Nunavik’s new police chief sworn in

Jean-François (Jeff) Bernier is officially the chief of Nunavik Police Service.

Bernier served as interim chief since Nov. 17, 2025. The permanent appointment allows Bernier to come up with and act on long-term plans for the police agency that serves the region’s 14 communities.

He was sworn into the role virtually on March 17 by Quebec minister of public security Ian Lafrenière, who also made the trip to Kuujjuaq to do it in person during Monday’s Kativik Regional Government meeting.

“It’s a complete honour for me to be serving the people of Nunavik,” Bernier said. “I’m going to be, God willing, five, six, seven, eight years, who knows? And I do want to make a difference for the good of the people.”

Lafrenière, who is also the deputy premier, led the in-person ceremony. He was joined by Jean Duchesneau, president of the Quebec Association of First Nations and Inuit Police Directors, and Benoît Dubé, Surêté du Quebec’s director of criminal investigations.

Lafrenière said the presence of his colleagues reflect a shared commitment between northern and southern Quebec to work together.

“There are no borders when we’re talking about policing,” he said, noting that issues affecting one region often impact other regions.

Pita Aatami, president of Makivvik Corp., who was also present at the ceremony, said stronger partnerships between regional and provincial governments, the police service and local communities are essential to move forward.

An audit report of the Nunavik Police, procured by the Kativik Regional Government and released May 12, recommends 35 reforms aimed at rebuilding trust between police and local communities, increasing representation and giving Inuit greater control over policing in the region.

Bernier is the Kativik Regional Government’s representative on the Nunavik Public Security Committee, co-led by Makivvik, which is reviewing the report’s findings.

During his activity report, Bernier told councillors he had met with the Kativik Regional Government’s director general’s office to discuss how they would work together to implement the recommendations, though he did not comment extensively on the audit report itself.