Inukjuak mayor calls police shootings his toughest challenge

Inukjuak Mayor Bobby Epoo says his toughest challenge after one year on the job is dealing with shootings by police.

Within just five months last year, two people — one of them a six-year-old girl — died in police-involved incidents in the community.

“After a police incident, like a shooting, the people and news outlets, they demand answers I cannot provide,” he said.

“My authority has limits. I cannot dictate where the police can patrol.”

On July 17, 2025, two months after Epoo took office in May, James Kavik was shot and killed during an incident with Nunavik police officers.

His death was the third in eight months in the Nunavik region, leading the Kativik Regional Government to launch an audit of the Nunavik Police Service.

In December, six-year-old Alacie Iqaluk, died after an exchange of gunfire when police were called to her home and had a confrontation with an armed man.

Epoo said he visited Iqaluk’s family after the funeral to share some information he received from the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, Quebec’s police watchdog that investigates cases where people are injured or killed during interactions with police.

“It was really hard,” he said of the visit.

There are rumours that people in the community don’t want to call the police because of these incidents, Epoo said.

“The public needs to understand that the police are here to help and also the police need to understand that they’re here to help,” he said.

Since 2016, 16 people have died in Nunavik in interactions with police, including four incidents in the past 15 months in which four people died.

Epoo said he met with Nunavik police Chief Jean-François (Jeff) Bernier in February, who said he would implement cultural sensitivity training for police officers.

“That’s something to look forward to from a police chief,” Epoo said. “It’s the first time we’re seeing a police chief more engaged with the public.”

Challenges with policing aren’t the only issues Epoo faces as mayor — his community of 1,800 people is also facing a water delivery and sewage removal crisis.

There are seven water trucks and seven sewage trucks, but only two of each are currently operating. The others are waiting for repair parts.

On April 29, 2025, the municipal council passed a resolution to transition from trucked services to a pipeline system, Epoo said.

This is a main priority for the next 10 years as part of the strategic plan for Inukjuak.

“It’s going to take at least 10 to 15 years to make that into reality. Just the feasibility study alone, we’re looking at maybe $2 million alone,” Epoo said.

He said funding requests have been sent to both federal and provincial governments.