logo
‘Policing in Nunavik is broken': Inuit group wants change after latest fatal shooting

‘Policing in Nunavik is broken': Inuit group wants change after latest fatal shooting

MONTREAL – The political organization that represents Inuit in Quebec says policing in the Far North is 'broken' after an officer shot and killed an Inuk man on Tuesday.
The shooting by the Nunavik Police Service is the second officer-involved death in the northern region since November.
Makivvik, a group that represents the Inuit of Nunavik, says there is a pattern of police using excessive force in the region.
In a news release, Makivvik head Pita Aatami asked how many families must suffer before the province 'understands that policing in Nunavik is broken?'
The organization says the latest death reflects a failure of the police force to de-escalate a situation or employ a level of cultural understanding.
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
In November 2024, an officer shot and killed Joshua Papigatuk and seriously injured his twin brother Garnet after police responded to a call about alleged impaired driving in Salluit, about 1,850 kilometres north of Montreal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Teen injured in sword attack at Brandon high school
Teen injured in sword attack at Brandon high school

Winnipeg Free Press

time9 hours ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Teen injured in sword attack at Brandon high school

BRANDON — A 16-year-old male was taken into custody in relation to a sword attack at Neelin High School Tuesday afternoon that prompted a lockdown of the building. A 15-year-old male student was rushed to the Brandon Regional Health Centre in serious condition after suffering injuries to his chest, forearms, hands and thighs, police said. He was later upgraded to stable condition. Brandon Police Service Insp. Jason Dupuis said the victim's 'injuries were significant and serious.' Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun Brandon Police Service vehicles sit in front of École Secondaire Neelin High School on Tuesday after Brandon Police responded to an incident at the school after a student was allegedly seriously injured with a sword. The school was placed into a lockdown and students were released to the custody of parents of parents, relatives and guardians. Dupuis told a news conference police responded to a call from a Neelin student who said, 'a male is going crazy and holding a sword' at 1:15 p.m. Police arrived at the school within minutes later and found the suspect at 1:22 p.m., Dupuis said. Officers used a Taser on him during the arrest. Police Chief Tyler Bates said police didn't believe there were any other victims. A post by the Brandon School Division Tuesday afternoon noted that the lockdown had been implemented 'due to an intruder in the building with a weapon.' BPS officers and cadets stood at the entrances surrounding the school when the Sun arrived before 3 p.m., and parents were lined up outside the gymnasium to pick up their children, with many students walking out of the school holding hands with their parents, giving them hugs and crying. 'I saw him chasing one of our students with a sword, then I ran to class,' said Fathia, who didn't want to give her last name. 'I was just scared, that's all,' she said through tears while standing next to her mom, who had picked her up from the school. Another student described what happened after the attack started. 'All I know is all of a sudden, doors were slamming and we got told to sit in the corner and our teacher directed us to turn the lights off, sit in the corner and pretty much be quiet,' said Jordan-Blayne Bjornsson. 'We were definitely all scared, 'cause we didn't know exactly what was happening,' the Grade 12 student said. 'None of us felt very good and I know there were a lot of people crying.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. She said police escorted students to the gymnasium after a while. 'People were panicked, people were sad,' said Bjornsson. 'I think a lot of people were just scared and they didn't know what happened. Police didn't say whether the victim and suspect knew each other. More information would be released Wednesday, he said. 'Our investigators will be hard at work throughout the night,' said Bates. 'We really wanted to get out and at least provide some information to citizens of Brandon, to alleviate angst and concern they would understandably have.' — Brandon Sun

Wander Franco's attorney to ask court to exonerate his client in sexual abuse case
Wander Franco's attorney to ask court to exonerate his client in sexual abuse case

Winnipeg Free Press

time2 days ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Wander Franco's attorney to ask court to exonerate his client in sexual abuse case

PUERTO LA PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — The attorney for Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco said Monday he will ask the court to exonerate his client of all charges in a sexual abuse case involving a girl who was 14 years old at the time of the alleged crimes. Franco, who was charged in July 2024 and is on supervised release, could face up to 30 years in prison if found guilty. 'He didn't commit the acts he's accused of,' Teodosio Jáquez told The Associated Press at the end of the fourth hearing at the Collegiate Court of Puerto Plata, a tourist city in northern Dominican Republic where the girl is from. 'They're playing their part, because their job is to accuse. However, what they have to do is prove it,' Jáquez said of the witnesses presented by prosecutors. The prosecutors say the witnesses' testimony has been vital in proving that Franco sexually abused a minor and paid her mother money for her consent. 'Today, each of these expert witnesses' statements was vital. They established not only the fact of child sexual abuse, but also that they reinforced commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering,' prosecutor Claudio Cordero said. Documents that prosecutors presented to the judge last year and were viewed by The Associated Press alleged that Franco, through his mother Yudelka Aybar, transferred 1 million pesos ($17,000) to the mother of the minor on Jan. 5, 2023, to consent to the purported abuse. The mother of the minor has been charged with money laundering and is under house arrest. Franco also has been charged with sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking. Also, on Sunday he was charged with illegal possession of a handgun, prosecutors said. Franco was arrested Nov. 10 in San Juan de la Maguana after an altercation in a parking lot. No one was injured during the fight, and the handgun, a semiautomatic Glock 19, was found in Franco's vehicle, according to a statement from the Dominican Public Prosecutor's Office. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Franco's attorney says the player did not have the weapon, that it belongs to someone else. 'This is a celebrity, and some media outlets are perverse in trying to harm that young man,' Jáquez added. Franco, who turned 24 on March 1, was in his third major league season when his career was halted in August 2023. He agreed to an 11-year, $182 million contract in November 2021. He is currently on Major League Baseball's restricted list after initially being placed on administrative leave. ___ AP MLB:

Alberta judge rejects robber's Indigenous identity claims, proposes test for deciding who should and shouldn't get Gladue reports
Alberta judge rejects robber's Indigenous identity claims, proposes test for deciding who should and shouldn't get Gladue reports

Calgary Herald

time3 days ago

  • Calgary Herald

Alberta judge rejects robber's Indigenous identity claims, proposes test for deciding who should and shouldn't get Gladue reports

An Alberta judge is proposing new guidelines for how courts handle people who say they are Indigenous during sentencing hearings, but don't have proof to back up their claims. Article content Last month, Justice Jordan Stuffco of the Alberta Court of Justice sentenced Jonathan Anthony Ninan to 33 months in prison for robbing a Leduc sports bar, after Ninan admitted to pointing a replica firearm at the bar's lone female employee and making off with $12,000 cash. Article content Article content Article content After pleading guilty to a pair of charges, Ninan requested a Gladue report, a pre-sentence document which examines the impacts of government policy towards Indigenous people on an Indigenous person's criminal conduct. Article content Article content While some offenders' claims of Indigenous identity are uncontroversial, Ninan had only the vague sense that his mother — with whom he has had almost no contact since age 10 — had 'some ancestral connection to an unspecified Indigenous community,' Stuffco wrote. Article content 'Although Mr. Ninan endured substantial childhood trauma and intergenerational harm due to abusive and neglectful biological parents, I do not find these factors are connected to Indigeneity,' wrote Stuffco, a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. Article content 'I find Mr. Ninan is not an Indigenous offender because there was no meaningful evidence, other than self-identification, establishing Mr. Ninan as an Indigenous person.' Article content Article content The decision comes amid ongoing debate over Indigenous identity fraud, including deeper examination of Indigenous identity claims from public figures in government, pop culture and academia. Article content Article content Stuffco did not accuse Ninan of trying to mislead the court, noting the 24-year-old simply knew little about his mother 'due to his chaotic and abusive family history.' Article content Gladue reports Article content Since the Supreme Court of Canada's 1999 decision in R. v. Gladue — the first case to interpret Criminal Code amendments aimed at addressing the over-representation of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in Canadian prisons — Indigenous offenders have been able to request pre-sentence reports examining their family histories and how government Indigenous policy may have contributed to their criminal behaviour. Article content Gladue and subsequent cases recognized Indigenous people 'endured many generations of unparalleled systemic abuse and discrimination at the hands of all levels of government,' Stuffco wrote, including residential schools, displacement from traditional lands and adoption into non-Indigenous families.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store