This is the first instalment in a series on the campaign to have officers use body-worn cameras in Nunavut.  

Many contentious incidents and troubling statistics over a long period of time led to a growing call for police in Nunavut to don body cameras.

SA国际影视传媒淭he topic of body-worn cameras has been raised in the legislative assembly for a number of years, as well as the topic of police accountability," said Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone. "ItSA国际影视传媒檚 been an overarching topic early on in the previous assembly. My committee colleagues and I joined the growing movement for enhanced police accountability.... In the process, what really led the charge was when the Legal Services Board (LSB) made an appearance before the standing committee.SA国际影视传媒�

This televised review was held in 2018 and, according to Lightstone, SA国际影视传媒渢he LSB raised concerns with the amount of clients they would see with visible injuries after interaction with the .

Former Nunavut senator Dennis Patterson, who retired on Dec. 30, has been another prominent voice in the call for body cameras.

SA国际影视传媒淥n the heels of the outrage and attention to the death of George Floyd there was a well-publicized video of an incident in Kinngait where a police officerSA国际影视传媒檚 vehicle door had knocked an apparently intoxicated man down into a roadside snowbank in the course of an arrest," said Patterson. "A video taken from a nearby house went viral on Facebook and made CBC National News as I recallSA国际影视传媒� and that video sparked heated discussion about police behaviour in interacting with Nunavut citizens in doing their occasionally challenging [police] work in remote communities. A clear consensus emerged that the accountability and transparency linked with body cams would be an important first step in rebuilding the trust relationship between the and residents of Nunavut.

SA国际影视传媒淚t was also generally agreed that Nunavut,SA国际影视传媒� continued Patterson, who would go on to spearhead the body camera initiative through Parliament, SA国际影视传媒渨ith its very high percentage of Indigenous community members SA国际影视传媒� the highest in the country... and, sadly, with police-related deaths in Nunavut nine times higher proportionally than in Ontario, and the most recent in Clyde River in May, it was agreed that Nunavut would serve as an appropriate pilot project for the rest of the country. However, territory-wide deployment of body cameras is not possible without significant federal financial support.SA国际影视传媒�

Qamaniq death in Pond Inlet spurs MLAs to action

Patterson recalled that David Qamaniq, then-MLA from the Pond Inlet riding of Tununiq, was intensely involved with the community engagement process. Qamaniq, according to Patterson, was driven to confront the situation in the territory after SA国际影视传媒渢he death of his son in an standoff [in 2017]... I was in Pond Inlet when a SA国际影视传媒楽WAT teamSA国际影视传媒� from Winnipeg numbering over 30 people flew to Pond Inlet in a chartered aircraft to deal with that situation, which ended in tragedy.

A coronerSA国际影视传媒檚 inquest conducted into the shooting incident in the fall of 2018 ultimately ruled the death of 20-year-old Kunuk Qamaniq a homicide. The inquest also found that Qamaniq had a history of struggling with mental health and had sought help numerous times. The Qamaniq family has since filed a lawsuit alleging that the confrontation and death was a result of "the lack of training of the officers involved, in particular in the areas of mental health, suicide, non-lethal confrontation and de-escalation."

SA国际影视传媒淒avid Qammaniq participated as an MLA and representative of the ordinary members in the legislature who had asked questions about whether the GN would implement body cams in Nunavut previously in the legislature. David was a MLA but also a grieving father who wanted to do what he could to prevent incidents like that happening in future. David accepted that the task force on body-worn cameras was not to be a review of the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of his son in a confrontation with the , but rather to examine how changing police practices might improve confidence in the and lead to better interactions with citizens.SA国际影视传媒�

Patterson explained that these incidents were precipitated by a series of engagements with people from all over Nunavut. An "amazing consensus" soon emerged among stakeholders that a pilot project testing the use of body-worn cameras by the should be rolled out in Nunavut in aid of improving policeSA国际影视传媒揷ommunity relations and interactions.

SA国际影视传媒淲hat made our situation in Nunavut remarkable, in my opinion, was the willingness of all stakeholders to recommend action to deal with a situation SA国际影视传媒� community standoffs with the which all too often led to tragic deaths SA国际影视传媒� which seemed to be getting worse as reports of standoffs in Nunavut communities circulated and caused great concern in our small communities.SA国际影视传媒�