A growing number of Nunavut leaders are calling for a territory-wide systemic review of the RCMP after the Legal Services Board of Nunavut revealed more than 30 cases involving alleged police brutality, misconduct and insensitivity against Inuit women.
A growing number of Nunavut leaders are calling for a territory-wide systemic review of the RCMP after more than 30 cases have emerged involving allegations of police brutality, misconduct and insensitivity.
“Absolutely, I think it’s important that there be a review of the RCMP. I think that’s a healthy way of seeing where things are at,” said Aluki Kotierk, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the organization that represents Nunavut Inuit.
The Legal Services Board of Nunavut, the territory’s legal aid agency, sent two letters to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC) over the past year detailing those cases.
Many of the allegations against the RCMP come from Inuit women who complained to the board about the police response to domestic violence and sexual assault calls, as well as treatment in jail cells and degrading strip searches.
Front-line legal aid workers heard from community members about racism and cultural insensitivity by RCMP officers across the territory, Benson Cowan, the board’s CEO said in the first letter, dated June 13, 2019.
“Community members … have experienced this in countless ways, from a simple lack of cultural awareness and understanding … to outright racist comments, attitudes and actions.”
Six Nunavut MLAs have joined Kotierk and the legal services board in calling for the CRCC to conduct a full, systemic review of policing in the territory.
RCMP’s historical context
Kotierk said the language barrier between Inuit and a great majority of RCMP officers who work in Nunavut is a major issue — especially since officers sometimes must deliver life-altering and traumatic information.
The current relationship between Inuit and the RCMP is set in a particular historical context, Kotierk said.
RCMP acted on behalf of the Canadian government’s efforts to colonize Inuit through actions such as forced relocation, taking children to residential schools and widespread sled-dog killings, she said.
