The department was created in 2007 to ensure Inuit values and practices are included within the mandate of the health and social services network. The department works in collaboration with both health centres to guarantee that cultural sensitivity is integrated into the programs and services offered within the region.
One of our main areas of collaboration with regional organizations concerns customary adoption. The working group on customary adoption in Quebec, created jointly by the ministère de la Justice and the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux to recommend the solutions to the current non-inclusion of customary-adoption practices in the provincial laws and programs, rendered public its report April 16, 2012. An Act to amend the Civil Code and other legislative provisions as regards adoption, parental authority and disclosure of information, which included provisions on aboriginal customary adoption, was tabled June 13, 2012, to the Quebec National Assembly. However, due to the 2012 fall provincial elections, the bill died before presentation or ratification. A new bill now has to be resubmitted to the Quebec National Assembly, and representatives of the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (NRBHSS) and Makivik Corporation are monitoring the issue.