Nunavik’s interim police chief, Jean-François (Jeff) Bernier, says he will be a hands-on type of leader as he looks to stay in the job permanently.

Bernier has been in the job on a temporary basis since November 2025, as part of a service sharing agreement with the Québec City Police Service. His permanent appointment was announced in a news release Tuesday by the Kativik Regional Government (KRG), which has civilian oversight of the Nunavik Police Service (NPS).

In an interview with CBC News, Bernier says he’s always wanted to serve in the North. He applied to be a constable in Nunavik early in his career but he ended up taking a job in Montreal in 1998.

He says he fell in love with the region over the past few months, and Nunavimmiut should expect to see him more frequently. 

“I’m going to be very active in the field. I’m the kind of police leader who is very close to the operations and is very close to its people. So the citizens who are living in different communities, they will see their chief of police from time to time,” he said. 

KRG chairperson Maggie Emudluk said she’s encouraged by Bernier’s willingness to meet with community leaders, including his visits to Nunavik’s 14 villages.

“The regional council is ready to support his efforts to lead the implementation of changes in policing behaviour and procedures that create a safer, trustworthy connection between Nunavik police and the people and communities they serve,” she said in the news release. 

Bernier acknowledges there are critical gaps in the police service, and said he’ll be presenting an action plan in the coming months which will respond to recommendations from an independent audit launched last year after a police shot and killed a man in Kangiqsualujjuaq. He said that plan will include ways to improve recruitment, training, and Inuit representation. 

Notably, Bernier is creating a new senior Inuk advisor in the management team, and he said he’s working on ways to make it easier for Inuit to police their own communities.

“It’s one thing to know when you have to enforce laws … but it’s another thing when you have to police your own family members,” he said.

“It’s a must for the police service, for the community and for the KRG also, to work together to find ways to attract more police officers from the Inuit communities.”

Bernier also said he plans to send officers to work in other Nunavik communities and have them spend their rest days in their home community during their two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off schedules.