Nunavik’s new police chief sworn in

Michel Martin, front row at right, was sworn in as the new chief of the Kativik Regional Police Force June 11 at a Quebec City ceremony, alongside Public Security minister Lise Thériault, left, and three members of the KRPF (back row.) (PHOTO COURTESY OF GOVERNMENT OF QUEBEC)

Nunavik’s new police chief is now officially installed.

Quebec’s minister of public safety, Lisa Thériault, led a June 11 ceremony to swear in Michel Martin as the new chief of the Kativik Regional Police Force, which serves the region’s 14 communities.

Martin will, by default, also serve as head of the Kativik Regional Government’s department of public security.

“Recognizing his leadership qualities, Mr. Martin has my full confidence in this new challenge as head of the Kativik Regional Police Force,” Thériault said in a June 11 release.

“His leadership skills and vast experience are significant assets that make him the ideal candidate to take on this important role. The role of the police chief is enormous.”

Martin began his policing career with Quebec’s provincial police, the Sûreté du Québec, in 1977, where he served as a patrolman, investigator, spokesperson and as chief of services over three decades.

For a time in the 1990s, Martin also worked in northern Quebec helping to develop indigenous police forces like the KRPF.

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.

Martin was sworn in at a June 11 ceremony in Quebec City alongside Thériault, Quebec’s Aboriginal Affair’s minister Geoffrey Kelley and Ungava MNA Jean Boucher.

The new chief was initially interviewed and hired earlier this year by the KRG.

“[Martin is] used to working with different nationalities, and he also indicated that he’d be willing to travel to the communities,” KRG chair Maggie Emudluk told regional council meetings last month.

Nunavimmiut have indicated that they’d like to see Nunavik’s new police chief become more visible in the communities.

Martin replaces former KRPF chief Aileen MacKinnon, who tendered her resignation in late 2014, after serving in the role since 2008.

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.