By Canadian Press

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

Nov 6, 2024 | 11:57 AM

MONTREAL — A remote northern Quebec community is demanding justice after a man was shot and killed and his twin brother seriously injured by police responding to a drunk driving call.

Joshua Papigatuk was killed and his twin, Garnet, is recovering in a Montreal hospital following an altercation with the Nunavik Police Service early Monday in Salluit, an Inuit fly-in community about 1,850 kilometres north of Montreal.

The pair were identified by Mosusi Tarkirk, a 24-year-old Salluit resident who says he grew up with the brothers in the Inuit village and was best friends with them. Other residents have been paying tribute to the brothers online and have been fundraising for their family.

Tarkirk says that since the shooting everyone is shocked and angry, adding that people don’t feel safe with the community’s police force, members of which largely come from Quebec’s south.

He says a protest movement has formed called “justice for the twins,” with marches held in a number of Far North communities, including Salluit.

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Police say they were responding early Monday morning to a drunk driving call, but Tarkirk says the police operation “should never have ended like that.”

Quebec’s police watchdog has opened an investigation into the fatal shooting but a blizzard has prevented their investigators and provincial police from arriving in the northern community.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press