Nunavik gets a new police chief

Insp. Michel Martin, at left, is pictured here in 2010 while he served as the Canadian Contingent Commander in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE RCMP)

INUKJUAK — The Kativik Regional Police Force should get a new police chief by next month.

During regional council meetings in Inukjuak May 28, Kativik Regional Government councillors voted to appoint Michel Martin as director of its department of public security, a position that also oversees the region’s police force.

Martin has an impressive resumé: the retired inspector served as chief of service with the Sûreté du Québec provincial police force for almost 30 years.

After his retirement in 2009, Martin went on to serve as the RCMP’s Canadian Contingent Commander in Haiti. Martin was stationed in Port-au-Prince Jan. 12, 2010 when a deadly earthquake struck the Haitian city.

In the weeks that followed, Martin and his contingent provided first aid, medicine, food and security to the devastated city, later earning him the Commissioner’s Commendation for Bravery.

On June 10, Quebec’s public security department will announce if Martin’s nomination to the new position is approved, the KRG said.

“We did a lot of interviews and we feel like [Martin] was the best candidate,” KRG chairperson Maggie Emudluk told regional council meetings. “It’s not an easy job, but I think he’ll be strong in this position.

“He’s used to working with different nationalities, and he also indicated that he’d be willing to travel to the communities.”

During last week’s KRG meetings, regional councillors said they’d like to see Nunavik’s police chief become more visible in the communities.

Martin will replace the KRPF’s former chief, Aileen MacKinnon, who resigned from the job last December.

MacKinnon, who first came to Nunavik to work as a teacher, started with the KRPF in the late 1990s, working as an officer in communities such as Kangiqsujuaq and Puvirnituq.

She was installed as interim chief in 2008, and appointed as chief in 2012.

KRPF’s deputy chief Pierre Bettez has served in the role as interim chief since January 2015 and will return to work alongside Martin as deputy chief.