What was the federal apology to Inuit for tuberculosis treatment?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a formal federal apology at Iqaluit, Nunavut on March 8, 2019 for the federal government's mid-20th-century tuberculosis treatment of Inuit. From the 1940s to 1960s, thousands of Inuit were forcibly transported to southern sanatoriums for tuberculosis treatment, often without their families' knowledge of their location, treatment, or fate. About 5,200 Inuit (about one-third of all Inuit) were transported between 1953 and 1961 alone. The federal apology was accompanied by the Nanilavut Initiative, a federal program that supports Inuit families seeking information about loved ones who had been transported and never returned.

Tuberculosis was a major Inuit health crisis in the mid-20th century. The federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development began systematic tuberculosis screening and treatment for Inuit in 1947. The hospital ship CGS C.D. Howe and other vessels conducted annual medical surveys at Inuit communities, sending people testing positive for tuberculosis to southern sanatoriums for treatment. Federal policies forcibly removed about 5,200 Inuit between 1953 and 1961 to the Brandon Sanatorium in Manitoba, the Camsell Hospital in Edmonton, the Nanavik Hospital at Hamilton, and other facilities.

The treatment system was deeply harmful. Patients were often transported with no advance notice, sometimes by ship directly from medical examinations. Family members were given little or no information about destinations or expected return dates. Sanatorium stays lasted years; many patients died and were buried in unmarked graves at the sanatorium cemeteries. Cultural alienation in southern medical facilities, language barriers, separation from family, and lack of post-discharge support produced substantial harm. About 1,000 Inuit died at southern sanatoriums during the 1950s alone.

The Nanilavut Initiative ('let's find them' in Inuktitut) was launched on March 8, 2019 alongside the apology. The Initiative provides genealogical research, burial-record searches, and compensation for travel by Inuit families to visit graves. By 2024 about 200 family connections had been established and several hundred families had received support. The federal apology specifically acknowledged the trauma to Inuit families and communities, the inadequate notification, the cultural alienation experienced by patients, and the federal government's responsibility. President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Natan Obed accepted the apology on behalf of Inuit. The 2019 apology was followed by federal investments in modern Inuit tuberculosis elimination (with a federal-ITK target of eliminating tuberculosis from Inuit Nunangat by 2030, in light of continuing high tuberculosis rates linked to overcrowded housing and food insecurity).