Nearly seven pounds of seized marijuana ruled inadmissible An Iqaluit man found with nearly seven pounds of marijuana in his luggage last year will almost certainly not be prosecuted, following a Nunavut Court of Justice ruling, issued Aug. 8, that found police violated his Charter right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. Two RCMP members arrested Andrew Alainga at the Iqaluit airport on March 7, 2011. In a search of his luggage, they found 6.87 pounds of marijuana and charged him with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. [continues 416 words]
In Some Communities, Number Of Crimes Exceeds Population Number KUUJJUAQ - A dozen uniformed police officers from the Kativik Regional Police Force and the Surete du Quebec arrived Feb. 25 at this week's meeting of the Kativik Regional Government's regional council to make a symbolic show of beefed-up police activity in the region. Nunavimmiut listening to a live broadcast of council proceedings on the Taqramiut Nipingat Inc. radio network couldn't see the group's impressive physical bulk and serious expressions. [continues 624 words]
Iqaluit's medicinal cannabis advocate Ed deVries served notice to city council this week that he has applied for a licence to run a business selling pot in the city. Not just any pot, he told council during an appearance at its Tuesday meeting, but "healthy cannabis medicine." "I'm a healer, not a dealer," he said. DeVries said he could provide marijuana to his many "sick" customers illicitly - and he's already served jail-time for selling pot - but he wants to act openly and above board, and he appealed to council to help him do it. [continues 118 words]
Quebec Police Investigated -Allegations Against Brian Jones Brian Jones, the former chief of the Kativik Regional Police Force, has been charged with fraud and corruption after a complaint by the Kativik Regional Government. Jones is alleged to have misused money seized by police during drug busts carried out in Nunavik during his tenure as police chief, according to information obtained by Nunatsiaq News. The laying of the charge follows an investigation by the Quebec provincial police force, the Surete du Quebec, into the complaint made by the KRG. [continues 331 words]
I am a United States resident who lives in Wisconsin. For the past few years I have had an interest in Nunavut and read the Nunatsiaq News each week. I have also read a couple of books on Inuit life and on occasion listen to Iqaluit radio programming on CBC North. Your Inuit culture, history and the beautiful, challenging and special land that makes up Nunavut is fascinating to me. If I ever have the extra income to visit Nunavut, I certainly will. [continues 98 words]
"It Doesn't Seem to Be Slowing the Drug Trade Down Here." Drugs continue to arrive regularly in Sanikiluaq via scheduled Kivalliq Air fights from Winnipeg, say police at the local Sanikiluaq RCMP detachment. When Kivalliq Air launched its air service April 1 between Sanikiluaq and Winnipeg, security checks on passenger luggage came to a halt and the quantity of drugs and alcohol flooding into Sanikiluaq began to increase. "As many seizures as we're getting, it doesn't seem to be slowing the drug trade down here," said Const. Paul Robinson. [continues 235 words]
"It's Disturbing For A Community Of 800, Especially The Crack Cocaine." Drugs such as crack cocaine, along with illegal alcohol, have been pouring into Sanikiluaq since April 1, when Kivalliq Air started a new scheduled air service from Winnipeg. Before April 1, the Government of Nunavut chartered Kivalliq Air's planes to carry patients in and out of Sanikiluaq for medical treatment. Then, all bags were searched regularly in Winnipeg. But when Kivalliq Air launched a scheduled air service April 1, on a 16-seater, twin-engine Beech aircraft, security checks on passenger luggage came to a halt. [continues 653 words]
On March 8, RCMP found 3.8 pounds of crack cocaine remaining in Iqaluit after $239,000 of cash profit had already left this community the day before. It is understandable that the authorities are laying charges of possessing property obtained by crime, but what puzzles me in view of the scale and efficiency of this operation is that the charges do not allege membership in organized crime. The Road to Hell by Julian Sher and William Marsden, published by Vintage Books of Canada in 2004, indicates this market is well understood and almost certainly linked to known operations in Edmonton and/or Vancouver. (Name witheld by request) Iqaluit [end]
Facility Aims To Be Beacon For Inuit Seeking Freedom From Alcohol Or Drugs KUUJJUAQ - The Isuarsivik treatment centre in Kuujjuaq is back in operation, having recently completed its first six-week residential treatment program for a group of five male clients from several Nunavik communities. When the men came to the program, they were "scared, unsure, scattered and troubled," says executive director Annie Gordon. But when they finished, she says they were more grounded and sure of themselves. "Their self-esteem was higher and they have skills to deal with relapse," she said. [continues 598 words]
"Our Main Consideration In Developing These Policies Is With workplace safety." CAMBRIDGE BAY - The Kitikmeot Inuit Association wants drug- and alcohol-free workplaces for all mining sites and exploration camps on Inuit owned lands, KIA president Donald Havioyak told the recent KIA annual general meeting in Cambridge Bay. The zero-tolerance policy is now a condition for companies doing either mineral exploration or development in the Kitikmeot. And if they don't comply, Geoff Clark, the KIA's director of lands and resources, said the KIA will revoke the companies' permits. [continues 314 words]
Well, what can I say? I am joyous, ecstatic and also dismayed by the recent drug bust in Iqaluit. Firstly, a big nakurmik, thank you, quana, and merci to the Iqaluit RCMP detachment for the drug bust. Your efforts are appreciated and don't go unnoticed. Dismayed? Yes, I am alarmed that there is a market for 1.6 kilos of crack cocaine in my home town (though I cannot fathom what 1.6 kilos of crack looks like.) I'm dismayed because there are individuals who take this drug, who are hooked on it and rely on it for pleasure. [continues 201 words]
Hayward Wants RCMP To Report To Council More Often It might just be Iqaluit's dirty little secret, whispered in the corners of city bars and behind the closed curtains of homes. Crack cocaine is said to be the new drug of choice in Iqaluit and Deputy Mayor Al Hayward wants to hear what the RCMP plan do about the problem. Trouble is, he can't get them to come to a city council meeting. "On any given day you can look in front of Northmart and see drug deals going down," he said. "We're supposed to have trained professionals in town that are supposed to be able to look after these problems and they're not responding at all." [continues 442 words]
"People will buy drugs instead of supplying their children with diapers or food." Kangiqsujuaq is swamped with drugs and alcohol, police warn, because residents are flush with cash following the distribution of profit-sharing cheques from Xstrata's Raglin mine earlier this summer. The municipality and landholding organization has invested some of the money, but members of the Kativik Regional Police Force say many residents have used the payout, which amounts to several thousands of dollars per family, to travel to Montreal and return with beer, wine and spirits. [continues 414 words]
Nunavimmiut Shoulder Human Cost Of Police Force Cuts Don't arrest anyone unless it's absolutely necessary. That's what the Kativik Regional Police Force management told the ranking officers during a recent meeting in Kuujjuaq, says a member of the KRPF. A further memo sent to regular members told them not to enforce municipal by-laws restricting alcohol or to seize drugs. Nunavik's cash-strapped police force wants to keep -transportation costs down and save on manpower during the summer by reducing the numbers of arrests - even in -domestic violence cases where women and children may be at continued risk. [continues 618 words]
There's no evidence that a strawberry-flavoured form of crystal methamphetamine has entered Nunavut, or Canada, for that matter. Yet email reports of the drug have quickly circulated among alarmed parents in Iqaluit, spreading concern that their children may be the target of the crystal meth variation, sometimes called "Stawberry Quik," that's said to resemble Pop Rock candy. Cpl. Jimmy Akavak said Nunavut's RCMP have not seized crystal meth, flavoured or otherwise, in the territory. Nor have they heard reports of the highly-addictive stimulant being sold to minors. [continues 189 words]
Police Waited Seven Months To Charge De Vries The man who ran as Nunavut's Marijuana Party candidate in the last federal election insists he is no reefer recidivist. Police charged Ed de Vries, 48, in Iqaluit May 2 with drug trafficking, conspiracy to traffic and breach of undertaking, shortly after de Vries was released from a six-month prison term for drug-related charges. In fact, the marijuana seizure that led to these charges occurred in late September 2006, several days before de Vries was sentenced Sept. 24. [continues 431 words]
Police charged Ed deVries in Iqaluit with trafficking in a controlled substance, conspiracy to traffic and breach of undertaking, May 2. He was released from custody and will appear in court July 3. Police seized several pounds of marijuana, said Cpl. Randy Slawson. DeVries, 48, recently served a six-month sentence for trafficking marijuana and laundering the proceeds of crime, after police intercepted a filing cabinet in 2003 full of marijuana sent from Ontario to Iqaluit, addressed to a company owned by deVries. [continues 281 words]
In an editorial this past Oct. 20, 2006, on the firing of the chief of the Kativik Regional Police Force, Brian Jones, Nunatsiaq News stated that some elected officials participate in the illegal drug and booze economy. Nunatsiaq News has no basis to make that statement and it retracts it. Nunatsiaq News apologizes to any elected officials, including members of the Kativik Regional Government, who may have been harmed by that statement. [end]
Pot Politician Will Miss Igloolik's Christmas Cheer The man who ran as Nunavut's Marijuana Party candidate during the last federal election will spend Christmas inside a maximum-security prison. Ed deVries is presently serving a six-month prison sentence for trafficking marijuana and laundering the proceeds of crime at the Central East Detention Centre in Lindsay, Ontario. The Ontario prison holds convicts serving sentences of less than two years, such as deVries, as well as inmates detained before trial who are considered to be a flight risk, or too dangerous to be at large. The jail can hold 1,200 inmates. [continues 314 words]
Focus Shifts to Inuit-Friendly Program KUUJJUAQ -- With an all-new staff and a keen board of directors, fresh determination and ambitious plans for the future, Kuujjuaq's treatment centre is ready to start up again in January. That's when the centre's staff is planning to take the first treatment cycle the centre has been able to offer in more than a year. "It's really exciting," said Eva Lapage, who is now the executive director of Isuarsivik. "I want to know how people feel when they go through our treatment program." [continues 441 words]
