Latest news with #NunavikPoliceService
Global News
a day ago
- Global News
Nunavik police under review after 3rd fatal shooting in 8 months
A regional authority in northern Quebec has launched a review into the Nunavik Police Service after the third fatal police-involved shooting in eight months. The Kativik Regional Government says three deadly incidents since November 2024 is 'three too many.' The authority says it is overseeing an audit of policing practices and policies to ensure community members can feel safe. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The KRG says it will consult with local leaders as well as work on a plan to end a rotational system for police management that sees them fly in and out of the communities where they work. The most recent death happened last week when officers allegedly shot and killed a person in Inukjuak while responding to a call about a possible forcible confinement. A news release by the Quebec's police watchdog said a person at the home allegedly approached the officers with a knife. Story continues below advertisement The KRG has extended condolences to the victim's family and says it is working with local authorities to co-ordinate grief and trauma counselling.
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Regional authority announces review of Nunavik police after third fatal shooting
The logo of the Nunavik Police Service is shown. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Nunavik Police Service (Mandatory Credit) MONTREAL — A regional authority in northern Quebec has launched a review into the Nunavik Police Service after the third fatal police-involved shooting in eight months. The Kativik Regional Government says three deadly incidents since November 2024 is 'three too many.' The authority says it is overseeing an audit of policing practices and policies to ensure community members can feel safe. The KRG says it will consult with local leaders as well as work on a plan to end a rotational system for police management that sees them fly in and out of the communities where they work. The most recent death happened last week when officers allegedly shot and killed a person in Inukjuak while responding to a call about a possible forcible confinement. A news release by the Quebec's police watchdog said a person at the home allegedly approached the officers with a knife. The KRG has extended condolences to the victim's family and says it is working with local authorities to co-ordinate grief and trauma counselling. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025. By Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Quebec police watchdog investigating fatal shooting by Nunavik Police Service
MONTREAL – Quebec's police watchdog is investigating after Nunavik police shot and killed a person in Inukjuak, Que. late Thursday. The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes says its early investigation shows that officers from the Nunavik Police Service responded to a call about a possible kidnapping at about 8:20 p.m. The BEI says a person at the home allegedly approached the officers with a sharp weapon. The watchdog says officers then shot and injured the person, who was taken to hospital where they were declared dead. The death marks the third fatal shooting involving the Nunavik Police Service since November 2024. The previous shootings prompted Inuit organizations to call for change in the way policing is delivered across Quebec's Far North. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025.
CBC
5 days ago
- CBC
One dead after fatal police shooting in Inukjuak, Que.
One person is dead after being shot by police in Inukjuak, Que., marking the third fatal police shooting in Nunavik in eight months. In a statement to CBC News, Quebec's police watchdog, the Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendantes (BEI), said it has launched an independent investigation into the shooting, which occurred Thursday evening. BEI investigators are flying to the community Friday morning. The Nunavik Police Service (NPS) has declined to comment, with the case now in BEI's hands. Inukjuak Mayor Bobby Epoo said the community is in mourning, and he is waiting to speak to BEI investigators before commenting further. He said he hopes police can stop resorting to firearms during confrontations. Thursday's incident comes after two other fatal police shootings in Nunavik in recent months. Mark R Annanack was killed in Kangiqsualujjuaq two months ago, and in November 2024, Joshua Papigatuk was killed i n Salluit, while his brother, Garnet, was seriously injured. Following Papigatuk's killing, the Kativik Regional Government (KRG) and the Makivvik Corporation announced a new public safety committee, tasked with reviewing policing practices, ensuring better accountability and engaging with local community leaders in the region. The BEI has completed its investigation into the Salluit shooting, and has submitted it to Quebec's Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, which said it's still reviewing the case before deciding whether to lay charges or not. After Annanack's death, KRG passed a resolution calling for a review of police operations and ways to make policing better reflect Inuit culture. KRG has civilian oversight over NPS. The resolution stated that KRG was working with Makivvik to help it find an auditor, who would report back to the council by fall 2025.
CBC
18-06-2025
- General
- CBC
New 911 call centre aims to change the way calls are dispatched in northern communities
More residents in Nunavik will soon be served by a new emergency call centre opening in Saint-Eustache Que., just outside of Montreal. Dispatchers will respond to 911 calls from five of Quebec's northern communities in the hopes of improving emergency response, says Ian Lafrenière, Quebec's Indigenous affairs minister. He made the announcement Tuesday alongside officials from the Kativik Regional Government as well as Saint-Eustache and Nunavik police. This new call centre is an extension of a pilot project that was launched in March 2023 following the death of a police officer in Kuujjuaq in 2013. A commission into his death found emergency call service in the region needed to be improved. The volume of calls has increased since then — highlighting the need for a dedicated space to support the volume. Before this system, residents were often connected right to a police officer on the ground, says Shaun Longstreet, deputy chief for the Nunavik Police Service. Using a 10-digit phone number for emergencies, residents would be calling police officers directly on their radio, in public, he says. "If we're out in an intervention where we have to arrest someone, and then the call comes in, we have to arrest and speak with the person and take all the information," explained Longstreet. He says the approach is "just something that's not acceptable in 2025." Lafrenière says the very fact that emergency calls were dispatched directly through the radio meant there wasn't always a secure line. But he says now, things are changing. Aim to extend service to all 14 communities by 2029 The provincial government is contributing more than $4 million to the Kativik Regional Government to support this project. At the existing call centre in Saint-Eustache, Lafrenière says three Nunavik communities were covered by this service. Now, dispatchers will be answering 911 calls from five villages in Nunavik, which he says will soon increase to seven — with the goal of extending the service to all 14 communities by the end of 2029. "The purpose was just to try it," said Lafrenière. "And with no surprise, it worked perfectly." He says dispatchers on site were specially trained with language and culture top of mind. Many dispatchers also travelled up to Nunavik to meet with individuals from the communities to help them better understand "the realities," he says. Other communities were consulted to take on this initiative, including Iqaluit and Cree communities, but they did not have the capacity, said Lafrenière. He notes that the dispatchers in Saint-Eustache speak English but if callers only speak Inuktitut, the dispatchers have a chart with helpful words and also the option of transferring the call to a translation system, he says. "Dispatchers are excited," said Thierry Vallières, director of police in Saint-Eustache. He says currently, about 96 per cent of calls that come in are in English. But with added stress, callers might revert to their first language of Inuktitut, which is why he says it's a priority to find more speakers to join the team soon.
