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IQALUIT - Two MLAs are pushing for the creation of a child and youth advocate to defend the interests of children and youth in the territory.

The child and youth advocate would work with social workers, police, educators, legislators and community groups to push for effective youth programs and to speak on behalf of individual youth in situations when it is difficult for them to speak for themselves.

Justice minister Keith Peterson says the territory needs a youth advocate. - NNSL file photo

"It's quite simple," said Keith Peterson, MLA for Cambridge Bay and Minister of Justice. "Look at the demographics of Nunavut. There are 15,600 children and youth in Nunavut. A lot of them are vulnerable. Many of them end up in situations where they are put in foster homes or apprehended. They don't have anyone to speak for them when they deal with authority, whether it's the government of Nunavut or RCMP or they are in the court."

Peterson referred to the government's mandate document Tamapta: Building Our Future Together, released on Nunavut's 10th anniversary April 1. Although Tamapta does not specifically mention children and their special needs, Peterson interprets the section on advocacy for those "at risk" to include children and youth.

The Tamapta passage reads, "We will establish an office for advocacy and action on behalf of challenged and disadvantaged individuals and groups. Government support will be inclusive and integrated, offering help for all those experiencing serious difficulties but targeting help to those at most significant risk or disadvantage."

Quttiktuq MLA Ron Elliot echoed Peterson's push for a child and youth advocate position to be created in addition to a general social advocacy office.

"I think there's a need for that, but I think there definitely needs to be something separate for a youth and child advocate. Youth need to be represented," Elliot said.

Chris Heide, youth co-ordinator in Pangnirtung, was receptive to the idea when it was presented to him, though he said he had not heard of it before.

"It seems to me that we've found that there are many agencies that have amongst their responsibilities youth, but by no means exclusively youth, so youth can get lost in the shuffle," Heide said. "Somebody who can cut through that could be quite viable, especially where such a large part of our population is youth."

The only jurisdictions in Canada that do not have child and youth advocates are P.E.I., Yukon, NWT and Nunavut.

Yukon's territorial government in the process of creating a child and youth advocate that will report directly to the territory's legislature instead of one minister, making the job less vulnerable to political interference.

Elliot compared the idea with Nunavut's language commissioner who reports to the legislative assembly, not just the Minister of Languages.

During the leadership forum of November 2008, Peterson raised the question with now-premier Eva Aariak, who at the time supported the creation of a child advocacy act.

Peterson said the government of Nunavut will be looking at creating child and youth advocacy legislation when the legislature starts sitting again in June.