Kativik Regional Government requests audit of Nunavik police

Samuel Wat · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 01, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The Kativik Regional Government (KRG) has passed a solution requesting an audit of the Nunavik Police Service.

The resolution, passed Thursday, calls for a reappraisal of constabulary operations and ways to marque policing amended bespeak Inuit culture. 

The audit petition follows 2 fatal constabulary shootings successful 7 months — successful Salluit successful November, and Kangiqsualujjuaq earlier this month — the second being the 16th police-related decease successful Nunavik since 2017.

Police main Jean-Pierre Larose said helium is successful afloat enactment of a review.

"We are transparent and possibly [we need] idiosyncratic who thinks extracurricular the container … to assistance america find solutions and improvements," helium said. 

KRG is asking the Makivvik Corporation to assistance it find an auditor, who would study backmost to the assembly by autumn 2025. 

Mylène Jaccoud, a professor of criminology astatine Université de Montréal, was successful complaint of Indigenous policing issues successful the Viens Commission inquiry. That was launched successful 2016 by the erstwhile provincial Liberal authorities aft allegations of constabulary misconduct against Indigenous women.

She said the audit is simply a bully step, though it should look astatine structural translation of the policing exemplary successful Nunavik, alternatively than conscionable the operations. She said the problems with the Nunavik Police Service are well-known and don't request further study. 

"We cognize that determination is simply a occupation of underfunding. We cognize that we are inactive waiting for the designation of [Indigenous] constabulary arsenic an indispensable service," she said. 

"If we privation to code this occupation of the lack of Inuit constabulary officers, it's perfectly indispensable to alteration the policing exemplary … a constabulary [model] which is not oriented toward repression, but seen arsenic a constabulary who is precise adjacent to the communities that they share."

The constabulary main however, doesn't judge the constabulary exemplary needs reform, and reiterated his pledge to instrumentality each recommendation from investigations into the shooting successful Salluit, erstwhile those last reports are presented. 

"Certainly we tin amended it oregon set it, but close present we person affirmative results," Larose said. 

Community policing model

Jaccoud said she doesn't judge the Nunavik Police Service is simply a genuinely autonomous Inuit constabulary work — rather, that it's a southern-style squad that happens to person oversight from KRG, the determination authorization successful Nunavik.

"The bulk of constabulary officers are constabulary officers from down southbound and I deliberation that the alteration of governance should spell to enactment connected a existent autonomous Inuit constabulary service," she said.

During the Viens Commission inquiry, she pitched — unsuccessfully — for a circumstantial constabulary schoolhouse oregon grooming programme for Indigenous constabulary officers. 

Larose said the Nunavik Police Service is restarting a cadet program in a bid to enlistee much Inuit, though helium recognizes the challenges of Inuit policing Inuit communities. 

"They cognize everybody. They person relatives, cousins, parents and it's hard for them … and I recognize they're benignant of isolated from their assemblage being a constabulary officer. So we person to enactment connected that," helium said.

In presumption of solutions to however policing works successful Nunavik, Jaccoud looks to different provinces for inspiration. 

Ontario has an inspector wide of policing, who's tasked with ensuring policing regulations are followed, arsenic good arsenic a complaints agency. 

In respective occidental provinces, there's the Hub model, which was pioneered successful Prince Albert, Sask., successful 2011. It's a multi-agency involution that mobilizes societal services for those successful request earlier harm is done.

"They conscionable stock information, they enactment together, they conscionable weekly, they program together, enactment plans and due intervention. That benignant of exemplary of policing is much oriented toward prevention than repression," she said. 

More backing successful tripartite agreement

Last month, the Nunavik Police Service received a five-fold summation successful backing done a tripartite statement betwixt the KRG, Quebec and national governments.

The renewal of the agreement, from 2024 to 2029, is worthy $562 million. 

Larose has antecedently spoken retired astir the deficiency of resources for the Nunavik Police Service. He said this caller backing tin assistance them bring connected much officers and investigators, connection higher salaries to code unit retention, and supply much taste consciousness training. 

"I would similar my constabulary officers to get progressive successful the community, and families, astatine slightest 2 days per twelvemonth to enactment with them, to spell connected the land, to bash immoderate activities with them, to amended recognize their manner and their culture," helium said.

Another precedence for him, helium said, is expanding the mobile involution model, presently successful spot successful Puvirnituq, Que., which pairs constabulary officers with societal workers. 

"We privation to person a amended narration and physique amended spot with the constabulary enactment … and person a amended knowing of each other."