Nunavik Police Service interim chief appointed to permanent position

Jean-François Bernier has been appointed permanent chief of the Nunavik police service.

Kativik Regional Government councillors voted to confirm the appointment, the regional government announced Tuesday in a news release.

Bernier had served as interim chief since last November.

He was hired under an agreement with the Quebec City Police Service but announced that he has retired from the Quebec police service to step into the permanent role in Nunavik, according to the release.

KRG launched an audit into the police service last summer, prompted by three police-related civilian deaths in the region. Since then, a six-year-old girl identified by a family member as Alacie Iqaluk died and her father, Andrew Naluktuk, was injured in a December police-involved shooting in Inukjuak.

Bernier has been working with the KRG-Makivvik public security committee and KRG’s office of the director general to create recommendations for better policing in response to the audit, the release said.

It’s unclear whether the audit is completed.

When he first appeared at the November 2024 regional council meeting, Bernier promised to be “reachable” to anyone who wishes to speak to him.

Since then, he has visited all 14 Nunavik communities and gone on local radio station call-in programs to hear directly from Nunavimmuit.

Maggie Emudluk, KRG’s chairperson, said in the release that the council is ready to support Bernier’s efforts to improve policing in Nunavik and build a safer relationship between police and the communities.

Bernier was not available Wednesday to talk about his appointment as Nunavik’s permanent police chief.