Feds’ special interlocutor falls short of delivering justice, says Nunavut MP
‘The most important step is to ensure that the special interlocutor gets truth and justice for residential school survivors’
Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq holds a photo last month of French Oblate priest Joannis Rivoire, who is accused of sexually assaulting Inuit children who attended residential schools in Nunavut communities in the 1960s. The NDP has called on the government to investigate Rivoire and other alleged perpetrators within the residential school system. (Screen grab courtesy of CPAC)
Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq said the federal government’s recent appointment of a new liaison to work with Indigenous groups on residential school healing is “a major climb down” from the NDP’s call for a criminal probe.
In July, the federal New Democrats asked Ottawa to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate potential crimes committed against Indigenous people at residential schools, and their alleged perpetrators.
The demand came after weeks of revelations about unmarked graves at residential school sites throughout the country.
On Aug. 10, Lametti announced the government’s plan to appoint a “special interlocutor,” whose job it would be to work with Indigenous communities and governments “to identify needed measures and make recommendations relating to federal laws, regulations, policies and practices surrounding unmarked and undocumented graves and burial sites at residential schools.”
That announcement was part of a wider investment of $321 million towards a range of initiatives related to residential school searches and support for Indigenous communities doing the work.
The move comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to call a September election.
“New Democrats will watch the roll out of these promises very closely,” Qaqqaq said in an email to Nunatsiaq News on Friday.
“We have learned that Liberal promises often fall very short of the need for justice. Indigenous people in Canada deserve real justice, not just more words and symbolic gestures.”
Qaqqaq also made a specific request to federal Justice Minister David Lametti in July to bring a former Catholic priest to justice. Rev. Johannes Rivoire was one accused of sexually assaulting Inuit residential school students and children while he worked in Nunavut communities in the 1960s.
The Justice department has not indicated if it would revisit that file.
“The most important step is to ensure that the special interlocutor gets truth and justice for residential school survivors,” Qaqqaq said.
“This means investigating the graves at former residential schools, prosecuting living abusers, and holding institutions who were complicit accountable.”
Sept 20th can’t come fast enough.
I’ve had enough of Mumilaaq. Our territory and our people deserve better and on Sept 20th we get to fix a mistake made 2 years ago.
You may be tired of Mumilaaq, but why are you against her taking a priest accused of child rape to justice? Am I to take it from your comment that you don’t believe this pedophile should see their day in court?
He’s in France I believe and 90+ years old. We do not have an extradition agreement with France so it is impossible for him to be brought to Canada for a trial. I suppose they could try him in absentia but there is also the issue of the victims coming forward to have charges laid and giving accurate testimony in a court of law. Given all that how does Mumilaaq expect the government to bring him to justice exactly? Easy enough to flap on about justice but how does she believe they should proceed with this specifically? Maybe Black Ops?
Suddenly shes an expert in law too?
You don’t need to be a law expert to call for justice, she also getting advice from her team too. She said what the government is doing is not good enough to bring monsters to justice.
I fail to see why Mumilaaq is getting so much bad press when pursuing such a heinous criminal.
This man is pure evil and needs to be held accountable for their actions.
She’s not getting bad press, she’s getting residual blowback by NN commenters. I agree though, it is time to put swords back in their sheaths. It’s getting a little tired.
There’s not much going on in this article, no new developments of interest or any interesting information at all, which is fine I suppose. Now consider that against some of the other stories, probably of much greater interest to Nunavummiut, that Nunatsiaq seems to have ignored lately. For example, the sentence that was recently delivered in the case of Lennese Kublu, a story this publication had been following, at least until its conclusion… what is up with that, Nunatsiaq?