GN services during the holiday closure
Press Release
December 12, 2025
All Government of Nunavut (GN) offices will be closed from 5 p.m. on December 23, 2025, to 8:30 a.m. on January 2, 2026, except for designated facilities that must stay open. Those facilities are:
Health
Iqaluit Health Services
The Qikiqtani General Hospital (QGH) will remain open with full inpatient, pharmacy, and emergency services.
The following Iqaluit Health Services will be open at a reduced capacity:
- ambulatory care clinics (QGH clinics and family practice)
- rehabilitation services
- Iqaluit case management
- public health services
- home and community care services
- diagnostic imaging
- health records
- environmental services
- biomedical services
- materials management
- central sterilizing and reprocessing
- surgical services for emergencies only (no scheduled surgeries)
- laboratory services
Qikiqtaaluk, Kivalliq and Kitikmeot Region Health Services
Community health centres will operate on emergency services during the holiday closure period with 24/7 on-call services for urgent and emergency care remaining available.
Postponed services:
- Routine clinics such as chronic disease management, well-child and well-woman/well-man clinics.
The following core services at community health centres will be maintained:
- Prenatal clinics for high-risk clients.
- Urgent and emergency appointments.
- Medical travel services.
- Community members are advised to call ahead before visiting the health centre.
Health centre staff are deemed essential and thus will work during the holiday closure dates, as scheduled by their supervisor.
Continuing care centres and Elders’ facilities will be fully operational during the holiday closure period.
Public Health
Public health nurses, regional communicable disease coordinators, TB coordinators, and support staff will work at reduced capacity.
- TB programs and TB care delivery will function at full capacity.
Lab and Diagnostic Imaging
Kitikmeot laboratory and diagnostic imaging services remain open for emergent, urgent, and necessary testing requirements only. Routine collection and testing of lab work will be suspended during this period.
Kivalliq and Qikiqtaaluk laboratory and diagnostic imaging services remain fully operational during the holiday closure.
Mental Health and Addictions
Mental health nurses and consultants will function at full capacity.
Mental health and addictions paraprofessional staff will be off while remaining available to be called in at the discretion of the mental health regional manager.
Medical Travel, Duty Travel and Boarding Homes
- Baffin medical travel: 866-371-3305
- Kivalliq medical travel: 844-886-8020
- Kitikmeot medical travel: 844-886-8010
- Health duty travel: 844-975-5971
- Boarding homes will operate at full capacity:
- Churchill – Iglualuk Boarding Home.
- Edmonton – Larga House.
- Ottawa – Larga House Baffin.
- Winnipeg – Kivalliq Inuit Centre.
- Yellowknife – Larga Kitikmeot Boarding Home.
- Iqaluit – Tammaativvik Boarding Home.
Family Services
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