Inuk man shot dead by police a victim of systemic racism: Crown-Indigenous minister

By Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press on November 7, 2024.

Garnet Papigatuk (left) and Joshua Papigatuk are pictured in an undated family handout photo. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree says the killing of an Inuk man by local police in a remote northern Quebec village is another example of systemic racism. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

MONTREAL – Canada’s minister for Crown-Indigenous relations says the killing of an Inuk man by police in an Inuit village in Quebec’s Far North is an example of systemic racism.

Gary Anandasangaree said today in a statement the death of Joshua Papigatuk earlier this week underscores the systemic racism Indigenous Peoples experience in the justice system.

Papigatuk was shot and killed and his twin brother Garnet was seriously injured after the Nunavik Police Service responded to a call about someone allegedly attempting to drive drunk early Monday morning.

The shooting in the community of Salluit, about 1,850 kilometres north of Montreal, has led to shock, anger and calls for change in the Nunavik region.

Anandasangaree offered his condolences to the family and says real structural change is necessary to address these injustices.

Quebec’s police watchdog – Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes – has opened an investigation into the shooting.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.