Politics · Canada · 9 hrs ago
Audit finds major gaps remain in Nunavut foster care
Canada’s auditor general says Nunavut has made little progress fixing its foster care system since an urgent call for action more than three years ago.
The audit found that foster homes were not properly screened or monitored, and caregivers often lacked important information about children’s health and backgrounds.
The territorial Department of Family Services is required to meet children and caregivers in person each month, but 90 per cent of the 40 files reviewed had no evidence of monthly contact with children.
In five cases, there was no documented contact with a child for more than a year, and one gap lasted over 17 months.
Auditors said poor department data meant they could not get a representative sample of all children in care, and the audit did not cover children placed outside Nunavut.
The gaps make it difficult for the department to ensure children are safe and their needs are met, the report said.
Deputy auditor general Andrew Hayes called for a whole-of-government approach, while warning that a long road remains to fix the problems.
A follow-up audit says major weaknesses remain in Nunavut’s foster care system more than three years after an urgent call to improve child and family services.
The report says the Department of Family Services often failed to monitor children and caregivers and to ensure foster homes met minimum standards.
Auditors found no evidence of required monthly in-person contact in 90 per cent of the foster home files they reviewed.
The audit examined the period from November 2024 to March 2026 and reviewed 40 foster home files.
Deputy auditor general Andrew Hayes called for a whole-of-government approach to support children and families.
- Who
- Nunavut’s Department of Family Services and children in foster care.
- What
- A follow-up audit found that major weaknesses in the territory’s foster care system remain.
- When
- The report was released on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The audit covered November 2024 to March 2026.
- Where
- Nunavut, Canada.
- Why
- The audit examined whether the department was monitoring children and caregivers and ensuring foster homes met minimum standards.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The auditor general’s first audit raised problems in Nunavut’s child and family services.
The auditor general raised problems again and issued an urgent call to action.
The audit examined foster care in Nunavut during this period.
The auditor general’s office released the follow-up report on Nunavut foster care.
- Files reviewed
- 40 foster home files
- Monthly contact
- No evidence in 90 per cent of files reviewed
- Caregiver meetings
- Monthly meetings were missing in 98 per cent of cases reviewed
- Longest documented contact gap
- More than 17 months
- Audit period
- November 2024 to March 2026
What people are saying
All across the territory, we're seeing the same problem. So ultimately what we're calling on right now is a whole-of-government approach, for the government to focus on supporting these children and families.
Without these basic safeguards, the department could not consistently assure itself that children in foster care were safe and their needs were being met.