Montreal Inuit are facing a campaign of intimidation by drug and alcohol traffickers, police report.
Seizures in recent months in Quebec’s Far North have “destabilized” a Montreal criminal network that was exporting illicit substances there, said Jean-Pierre Larose, head of the Nunavik Police Service (NPS). “They intimidate, threaten and assault Inuit to keep quiet and [qu’ils] do not identify them, he added. This worries us a lot.”
The police officer refused to say what type of criminal group they are. Its members are said to traffic mainly in crack, notably by using drug smugglers who travel between Nunavik and Montreal to get treatment or study, for example. Young women are said to be particularly targeted.
Unfortunately, in the Inuit community, victims or witnesses of situations that compromise their safety – or that of others – do not tend to report these acts or file a complaint with the police.
Jean-Pierre Larose, head of the Nunavik Police Service
The drug is intended for local consumption in the 14 Inuit villages of the Far North of Quebec. Drug problems are widespread and wreaking havoc. “There is a lot of impact on our communities, especially on children,” said Hilda Snowball, president of the Kativik Regional Government. “It destroys families.”
Several raids have taken place so far, including in the Inuit villages of Salluit and Akulivik. Arrests have been made so far in connection with trafficking, but none are directly related to the intimidation of Montreal Inuit.
Mr. Larose and Mr.me Snowball were at the headquarters of the Montreal Police Department (SPVM) to announce the creation of a joint patrol between the Montreal police and his own police force. The goal: to “reassure” and encourage the Inuit “to denounce.”
Eight police officers from the Far North will patrol in tandem with SPVM officers for two weeks, in areas particularly frequented by the Inuit population of Montreal: downtown, Plateau-Mont-Royal and Dorval, where the establishment is located where the Inuit are housed when they receive health care in the city.
Until recently, the SPN suffered from serious manpower problems, but recruitment has accelerated in recent years, and the state of the troops allows such a project to be considered, assured Jean-Pierre Larose. He would like the SPVM to be able to send police officers to the Far North in turn so that they can see the reality in Nunavik.