

Lampe says 4 snowmobiles traveled to Saltwater Pond yesterday morning at 10am with 2 guides and 3 participants.

This program is aimed for young men and women to gain more wooding skills.

Right now, they are trying to hold this wooding program every 2 weeks.

She says it is aimed for elders within the community and individuals who have no access to transportation or firewood.

The 5 participants had a relaxing day out on the land, had a boil up, and enjoyed a cup of tea outside.

Lampe says they distributed firewood to 13 homes in Nain.

They are looking for guides and participants for the next wooding program tomorrow.

If you would like to take part in this wooding group, please contact Rutie Lampe at the Nain DHSD at 922-2126 ext. 231. You can also inbox her on the Nain DHSD Facebook page.

The elders and community members that did receive wood were very grateful and happy.

There was an Arctic Policy Conference held in Montreal in the year 1988.

From the magazine, kinatuinnnamut ilingajuk, Gordon Obed interviewed William Andersen III about how it went.

Andersen says there were a lot of agenda items that were discussed about the arctic policy that was to be considered by the Circumpolar conference.

Click here to hear more on the topic from KI Magazine from 1988.

Cain’s Quest is returning to Labrador’s Tundra for the 3,000-mile Snowmobile Endurance Race.

A total of 37 teams are registered and scheduled to be on the starting line on Saturday, March 4, first the first time since COVID-19 struck in March 2020.

Chris Lacy is the Chair of the Cain Quests Board and said while it’s exciting to be nearing the start of the race, organizers are scrambling to find volunteers to help the race run. A volunteer blitz is scheduled for this weekend at the Labrador Mall in Labrador City to try to get people on board.

Lacy said last Wednesday, “we need people at the starting line, we need people at the finish line, we need organizing the banquet, we need people organizing the fan nigh, which is one of the biggest events that we have.”

The team also needs volunteers to work the race check point, he added, including the remote areas of Labrador, hundreds of kilometers away from residential areas.

Lacy said teams are excited to return to Labrador after 3 years away from the race which has garnered international attention and draws competitors from across NL, Canada and Europe. He said 1 team is returning from Finland this year.

“Just knowing that we are able to do it again and get back on the snow and start bringing this type again is something that is the most exciting to me.”

Teams are usually made up of 4 to 5 people, and a run at Cain’s Quest can cost more than $40,000.

“People can’t fathom what it is until it starts happening and you start following them and tracking them,” Lacy added.

“Following the racers and seeing them what they have to go through, every community and checkpoints where they go through, how hyped they get. And then facebook is just full of it the full week of the race. It is just amazing.”

Courtesy Cain’s Quest Website.

The Torngat Mountains Base Camp are looking for professional entertainers to share their talents and provide entertainment for their 2023 season.

The Base Camp is operational from July-September 2023.

They are looking for culture-focused entertainment such as music/instrument, dance, and crafts. However, they are open to inviting other types of culture-focused entertainment.

They offer paid travel from Goose Bay and stay at the Torngat Mountains Base Camp, and free excursion to the Hiking routes.

If you are interested, please reach out to torngats@onepal.com with your portfolio.