Nunavik intervention teams keep more than 90% of crises calls out of jail, hospital
Saqijuq launched in Puvirnituq in 2019, Kuujjuaq in 2025
Pictured from left is Sgt. Olivier Blanchette and Const. Michael Simpson of the Nunavik Police Service, and Lukasi Whiteley-Tukkiapik and Ariane Richard from Saqijuq at the mobile crisis intervention team launch in Kuujjuaq in August 2025. New data shows more than 90 per cent of cases in 2025 were resolved in Kuujjuaq and Puvirnituq without judicial action as Saqijuq looks to expand the program across Nunavik. (Photo courtesy of Facebook/Saqijuq)
Mobile intervention teams in Puvirnituq and Kuujjuaq kept most crisis situations out of the justice system in 2025 with more than 90 per cent of cases requiring no judicial action, new data shows.
Saqijuq, a Nunavik-based organization that promotes community safety, launched the mobile intervention program in Puvirnituq in 2019, then in Kuujjuaq in 2025.
The organization shared last year’s data with Nunatsiaq News on Jan. 29.
“With the success of this program, we’d like to extend it to other communities,” said Saqijuq executive director Lukasi Whiteley-Tukkiapik.
“We believe it’s going to make a big difference.”
Saqijuq has 32 employees, including 29 beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. It’s funded by Makivvik, the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, and several provincial and federal organizations.
Its teams work with police to respond to calls involving mental health crises, domestic violence, suicide prevention, and children and youth at risk.
The team in Puvirnituq responded to 557 crisis calls in 2025. Of those, 507 were handled without involving the justice system while 17 resulted in arrest and 33 in involuntary hospitalization.
Of the 190 interventions done in Kuujjuaq between August — when the team was launched — and December, 177 did not involve the justice system, eight ended in arrest and four in involuntary hospitalization.
Under a Quebec law known as P-38, a person who is mentally ill and poses an immediate danger to themselves or others can be hospitalized without their consent to be evaluated.
“P-38 could be very traumatic to a person,” Whiteley-Tukkiapik said. “I remember in the past, it used to happen quite often and it was really unfortunate.”
He said this number has decreased over the years since Saqijuq started working in Puvirnituq. Most cases get resolved within the community, meaning mobile teams stabilized the crises and connected people to local services.
In 2024, the number of cases in the community that resulted in involuntary hospitalization was even lower than 2025 with 12 out of 595 interventions, according to Saqijuq’s 2024 annual report.
This data highlights issues like mental health challenges, substance use, youth vulnerability and domestic conflict, Whiteley-Tukkiapik said.
In Puvirnituq, suicidal crises were the most common reason for intervention, making up one-third of cases. In Kuujjuaq, alcohol was the top reason, followed closely by domestic violence and family-related crises.
“In the last couple of years, we’ve been seeing harder drugs coming into the region but one thing that hasn’t changed is the social issues we face every single day,” Whiteley-Tukkiapik said.
“What I’m happy to see is the shift that the communities are saying this is a big problem that we need to face now.”
On Dec. 3 last year, Kuujjuaq council held a public meeting to confront the rise of hard drugs in the community and brainstorm solutions ranging from airport searches to providing more activities for youths.
Mussel picking in Inukjuak organized by the On-The-Land team aims to create safe healing spaces where people can learn new skills and feel like a part of the community. (Photo courtesy of Facebook/Saqijuq)
Saqijuq does prevention work as well to address these underlying issues, including its On-The-Land Program, first launched in Puvirnituq in 2016, said program development director Maude-Émilie Drolet.
The program is now in six additional communities: Akulivik, Inukjuak, Kangiqsualujjuaq, Kangiqsujuaq, Kangirsuk and Kuujjuaq. It offers activities such as hunting, fishing, harvesting, berry picking, traditional skills transmission, and mechanical and woodworking workshops.
The teams also do patrols and visit different community spots to engage with people and inform them on the risks of substance use.
“It’s not always promoting abstinence but also promoting safe habits of consumption, if that’s the decision they take,” Drolet said.
After interventions, there are follow-ups to explain what happened during a crisis and guide people on how to create safety and reduce risk for themselves and others.
Salluit will be the third community to receive a mobile intervention team, but no date has been set. Whiteley-Tukkiapik said Saqijuq is targeting the big communities first with the goal of expanding to the smaller ones as well.
Why you still killing people . No you are just tryna save your program !
Family member is in jail again , has mental , drug and alcohol problems
I would not say this during Inuit that had been done by RCMP. Saying they did their work. Not seeing what they had done. Families are grieving for those who lost their lives. And still no justice. That is how they are doing too in Nunavut. There were missing people in some communities in Nunavut that still no answers from their lost ones.
No program is perfect, but if you don’t like this one, come up with a better one.