Nunavik police relaunch cadet program to build Inuit workforce

Nunavik Police Service has relaunched its cadet program with the goal of increasing its Inuit staff and providing learning opportunities for young people.

The eight-month program will recruit youth from ages 12 to 20 in Kuujjuaq to participate in various activities related to policing, survival skills, first-aid, and fitness training, said program co-ordinator Jessica Ashcroft in a French interview.

Former police chief Jean-Pierre Larose announced in March 2025 that the program would return after its last run, launched in 2018, was abandoned.

The program didn’t return last summer as anticipated, according to Ashcroft, who was hired in October, and said the delay might have been due to change in police leadership and a desire to develop a strong program.

Jean-François Bernier took over as chief of Nunavik Police Service in November 2025.

The new program is intended to go beyond exposing young people to police work, Ashcroft said.

“We want a program that accompanies them, that supports them,” she said. “The problems we have had in the past, we’ve learned from them and we don’t repeat them.”

The program will be divided into three age groups: 12 to 14, 15 to 17, and 18 to 20.

The cadets will meet every Tuesday for an in-class session following a curriculum that will introduce them to policing and cover topics such as first aid and other skills.

Ashcroft said she has partnered with Saqijuq, which offers cultural and traditional programming, to organize land-based activities such as hunting and fishing for the cadets.

“We want a more representative police force, but we want to also maintain cultural identity,” Ashcroft said.

She said she’s also working to give Inuit officers more support for their well being. She said former cadets who went on to become police officers sometimes encountered difficulties while responding to calls in their communities.

“One of the problems in the past was that previous traumas would resurface. They’d arrive at calls and relive things they’d experienced themselves, things they hadn’t yet dealt with,” she said.

She’s working on putting together a team to offer sessions on stress management, anxiety symptoms recognition, and prevention.

“Maybe eventually, if some of them are open to it, I’d like to have one-on-one support.”

Ashcroft said she hopes the program’s broader approach will help build trust and encourage more young people to consider policing as a career while remaining connected to their community and culture.

”If the goal is community policing, it’s about having the young people help at events, doing activities, and speaking to elders,” she said.

“It’s about being visible around the community.”