Building Nunavik / Ungaluk Program (Safer Communities)

The Safer Communities Program, which incorporated an appropriate Inuit term, Ungaluk, was developed in February 2007.

It was the result of an amendment to the Sanarrutiit Partnership Agreement with the Government of Quebec, as an alternative to building a detention center in Nunavik.

The program has a mandate to recommend priorities and strategies to prevent and combat crime;  promote safe and healthy communities by, among other things, taking culturally appropriate measures to improve the social environment in Nunavik; to  provide assistance to crime victims; and to improve correctional activities for the Inuit.

The program provides $10-million a year, fully indexed to cost of living and is to  be used for crime prevention through the region.

It has established a clear funding criteria to ensure the money is divided equally between all communities, based on population as well as regional allocations.

The Ungaluk committee is composed of eight members, four of whom are appointed the Government of Quebec and two each by Makivik and KRG.

The committee reviews and approves proposals from regional and community organizations to ensure the proposals will have an impact in respect to crime prevention.

The committee  is currently in the process of preparing a report on its first year of operations  as well as developing on line and email programs to provide easier access for applicants.

By the end of the first year of the program, December 2007, the committee  reviewed 72 proposals and approved $9.3-million in program commitments for Nunavik.