By Canadian Press

Retraumatized: Inuit leaders say sex charges stay for priest hurts victims

Feb 19, 2019 | 4:09 PM

OTTAWA — Inuit leaders say Canada’s decision not to go ahead with charges against a priest accused of sex abuse is traumatizing victims all over again.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada has confirmed that charges against Oblate priest Johannes Rivoire have been stayed.

Rivoire is thought to be in France at an Oblate-run facility.

Prosecution service spokeswoman Nathalie Houle says the charges were stayed last year.

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Nathalie Houle says France’s policy of not extraditing citizens played a role in the decision.

As late as 2016, RCMP were saying three sex charges were active against Rivoire stemming from his activities in the 1960s in the Arctic communities of Arviat and Naujaat.

Respected Inuit elder Peter Irniq says the move denies justice to at least five people who say Rivoire abused them.

Irniq says staying the charges doesn’t fit well with the Liberal government’s promises of reconciliation with Indigenous people.

The Canadian Press