Inuit group, Mounties collaborate to better relationship

The national organization representing the Inuit has developed a plan with Mounties to help improve the relationship with the police force.

Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said his people have long faced discrimination, neglect and violence within the criminal justice system.

“Whenever Inuit interact with the RCMP, we have that history and the weight of that intergenerational trauma in the relationship,” Obed said Thursday from Ottawa.

Interactions with police have been strained, but the plan brings hope of a new relationship, he said.

Development began after a meeting with RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki last year. A joint news release from RCMP and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami said the plan is the start of a collaborative relationship to address gaps in policing.

The goal is to build transparency and trust, the release said.

Parts of it flow from recommendations in the National Inuit Action Plan, which are the Inuit priorities from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

“Mutual trust, respect and empathy are fundamental components in building healthy relationships between police and Inuit communities,” Lucki said in the release.

There has been a significant public distrust of police in Nunavut for a long time. RCMP killed Inuit sled dogs between the 1950s and 1970s as part of a federal plan to have people abandon traditional lifestyles.

In recent years there have been other cases, including video of a RCMP officer hitting an Inuk man with his truck's door in 2020.

Lucki said the RCMP is committed to implementing the plan to repair, rebuild and enhance the relationship with communities in Inuit Nunangat, the region that makes up the homeland of Inuit people.

The plan includes having regular consultations with Inuit leadership to monitor progress.

It also includes a goal of increased Inuit representation on the force and mandatory cultural training for officers working in northern regions.

Nunavut has seen a high number of police shootings in recent years that have caused concern in Inuit communities. Southern police forces are tasked to investigate those shootings and, in most cases, little information is released.

Obed said the new plan also aims to develop RCMP investigative strategies and the way that information will be shared.

Obed said there will also be strategies to work with Mounties on the response to suicide and self-harm calls.

The Mounties are expected to provide funding to implement the plan.