Several arrests were made in Nunavik and Montreal as part of Project Plutonium, a joint operation between the Nunavik Police Service and the Sûreté du Québec that targets the illegal resale of alcohol. (Image courtesy of Sûreté du Québec)
Police make arrests in connection with illegal alcohol sales in Nunavik
Arrests were part of Project Plutonium, a joint operation between Nunavik Police Service and the Sûreté du Québec
Police arrested 13 people in Nunavik and the Montreal area Wednesday morning in connection with Quebec’s illegal alcohol trade, according to a news release from the Sûreté du Québec.
The arrests were part of Project Plutonium, a joint operation between the Quebec provincial police and Nunavik Police Service. According to the release, the project “aims to dismantle a network of illegal resale of alcohol and drug trafficking in 14 communities” in northern Quebec.
The project also includes the involvement of the provincial revenue department, the Société des alcools du Québec and Canada Post inspectors.
The news release stated police charged people with fraud, concealment, trafficking of prohibited substances, conspiracy and other charges. It did not say if any alcohol was seized.
According to the release, people in Montreal have been buying alcohol to be mailed and re-sold in Nunavik for up to 12 times the original price.
“Bottles of spirits purchased in Montreal for between $15 and $25 could be resold in the North for prices of up to $200 per bottle,” the release said.
Does that mean no more elimination draws?
Its time to consider allowing the sale of liquor in the north with controls, create jobs, keep the profits in our communities, put money also into education and treatment, just saying as prohibition does not work.
Dear Peter, have you ever considered why the sale of liquor is not a thing in Nunavik like other parts of the country, we call Canada, and the province of Quebec? I’m not going to answer, it’s your answer that I look for here? Prohibition doesn’t work he says. Who needs prohibition, and why do they need it? You say liquor sales would create jobs in the north. The last time I look, there were so many people not showing up for work, on Monday, after bingo night, and any random day of the week. I wonder why they would have theses jobs created, and no one shows up to work at them. Wouldn’t it be funny to create jobs by selling alcohol, and the workers drink the alcohol, and not show up for work. It’s a funny little world around these areas of prohibition. What you think?
Inuit would suffer the most in the short term and their would be more jobs available from the down fall of the ones who can’t control their addiction? Like more police, jail’s?
New beer store opening in town , sometime in may.
Coop beer sales have shown that they’ve opened up new positions just for the sale of alcohol. Their workers are usually on time, too.
Prohibition is a thing of the past. This new generation ain’t like the old and that’s what people need to start realizing. Meanwhile the orgs and corps don’t even hire young folk.
Look at how the three communities that have sales locally are now. So much despair, poverty, and elders and children suffering. If you want to live like that, move, you’re not a tree.
And bootlegging isn’t a major contribution to that? 200$ for a miki in some parts. Despair? Think about hunger that those children go through. Think about the elders being abused because of financial strain. Prohibiting alcohol from this generation and forcing them to the days of yours is in no way beneficial to anybody. Bootlegging is also having our people criminalized when they’re caught. I find that the white people running KRG love it when Inuit are frowned upon and given a criminal record. More jobs for them, less opportunities for us.
Imagine having a small beer store or even liquor store where you can pay a fair and taxed price on it instead of spending outrageous amounts of money. Limitations would be regulated and it would be smarter to do so. Start small first like with anything else.
What is the make up of a person, who would pay hundreds of dollars in Quebec or anywhere in Canada for a little Mickey of alcohol? It’s mind bobbling. If anyone pays that much for a bottle, they’re missing out on being an equally human being in this country. First I say, it’s too bad that our system of cost and availability lacks so much. Secondly, I say to the person that spends that kind of money on booze,: you are not participating in this world around you very well, you should govern yourself, and wake up , or move to an area where you are equally treated. Thirdly, you need to learn that if you do it right, you can have booze with just a little above the price of the south, not 12 times more cost. I’ve been having my booze legally forever with just a little more cost, it can be done. Don’t be so desperate.
So, what you are saying is that drinkers should start home brewing to save money.
If you want to save money, just order legally from saw, marche stores, no need for homebrew to save money. Homebrew for those who can’t get it legally anyway.
I order online from SAQ , I order 3 60oz bottles with shipping ,costs me $255.08 . that lasts me about 2 months. the day , i start buying bootelegged booze, i will check myself into rehab.
its not being desperately thirsty. its not knowing how to deal with personal problems that they are dealing with. from either yesteryears emotional trauma or todays trauma. Its much easier to get drunk to cover the hurt, pain, grief from being raped, tortured, molested or abandoned by your mother, father, guardians. It is easier to get drunk than to deal unimageable images on a daily basis as a child, teen or woman, boy or man. It is shameful to open up to someone to help you better yourselves to have a better life than getting drunk every single day until you are dependent on alcoholism. Wake up with a hangover, begin drinking, drink all day, pass out, wake up drink again, end up in the hospital, wake up in jail, wake up on the tundra. This is what southerns do not understand about being Inuit, First Nations an Metis. All they want to do is JUDGE.
You dumbfounded, yes you, I’m talking to you. First of all, there’s lots of issues with what you talk about, but you don’t make sense. You are saying that the reason why Inuit abuse alcohol is because of the trauma, past and present., and abandonment within family in the community which they live. Are you saying that it’s ok to abuse alcohol because of the illnesses and ineffective coping? Like people have no other choice? Are you saying that Nunavik needs more alcohol, like legally now, to keep people in an illness of misery, due to the need to hide from trauma that’s not dealt with healthily? That’s not a reason to legalize alcohol, just so people can continue to become victims, from the fact that they are already victims of abuse and trauma. I’m disagreeing with you in your rationale of justification for alcohol abuse. Alcohol that’s not readily available legally in Nunavik. Why, the hell would it become legal , as by your point of view, about it being abuse , and put people into their graves early. There’s good examples all throughout the world of people coping as a people with notorious trauma and abuse, and alcohol is not used for that purpose. Inuit , First Nations and Métis are not any different, in that it’s only them that can have justification by abusing alcohol! And therefore everyone should not judge and understand. You with that attitude are making a choice to continue your misery, when you don’t have too. Seek help, and break the abuse in your community for your self , the children and next generation. You have a choice. No one can take your choice.
Hopefully revenue Quebec investigation will target those with big boats, big trucks, skidoo’s, and other expensive toys, and loads of material, and are considered not having an income to support theses purchases. It’s so easy to tell who has the toys with just regular income, or no income on the books. As far as I know, revenue Canada and Quebec can assess the assets of these people and arrange a tax bill.
Every time some body get busted for bootlegging or drug dealing , people bring up the subject of the bad guy losing their big toys. it never happens in the north , but does work down south . wishfull thinking.
It’s hard to get things to work in the north. Yes works down south, but not in Nunavik. Legally booze is sold down south too, but not in Nunavik. I wonder why, you tell me how that works?
Just mix any kind of sugar with yeast 25 cents
Is it such a privilege to have a nice cold beer, or a cocktail, glass of wine in Nunavik? It’s the most pleasurable thing in this world. I do it all the time. Just order up some from the legal ways, and there you have it. Can’t understand someone living in Nunavik all their life, and can’t do that when they want to. Can’t understand someone living in Nunavik all their life don’t even know what I’m talking about. All they know is buying booze at this ridiculously high bootlegged price over and over to the point of no return. And here I am, among the many , many that are enjoying our drink, when ever we want it , and we read about that desperate person of bootlegged infectious lowly living soul. Man, this Nunavik living must be hard on them.
Anyone in Canada having such big issues with obtaining some beer , wine or liquor in this age of times are probably deserving it to the fullest. It’s not like the government is going to come along and say, you folks deserve your drink like every other Canadian. I don’t think so. Ask your self if you grew up in an environment of not being able to buy booze legally. It should be taught in high school in the north, about why people can’t buy alcohol like the rest of the country. It’ll be a great subject, and a great enlightening to the kids that are growing up with such restrictions on life, and maybe the kids would be getting insight which is needed to grow. Maybe many kids would get a better understanding of how they grew up with violence in their home , and connect the two: alcohol is violence to too many that drink it in the north, Fact.
To Nunavik 1920s, just look at Nunavik 2022, can’t buy booze, as too many can’t handled it well. Like coop store to st Jerome, all in one day work. If people in Nunavik want to have booze, then, campaign to have the trouble makers banned from getting access to alcohol. Yes, the next time you see an idiot intoxicated, driving around, bothering people, being a nuisance, you’re seeing why you can’t legally buy alcohol in Nunavik like other places. So if want your booze, deal with the idiots.
What is this? Trouble and alcohol are inevitable, no matter who’s hands it’s in. One of the huge factors are its high costs from bootleggers so people try to drown in it like it’s gonna burn a hole through the bottom of the can/bottle. Then they go stupid. I remember in 2008 even the cops at the bar in kuujjuaq starting fights. No one is exempt from this. You cannot exclude anyone. Ive seen elders crawling on stairs, fighting over prostitutes, etc, while drunk. Sober people live in fear thinking and knowing any drunk may have their day with them.
People now a days think that kicking a box on the side of the street is “trouble making”. Meanwhile they feed their dogs on the same cardboard that was kicked, have their dogs roam, and poop all over the place. I see just as much negligence from sober people. Actual laws being broken and no one batting an eye because they’re too focused on petty stuff. So what’s a “trouble maker”?
If anyone is exempt, that would be the sober people. Let’s be real here.
But they’re just as negligent as the rest of us. Maybe we should outlaw dog owners that are negligent too? Or bad drivers? Where would it end? Just with the drunks? Because everyone of the drunks is guilty.
Just don’t buy sugar and yeast at your local coop store, it’s way up there in price, could even best worst than the bootleggers price for booze in littlest bottle.
In Nunavik, there’s several ways to get alcohol. Let’s look at the ways: cooperatives stores in two largest communities; ( only beer and wine); Marche stores Montreal area by cargo; Saq liquor store by mail, need credit card ( this eliminates many); order by sealift for summer delivery; or the bootleggers. Oh, you can get someone to send some or pick it up on your vacation. All these are legal except bootleggers. If we consider it all, booze is not hard to get, but it’s limited in how, and what, plus the price is way up there. I think the situation now is just right for Nunavik. It’s not a free for all purchases anything or anytime. That’s helps keep the cap on the violence that accompanied the drink in Nunavik. Having more access, and especially having a liquor store would increase violence, misery, and make the undertakers very busy, already busy, but incredibly more busy at the local cemeteries. The facts have always been, and will remain in place for another life time yet: too many people in Nunavik cannot drink without violence. And how amazing, so many people don’t get the facts.
Personal I think alcohol should have a special license in Nunavik, whereby only a very small number of sensible drinkers could get it. When you talk about the price of a case of beer, you’re not really considering the cost of the challenger jet arriving so often in Nunavik picking up the after math of a night of heavy drinking. You’re not talking about hospital cost, and police time, jail time, and family breakdown. The cost of alcohol in Nunavik should be motivating factors to outlaw it, limited to the very few that can drink it without the added cost and trouble. I know this is just a what if hypothetically so to speak, but it has the tune of a real song about alcohol and Nunavik.
And have the hierarchy that run our towns abuse it just like they do with employment? Are you serious? It wouldn’t work. They already have a blacklist and even that barely works.
Hmm, you’re living around people that can’t drink, without savage outcomes. You should try living in and having a nice cold beer, without having people drink and cry about the 1990s. , at least they cry and claim to cry about something like that. You’re seeing that too much in your life, you know no better. You can defend yourself by saying that theses drinkers have issues therefore they are justified in crying for past, and past that know nothing about. Hmm alcohol should not be in the hands of people with issues, and suicidal and savage outrage, crying , or issues with the past or not. There medical attention and medication and council for that, not booze and defensive people trying to get more booze when it’s not handled well. Accept you situation, you are deprived of legal alcohol for a reason. You can govern yourself, so you are asking for approval. Not going to get it if you need to ask.
Cry about something like what? Very vague explanation there.
Everyone has issues, period. Kinamit piunirsauvit?
I also never claimed it should be in the hands of those with suicidal tendencies, or savage outrage. Crying, though? You don’t cry? Cmon now.
I am not deprived of legal alcohol. Most are, though. Most are suffering with the outrageous price of 200$ a miki. Just make it legal already and we wouldn’t have bootlegging be such a massive % of crime in nunavik. Nor would kids go as hungry as when their parents pay for a 200$ 375ml bottle.
You need to see that prohibition only contributes to the illegal sale of alcohol. There will always be a demand.
You, sir, need to stop viewing from inside the box.