Karen Mackenzie
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 24, 2007

IQALUIT - If it weren't for the security and standard issue blue suits, this Christmas feast could be like any other taking place across the territory.

Char, caribou and sweets are piled on long tables in a common room at the Baffin Correctional Centre (BCC) in Iqaluit, and a group from the local elders centre has been invited to take part in what has become an annual holiday highlight for local inmates.

I see big changes when the guys have country food.

Lining one side, the visitors joke and smile, and maybe pass a few words of wisdom to the men in the room, waiting their turn to dig into the food.

"Elders are an important part of life and play a big role," says Steve Hay, assistant manager in charge of security at the BCC. "Sometimes the guys who are from a community from farther away, they don't have an opportunity to see their grandmother or grandfather. A lot of guys, from any community or any time, they can experience a bit of stress if they're not working, can't provide what they want for their family, this gives them a sense of family at least."

In past years the BCC has also arranged movie screenings at the Astro Theatre, or hockey games at the arena. Church services have also been planned, as well as a family feast, and Hay says he expects to see a few more visitors pop through one their way up island.

"In our Inuit culture, Christmas usually means spending time with the community. It gives them an opportunity to have some coffee or some tea, and talk together about their past experiences," said Tracy Qaqqasiq, the Inuit liaison officer at Fenbrook Institution in Ontario. "It really helps to rehabilitate them for re-entry into their communities, and sometimes help them through their healing journey."

Qaqqasiq, who is originally from Arctic Bay, oversees on average about 30 Inuit inmates at the medium-security federal facility at any given time.

Fenbrook also holds a feast and games, to which local Inuit organizations and politicians are invited, and inmates look forward to traditional inugaq (seal flipper) games.

It's been a little harder to get country food since the demise of the John Howard Society earlier this year, but the extra effort is worth it, she says.

"Right now its tough. With shipping costs it's getting to mean that a box of country food can cost over $1,300," Qaqqasiq says. "But I see big changes when the guys have country food. They seem happier, calmer, 'Ah, I finally had some caribou.' For a lot of us, it's our daily source of food. Without it, we're off balance."