Poor conditions could trigger KRPF exodus

Expect many members of the Kativik Regional Police Force to resign by the end of this year, due to stress, harsh working conditions and little support, says a disgruntled member.

"The officers are treated like mushrooms. They're fed nothing but garbage, and kept in the dark," he told Nunatsiaq News.

The officer said he feels the need to expose the conditions police face in Nunavik, but he fears that if his name appears in the newspaper he will receive an official warning and be transferred to another community "and forgotten."

"A lot of guys are very nervous because we'll be reprimanded by the KRPF or the union if we do anything," he said.

Tension has grown between the KRPF members and their union representatives at the Nunavik Police Association over the past few months.

"I fear they are afraid to act on our behalf because of what could happen to them. Most of them are in a higher position, too," he said.

When KRPF members recently circulated a petition protesting against a plan to raise the pay offered to new recruits, they were reprimanded, the cop said. But he says rank-and-file union members were nearly unanimous in their support of the petition.

Of the KRPF's remaining 25 members, about 15 have been with the force for more than 36 months. That means they won't receive the higher wages given to new recruits.

Because of an "almost complete blackout on information," the officer said most of the police have lost confidence in the union as well as their management.

"We're fed up, a lot of us are looking for a way out. Some don't want to leave because they have families, but 80 per cent will be gone within a year," he said.

Many KRPF members plan to leave for another police force where they can look forward to receiving more pay and better treatment: "if you offer someone to do the same job with more pay, half the workload and the time off, what are they going to choose?"

KRPF members used to feel like their needs would eventually be taken care off under Brian Jones, who was fired as police chief by the Kativik Regional Government last September, the officer said.

Now he said KRPF members are overworked, staying on duty when they're sick and stressed, and falling like flies. "Safety-wise, that's sad," he said.

He said the KRPF is still hiring police with few qualifications, a move that he compares to putting "a body into a uniform and out on the front line."

"Sometimes you can see the guys who are going to last a day," he said.

To prevent a mass exodus from the KRPF, he said the force needs to recruit more experienced officers, sign a collective agreement, regain the trust of members and establish equality between everyone in the force, Inuit and non-Inuit.

He also wonders whether the problems around the irregular signing-in of the police have really been fixed. These irregularities were among the reasons why the Sureté du Quebec provincial police force took over policing from the KRPF for two months last autumn.

Documents obtained by Nunatsiaq News show some appointments to the KRPF appear to have been signed by executive members before this procedure was legal.