‘Policing in Nunavik is broken’: Inuit group wants change after latest fatal shooting
Global News
A 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.
A 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, and has reignited anger and trauma in Nunavik. The Quebec coroner’s office identified the victim as Mark R Annanack, 35, of Kangiqsualujjuaq.
Makivvik, a group that represents the Inuit of Nunavik, said in a scathing statement this week there is a pattern of police using excessive force in the region. “Makivvik is calling for immediate and exceptional measures,” the organization said, adding that while an independent investigation is necessary, other actions must follow.
“This crisis demands substantial structural change in the way policing is delivered across Nunavik, we cannot wait for another report while more lives are put at risk.”
Makivvik head Pita Aatami asked how many families must suffer before the province “understands that policing in Nunavik is broken?”
“This latest tragedy is not isolated: it reflects a systemic failure in the way policing is delivered in Nunavik,” Aatami said. “Despite repeated warnings, commitments, and investigations, police interventions continue to fail our communities. We condemn this fatality, and we demand immediate and measurable accountability.”
Quebec’s police watchdog — Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes — said members of the Nunavik Police Service had planned to arrest someone who was inside a tent in the Inuit village on the eastern shore of Ungava Bay. The police force said in its own statement that officers had a warrant for the man, but the force said he resisted when two officers tried to arrest him about 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The police force said officers used pepper spray on the man, who they say emerged from the tent with a knife. An officer tried to subdue the man with a stun gun, but as the situation evolved an officer opened fire and the victim was later declared dead at a regional health centre.
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