Newly appointed Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendantes director Brigitte Bishop is the former inspector general for the City of Montreal, and was a Crown prosecutor for 27 years. (Photo courtesy of Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendantes)
New head of Quebec police watchdog hopes for better communication with Nunavik
Brigitte Bishop looking to improve on language, culture barriers, using liaison
The new director of Quebec’s independent police watchdog says she wants to change the way the Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendantes carries out investigations in Nunavik.
Brigitte Bishop was named to lead the Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendantes on April 28, replacing Pierre Goulet, who held the position since 2020.
Within two days of being appointed, she met with the bureau’s Nunavik liaison, who acts as a bridge between its investigators and the community.
“I was immediately made aware of the files, mainly the one from Salluit,” Bishop said in a French-language phone interview from her office in Longueuil, Que.
“To tell you how important this is to us, this is my first interview. I think that speaks for itself.”
The Salluit incident is the Nov. 4, 2024, shooting death of Joshua Papigatuk during a confrontation with Nunavik Police Service officers that also left his twin brother, Garnet Papigatuk, badly injured.
A protest erupts in Kuujjuaq in November after the death of Joshua Papigatuk following an altercation with the Nunavik Police Service in Salluit. (Photo by Cedric Gallant)
The bureau is still investigating the incident. It’s also looking into the May 6 death of a man in Kangiqsualujjuaq, also during a confrontation with Nunavik police.
The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes investigates when someone dies or is seriously injured during contact with police, all criminal allegations against a police officer by an Inuk victim or complainant, and allegations of sexual offences against police officers. Bureau reports are sent to the director of criminal and penal prosecutions, which decides if charges should be laid.
According to the bureau’s records available online, in Nunavik, with a population of about 14,000, there have been 16 deaths related to police interventions since 2016. During that same period, in all of Quebec — with a population of approximately nine million people — there have been 250 such deaths.
That’s roughly one death for every 875 people in Nunavik, compared to about one death per 36,000 people province-wide.
Also since 2016, the bureau has conducted 450 investigations province-wide. Twenty-eight involved Nunavik, accounting for six per cent of all investigations, although the region holds only 0.15 per cent of Quebec’s population.
After the Salluit incident, protests against police were held across Nunavik. Bishop said the bureau is still gathering information but its report will be ready soon.
Bishop pointed to what she called “institutional delays,” such as waiting for documentation like autopsy reports, for why it can take months for the bureau to release its findings.
When it comes to serving the communities, “I want the message to be clear,” Bishop said. “The distance is not going to be an issue concerning our presence in Nunavik.
“The people that are impacted are aware of what is happening, they are informed. The greater public is less informed because we do not do public [news] releases.”
Bishop, who previously worked as a Crown prosecutor for 27 years, wants to improve family support by integrating the bureau’s liaison agent into the communities, and finding people who can help with cultural and language barriers.
The bureau has 45 investigators at its offices in Longueuil and Quebec City. For Nunavik, investigators fly out directly from Longueuil.
Bishop acknowledges investigations can be slow, but hopes to accelerate them with better community collaboration.
“We have evidence that is material, like body cameras, but sometimes we are told that someone was there,” she said, adding it can take time to track down witnesses.
“By being closer to the communities, they can collaborate with us, help us and ease things over when meeting with witnesses.”
Bishop said she wants reports and releases to be issued in English and Inuktitut, translated by someone living in Nunavik.
Of the 450 investigations launched in all of Quebec since 2016, only two led to legal action, though some investigations are ongoing. The outcome of the two cases is not provided on the website.
However, Bishop said the bureau’s mission is misunderstood: “We are not here to find people that are guilty, we are here to look at a file objectively and to give the stakes.”
“Ultimately, we are there to shine light on what happened with complete independence.”
When the bureau sends its reports to the director of criminal and penal prosecutions, people often expect it will lead to a police officer being charged or reprimanded.
The bureau’s power, though, rests in its recommendations.
“When a file closes, we will evaluate and determine if there is a case for making recommendations on best practices,” she said.
“If we realize that people don’t trust us, that there is a problem with how the [bureau] is perceived, I could make a recommendation that we go and give a little more precise and appropriate training to the representatives in Nunavik.”
Bishop is aware that Makivvik and the Kativik Regional Government formed a public security committee in response to the Salluit shooting. She wants to attend and explain the bureau’s role and take questions.
“They don’t know it yet, but I have the intention of inviting myself,” she said.
It’s incredible that so many people in the ranks are not addressing the root cause of Nunavik social problems. Yes , better policing, and better investigating needed by the bureau of investigation, but for the sake of intelligence and common sense, address the social problems. Drastic measures are not welcome, but that’s not to say drastic measures can’t be implemented. The problem is mentally challenging individuals, mentally ill, and undiagnosed and getting hold of booze and drugs. And along with the mental illness, you have people that are growing up without coping mechanisms for getting through life among their fellow humans. It’s a dire situation,whereby children are not learning the basics to navigate life. I don’t have the answers and I don’t think anyone has the answers, but the first thing we do is admit that the problem is there, rather than chasing other aspects to sideline the roots of the problem . Just one question : for the new head of the bureau, why not find out why you are even investigating such large numbers of death? And look beyond the police, not your job I know , but support the addressing of the roots with those that might find solutions as to why the crime in the first place ? If a society is being destroyed by lack of mental health services, and a society that mainly can’t have alcohol without incredible turmoil, let it not be denied. And get the organizations, social services and school boards on board to have more compassion for growth and development of children. Have work shops and all the (meetings money ) turn into money to help parents become parents. So much can be done , but every part is met with side slip and denial. Wake up leadership, and help the people survive and live in peace. Campaign to expose the unacceptable and the poor health of Nunavik. Ask why all this crime?
The best lawyers that taxpayers dollars can buy 🤑
It says “ The new director of Quebec’s independent police watchdog says she wants to change the way the Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendantes carries out investigations in Nunavik” is she talking about 17/17 investigations that were closed and were not investigated properly?
Ask if she believes systemic racism is a problem. She will say No, or say such labels and terms don’t matter (and the trolls will agree with her). Dealing with problems requires acknowledging them. Until the problem of racism is acknowledged by the GoQ and its functionaries, people will keep getting shot by the cops.
I’m glad to hear that she speaks the truth and understands reality then, good for her. This alone will give her my full support.
Within two days of being appointed, she met with the bureau’s Nunavik liaison, who acts as a bridge between its investigators and the community.
Does that Nunavik Liaison have a name? Is it an independent person? Someone who actually lives in Nunavik?
Nunavik organisatios can barely communicate with each other unless there’s a trip to Montreal attached so good luck with that.
Blah blah blah….
Release the bodycam footage to Mandy Gull Masty, Pita Aatami and the Makivvik executive….
Until this is done, this is BS and I’m not eating that sandwich.
Bishop said it herself….
“We have evidence that is material, like body cameras, but sometimes we are told that someone was there,” she said, adding it can take time to track down witnesses.
Let’ start with the obviously “material” body cam footage if you please.
I’m NOT saying release the footage on Youtube…I’m saying it needs to be shown to elected officials who can judge for the people they represent if the police are at fault for these shootings, by not grasping where they are policing, and getting confrontational, impatient and igniting situations instead of diffusing them.
I get very nervous about people without life experience -and the emotional intelligence and patience to go with it- being given a job as a “keeper of the peace”…..and adding tough guy cop attitudes and testosterone to a mix with guns and a place of trauma and often addiction is a god awful dangerous recipe….not to mention that anyone who takes a job policing in Nunavik should be more than conversant in English.
We need more community policing or community partnership in policing…and we need to start looking at those who are meant to protect and serve, and expect them to do so….and if the good cops out there know of shitty cops out there….call them out and get them the hell out of Nunavik.
More cops in the gym and on the ice as volunteer coaches makes a lot more sense in Nunavik than building locked barricades in villages and locking yourself in as much as locking locals out, and up.
Bodycam footage now.
Just what Nunavik needs, another white person with a savior complex politicking on behalf of Inuit…
Dearest .LOL -if that is your real name- Thanks for yet another brilliant comment that adds nothing to the conversation.
Inuk or not, try offering an opinion that at least attempts moving the needle towards solutions…
It’s called being a concerned citizen and and angry Canadian about what is playing out in Nunavik.
And at least Im not hiding behind anything online.
All the best….now grow up.
Don’t be foolish to think any policies or even how much they lack commitment in cases will change. This is a publicity stunt
Funny how people want to reinvent the wheel. First of all, don’t compare files with the South but with Nunavut and see if there’s something to learn from a territory with a similar population. Nunavik is in a peculiar, colonial, situation with a circuit court from the South instead of local institutions. Investigators are from the South, don’t speak the language of the vast majority of Nunavimmiut and don’t know much about the communities. So, they can look forever for a witness while local people know exactly where the person is.
Once the interview is done, they have to translate everything in French… for the prosecutors. Imagine an Inuk witness who spoke in Inuktitut, was translated into English and then French. A famous Montreal lawyer, Léo-René Maranda, learn what triple translation entails in a trial in Iqaluit in the 1990s before Justice Boilard.
That’s not all, prosecutors are close to the police and instinctively will believe an officer over most witnesses and section 25 (4) of the Criminal Code provides for excuses to use lethal force by officers: “the peace officer … believes on reasonable grounds that the force is necessary for the purpose of protecting the peace officer, the person lawfully assisting the peace officer or any other person from imminent or future death or grievous bodily harm…” Easy to find that the officer “believed on reasonable grounds” while the Crown has the burden to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s a lot of “reasonable” in favour of the officer! Theses matters should at the very least be dealt with by independent prosecutors, ad hoc or from another jurisdiction to avoid bias, not by the provincial prosecutors who work with the same police officers.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions and the system itself contributes to the significant crime rates in Nunavik for not being relevant to the people. Add to that the significantly colonial relationship between the provincial government and Nunavik and continue doing the same things over and over again and expect different results. That won’t happen and it’s the whole system that needs to change.