Statement on the Quebec Ministry of Education Investigation Report about the Governance and Administration of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq

On January 3, 2024, the Quebec Ministry of Education informed us that its Direction générale des affaires internes had been mandated to investigate the governance and administration of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq. This followed a decree issued by the Executive Council of the Quebec government on December 20, 2023.

The investigation team concluded its work during the summer of 2024. Until now, the investigation report had remained confidential. Its recommendations were presented to the Council of Commissioners in October 2024. Then, pending translation into Inuktitut, the full report (still confidential) was made available to the Council of Commissioners in French and English during their December 2024 meeting. In March 2025, the Council of Commissioners finally received the Inuktitut version of the report from the MEQ and was able to review it fully. We are happy the report is finally available to the public.

Unfortunately, the report is currently only available in French. The MEQ is still awaiting internal approval to publish both the Inuktitut and English versions of the report on its website.

The report contains a set of recommendations addressed to Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, along with a set of recommendations addressed to the Quebec Ministry of Education (MEQ).

The scope of recommendations addressed to Kativik Ilisarniliriniq is broad. They all concern areas where work was already actively ongoing prior to the launch of the investigation (for example, recruitment, staff retention, student success, maintenance of infrastructures, cyber security and more). In fact, many of these areas correspond issues we have been discussing with the MEQ over the years, and are areas where the need for increased support was known to the MEQ.

The investigation stems from what was described by the MEQ as a troubling financial situation. Namely, a deficit which the Council of Commissioners maintains is caused by inadequate funding based on budget rules dating back to 2019 that also expired on June 30, 2023. As of this date, we still operate without budget rules from the MEQ.

“We didn’t walk blindly into a deficit. The investigation report portrays the Council of Commissioners as reckless when it comes to making financial decisions. The reality of it is that we were faced with difficult choices: inadequate funding and urgent needs in terms of infrastructure to maintain or expand, new positions needed to support students, etc. At our Council meetings, we had lengthy discussions about how to get the MEQ’s attention to secure adequate funding. In the end, consensus among the Commissioners was that maybe the best strategy was to approve a deficit budget. So, here we are today: with a deficit and a sound financial recovery plan in place, but most importantly, with open communication channels with the MEQ,” said Mme. Sarah Aloupa, President of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq.

Upon the announcement of the launch of an investigation by the MEQ, Kativik Ilisarniliriniq initially expressed hope that the process would provide an opportunity for the Quebec government to better understand the specificities of the environment in which we operate, and needs that result from it. “We still believe that something positive will come out of this; it’s important we continue to move forward. Besides the recommendations, the investigation report contains a lot of information that will help us make the case for more support and funding. We are hopeful that the MEQ is serious about providing us the means to roll out action plans to address each of the report’s recommendations, whether that be through targeted funding, expertise or human resources,” said Mme. Aloupa.

Nevertheless, some of the report’s recommendations illustrate a disconnect in the MEQ understanding of the Nunavik education sector. For example, the report is concerned with the lack of training offered to the Commissioners. It recommends that the training developed by the MEQ and its partners for the Board of Directors and the Governing Boards of the province’s school service centres and school boards be made available to the Commissioners. We have done as such.

However, since Kativik Ilisarniliriniq is not governed by the Education Act (CQLR, c. I-13.3), certain parts of the training courses do not reflect the special rules that apply to Kativik Ilisarniliriniq under the Education Act for Cree, Inuit and Naskapi Native Persons (CQLR, c. I-14). In addition, only 10% of this training material is available in English, while the rest exists only in French. Like 99% of the Nunavik residents (Nunavik in figures, 2021), our elected officials read and speak Inuktitut as their first language. We see it as a MEQ responsibility to develop training material tailored and relevant to the law that applies on the territory under our administrative jurisdiction.

The creation of the MEQ Inuit table in 2021 is the result of advocacy efforts by Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, which followed the 2018 Quebec Ombudsman report For quality educational services in Nunavik that respect Inuit culture. The Inuit Table is a MEQ coordination mechanism, under the umbrella of which all aspects of the delivery of educational services to the residents of Nunavik could be discussed (Inuit represent 90% of the Nunavik population). “The investigation came at a moment where communication and coordination with the MEQ had significantly improved. We are committed to strengthening the existing collaboration as we continue working on the development of action plans to address the report’s recommendations. We also hope that the report will help the MEQ to establish effective priorities in providing support to Kativik Ilisarniliriniq,” concluded Mme. Aloupa.

The investigation report can be found on this page of the MEQ website (under the section Rapports d’enquête, in French only as of May 20, 2025).

NT4