Opening of the community justice centre in Nunavik

QUÉBEC CITY, Feb. 15, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Québec, Sonia LeBel, is pleased to announce the opening of a new community justice centre for Nunavik, in the Inuit community of Inukjuak. The creation of this new centre represents a regional investment of $548,387 by the Québec government. The centre will be administered by Makivik Corporation.

The mission of a community justice centre is to provide legal information, support and referral services to the general public, free of charge, to complement the services offered by other resources.

The team at the new centre will provide services that take into account the region's specific context, including the geographic isolation of Inuit villages. Working with community partners including the local legal aid office, the team will travel throughout Nunavik to meet justice system users. Community radio stations and social media will also be used to make information available.

Quote:

"The creation of a community justice centre in Nunavik will significantly increase access to legal information for the northern population, using plain language adapted to real-life situations. By supporting this project, which was developed and implemented with the constant involvement of our Inuit partners, the Québec government is improving access to justice for all justice system users, wherever they are located in Québec."

Sonia LeBel, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Québec

"Makivik Corporation has established the Nunavik Community Justice Center to give Inuit in Nunavik access to relevant legal information. The mission of the centre, based in Inukjuak, will include informing and supporting the Nunavimmiut about their rights and responsibilities. We hope that the information and support services provided by the centre in the area of notarial law, along with the travelling legal clinics, will improve access to justice for the Nunavik population. Makivik Corporation continues its work to promote justice by and for Inuit."

Charlie Watt, President, Makivik Corporation

Further information
The creation of community justice centres is part of the 2015-2020 strategic plan of Québec's Ministère de la Justice. The target is to ensure that 12 Québec regions have a community justice centre by 2020.

In addition to Nunavik, community justice centres have been set up in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, Capitale‑Nationale, Montréal, Outaouais, Gaspésie‑Îles‑de-la-Madeleine, Saguenay‒Lac-Saint-Jean, Montérégie, Côte-Nord and Mauricie regions. Since the first centres opened in 2010, they have dealt with almost 120,000 requests for information.

Community justice centres are financed by the Access to Justice Fund under the responsibility of the Ministère de la Justice.

Link:

Community justice centres: www.justicedeproximite.qc.ca

SOURCE Cabinet de la ministre de la Justice et Procureure générale du Québec