Quebec police watchdog investigating after man killed in officer intervention in Nunavik

The BEI logo, Quebec’s independent police watchdog, is seen in Louiseville, Que., Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

Quebec’s police watchdog (BEI) is investigating after Nunavik police (NPS) shot and killed someone Tuesday night.

According to the BEI, the NPS located a “wanted person” inside a tent around 10:30 p.m. in Kangiqsualujjuaq, a remote Inuit village in northern Quebec.

Officers then used pepper spray to force the person out of the tent.

According to Noovo Info sources, the victim, 35-year-old Mark R. Annanack, allegedly escaped from a detention cell where he was being held for offences including drink-driving.

The BEI says the man came out holding a knife. One officer used a Taser on him and another officer shot him. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The elementary school in the village of 1,000 people remains closed Wednesday and a dozen people gathered in the village to mourn.

Five BEI investigators are on the case and “in light of the circumstances,” no police force is working on the file.

In November 2024, the NPS said it was working on “rebuilding trust” with the community in the wake of a police shooting that killed a man and injured his brother in Salluit, Que., prompting protests demanding justice.

• READ MORE: ‘Should never have ended like that’: Inuk man killed by police in Quebec’s Far North

At the time, Canada’s minister for Crown-Indigenous relations, Gary Anandasangaree, said it “underscores the deeply rooted systemic racism within our criminal justice system,” and called for “real, structural change.”

With files from Noovo Info