Rising tuberculosis cases have raised concerns among aboriginal leaders of various communities in Canada. The aboriginal leaders now want a quick government action as TB is rising most in Inuit and First Nations communities in Canada.

But Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, an Inuit herself who represents Nunavut, said, “In Nunavut, as an example, there’s a health ministry there that’s responsible for the delivery of programs and addressing not just this issue, but a number of other (health) issues as well. We’ll continue to work with the provinces and territories on this issue.”

Public Health Agency of Canada reported that in 2008 the rate of tuberculosis among Inuit was 185 times higher as compared to the Canadian-born non-aboriginals the number of cases doubled in 2004.

The rate of tuberculosis is 31 times higher in First Nations than it is among non-Natives in Canada.

About 342 cases of tuberculosis had surfaced in 2008 in Canada’s aboriginal population compared to which among all Canadian-born non-aboriginals there were only 210 cases of TB.

Chairwoman of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s health committee, Gail Turner, said that reason for this alarming increase was poor access to health facilities.