Quebec commission on public services wants to hear from Nunavik

Staff with Quebec’s public inquiry into the relationship between Indigenous people and certain public services meet with Nunavik’s Satuviit Inuit Women’s Association during a visit to Kuujjuaq earlier this month. (PHOTO COURTESY OF CERP)

After six months of work, a Quebec government commission looking at how some public services are delivered to the Indigenous population has reached out to Nunavimmiut who may want to take part in its inquiry.

The commission on relations between Indigenous Peoples and certain public services in Quebec, launched in June 2017, focuses on six specific services: health, social services, correctional services, justice, youth protection and policing and how Indigenous Quebecers are served in those areas.

The Quebec government announced the inquiry last year after Indigenous women in Val d’Or came forward to allege they were abused and sexually assaulted by provincial police officers.

Val d’Or has remained the home base of the commission since it started this past summer, through the inquiry plans to travel to other communities in 2018.

“It’s a concern for us to ensure Nunavik is a part of our work and [Nunavimmiut] don’t feel too far away,” said Christian Leblanc, chief counsel for the inquiry.

A representative from the commission visited Kuujjuaq earlier this month—which marked its first official visit to the region—and met with local groups, including the Saturviit Inuit Women’s Association.

Although the commission is now almost six months into its mandate, it’s making its way gradually across the province and its 55 Indigenous communities.

Inquiry staff will typically start with an informal visit to a community—like they did in Kuujjuaq—and then the commission will return by invitation.

The commission has already been asked to come back and present to the Kativik Regional Government council next February.

If, during a visit, staff encounter a community member who wants to participate or share their story, they can open a file right away, Leblanc said.

That triggers an investigation, which includes interviews and the gathering of documents. Then the inquiry’s legal team will look at the file and decide the best way to proceed.

At that point, complainants can either come to Val d’Or to testify at a hearing or request the commission come visit the community in person. Groups who travel to the commission can apply to have their expenses covered.

Complainants can testify in English, French or Inuktitut.

“If we have numerous witnesses to hear, we will bring the commission to them,” said Leblanc, who worked as a prosecutor in Kuujjuaq in the late 1990s.

In the meantime, the commission is hiring community-based liaisons across the province, including in Nunavik.

“We’re trying to have people locally who know the North, who can help us reach people,” he said.

Makivik Corp. appeared before the commission last June, and called for “an Inuit-specific approach” to services delivered in Nunavik.

Since then, the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services and Saturviit Inuit Women’s Association have also travelled to Val d’Or to participate.

“We need to reach people in Nunavik and give them the opportunity share the experiences they’ve had,” Leblanc said. “We need to reach regular people.”

Former Quebec Superior Court Justice Jacques Viens is chairing the commission.

After the commission wraps in November 2018, he will be tasked with making recommendations to the Quebec government and Indigenous authorities on how to eliminate discriminatory practices and all forms of violence in the provision of government services to those communities.

Read more about the inquiry and related job postings on its website.

You can also follow the commission on its Facebook page.