Coming home: Elders return to Nunavut for care after years of living in the south

CBC News

· Posted: May 30, 2025 4:04 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Three years ago, Eric Anoee Jr., on with his family, made the hard determination to determination his member Bernard from Arviat, Nunavut to Embassy West, a seniors' surviving installation successful Ottawa. 

Bernard had conscionable been diagnosed with dementia and determination was nary 24-hour attraction disposable to him successful Nunavut. As Anoee Jr. describes it, they had nary choice. 

But aft 3 years, Bernard is coming home. 

He's 1 of a fistful of Nunavut elders who are being transferred backmost to the territory to unrecorded successful the caller 24-hour elder attraction installation successful Rankin Inlet which opened this month. 

Last week, Anoee Jr. received a telephone that Bernard would beryllium 1 of the elders sent to unrecorded successful the caller home. 

"It's been a agelong clip waiting," Anoee Jr. said. "Obviously Ottawa is precise acold distant from location and we can't spot him ... truthful we were precise excited astir Bernard coming home."

Although Rankin Inlet is inactive a short formation away, Anoee Jr. said there's a world of quality betwixt Ottawa and Nunavut. 

"When I sojourn the Embassy West, I tin benignant of consciousness that the Inuit residents consciousness retired of place," helium said. "They cognize that they're acold distant from home. Coming backmost to Nunavut is simply a going to beryllium a truly bully thing for patients."

Elders coming back

In a connection successful the Legislative Assembly this week, Health Minister John Main said the archetypal fewer elders person already arrived astatine the caller attraction home in Rankin Inlet, which has 24 beds. 

He said 3 oregon 4 elders volition get each week for the adjacent fewer weeks. 

"A state-of-the creation facility, the archetypal of its benignant successful Nunavut, awaits them with a culturally enriching, safe, and home-like environment," Main said. 

He besides said the wellness section has placed a "strong focus" connected employing Inuit astatine the home. 

"We cognize that the elders who volition unrecorded determination privation to perceive Inuktitut being spoken. They privation Inuit values and civilization reflected successful the activities, and successful the nutrient they are served," Main said. 

Anoee Jr. remembers erstwhile helium and his different member were tasked with moving Bernard retired of Arviat. 

"It was a beauteous long, affectional travel having to determination him to confederate Canada," helium said. 

Despite not having full-time attraction disposable successful Arviat, Anoee Jr. said the full assemblage helped to enactment Bernard. 

"I found retired that the enactment strategy is determination adjacent though it's not a full lot. The wellness section truly helped america there, and the household and community. If helium was wandering distant from municipality our person would archer america to prime him up."

It was besides the archetypal clip Anoee Jr. had experienced caring for idiosyncratic with dementia. 

"It's precise hard to person a loved 1 suffering from dementia," helium said. 

As of Friday, Anoee Jr. said his brother hadn't arrived yet, but helium was awaiting his arrival.