IQALUIT, NU, June 26, 2026 /CNW/ - Today, Jacques Ramsay, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety, announced $1.59 million in federal support to the Department of Justice of the Government of Nunavut for a youth crime prevention project through the Crime Prevention Action Fund (CPAF).

The project will adapt and deliver the Therapeutic Justice Program in Pond Inlet to support youth aged 12 to 30 who are involved in the justice system. The program provides an alternative to the formal court process by focusing on healing, accountability and support, with the goal of reducing reoffending and helping participants move forward in a positive way.

Participants will receive mental health support, such as counselling and life skills group therapy, alongside cultural activities led by Inuit Elders and community members, including land-based experiences and traditional skills. The project helps strengthen connections, build resilience and support safer communities for everyone by bringing together clinical services, cultural programming and community partnerships.

The CPAF supports evidence‑based projects that address known risk factors associated with crime among vulnerable people, focusing on youth and high-risk offenders.

Quotes

"This project offers youth in Pond Inlet new opportunities to move forward in a positive way. By combining mental health supports with Inuit cultural knowledge and community leadership, it gives participants the tools and guidance they need to make positive choices and contribute to safer, healthier communities."

- Jacques Ramsay, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety

"I thank Minister Anandasangaree and Public Safety Canada for their support of Nunavut's therapeutic justice program. By integrating traditional Inuit knowledge and practices with clinical resources, the program helps participants address the underlying causes of offending. This new funding will allow us to expand this Inuit led program and strengthen local pathways for more culturally appropriate, sustainable justice and public safety outcomes for individuals and all Nunavummiut."

- The Honourable George Hickes, Deputy Premier of Nunavut, Minister of Justice and Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Nunavut

"The Government of Canada's Crime Prevention Action Fund supports important crime prevention initiatives that address known risk factors associated with crime, particularly among Indigenous and at-risk youth. I am pleased to see Nunavut's Therapeutic Justice Program receive funding to provide youth in Pond Inlet with meaningful and culturally appropriate alternatives to the criminal justice system, including mental health counseling and learning of Inuit traditional and cultural foundational skills. These measures can provide the targeted supports needed to prevent re-entry into the criminal justice system."

– Lori Idlout, Member of Parliament for Nunavut

Quick Facts

• The CPAF is part of the National Crime Prevention Strategy, which supports evidence-based interventions to address known risk and protective factors associated with crime among vulnerable populations, particularly children, youth, and high-risk offenders.
• The Government of Canada takes a comprehensive approach to public safety through investments to combat crime and increase community safety:
  • Investing $1.5 billion over the past 10 years to strengthen law enforcement and gang prevention programs, most notably the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence and the planned renewal of the Building Safer Communities Fund, for up to $157.5 million over the next three years, to help stop gun crime and gang violence before it starts.
  • Introducing legislation to disrupt criminal networks, provide law enforcement with more tools to keep our borders secure, combat transnational organized crime, illegal fentanyl, extortion and illicit financing. These include the newly introduced Bill C-22, an Act to keep Canadians safe, the recently passed Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act (Bill C-12), and the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act (Bill C-14), which would make bail harder to obtain and impose tougher sentences for extortion-related offences.
  • Investing $1.7 billion (Budget 2025) to strengthen the RCMP's response to transnational organized crime, financial crime, and money laundering, while enhancing intelligence and national security capacity.
  • Hiring 1000 additional Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) personnel to strengthen border management and enforcement capacity, and 1000 new RCMP personnel to increase federal policing capacity across Canada to combat crime – including online fraud, money laundering, online child sexual exploitation, and organized criminal networks that threaten Canada's economic and national security.
  • Establishing a new Financial Crimes Agency to be Canada's lead enforcement agency against financial crimes.
  • Combatting firearms-related crime and violence including through the implementation of the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program (ASFCP) which will remove dangerous, assault-style firearms from Canadian communities, implementing mandatory licence refusal for those suspected of domestic violence or stalking, restricting access to handguns, and launching a comprehensive review of Canada's firearms classification regime.
  • To help address the high rate of hate-related crimes, the Spring Economic Update 2026 proposes to provide $75 million over five years, starting in 2026-27, to Public Safety Canada for the Canada Community Security Program (CCSP). The CCSP has been helping Canadians feel safer by providing funding for communities at risk of hate-motivated incidents to enhance their security measures in places of worship, schools, community centres, and other community gathering spaces. 
  • Hosting summits on extortion in Surrey, B.C. and Brampton, Ontario, bringing together federal, provincial, and municipal leaders, along with law enforcement partners, including the CBSA and RCMP, to strengthen coordination and advance integrated efforts to disrupt cross‑border criminal networks and protect local businesses and residents.

Associated Links

• Crime Prevention Action Fund

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SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC)