James Igloliorte returns as co-commissioner of Innu child welfare inquiry

Former Provincial Court Judge Jim Igloliorte is returning to the ongoing Inquiry into the Treatment, Experiences and Outcomes of Innu in the Child Protection System a half year after he stepped down from the role for personal reasons.

In a joint statement from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Innu Nation Friday, the parties did not say anything beyond announcing Igloliorte will rejoin former Innu Nation Grand Chief Anastasia Qupee of Sheshatshiu and retired social work professor Mike Devine, who were appointed co-commissioners of the inquiry in June 2021.

In a July 2024 news release announcing Igloliorte’s departure, the two remaining commissioners asked “for respect for Commissioner Igloliorte’s privacy at this difficult time.” The release said the commissioners are “committed to the fulfilment of the mandate with which they have been charged, and work continues by Inquiry officials, under the leadership and direction of Commissioners Qupee and Devine, to advance the work of the Inquiry.”

The inquiry was struck in 2021 and officially began in 2022 after several years of negotiations between the Innu and the provincial and federal governments. It is mandated to “look into and report on the treatment, experiences and outcomes of Innu in the child protection system,” according to the inquir website. “We must examine the underlying social, economic, cultural, institutional, and historical causes that contribute to the overrepresentation of Innu in that system and provide recommendations for a new path forward.”

It will also investigate the deaths of six Innu children, youth or young adults who died while in care or after being in care.

Read more: N.L. child protection system part of ongoing colonization, Innu tell inquiry

In November 2024, Qupee and Devine announced they were requesting an extension of their deadline to file a final report, which is due in March 2025. At the time, Devine said the Innu and the provincial government were working to find a replacement for Igloliorte.

Inquiry Lead Executive Officer Brian Harvey told The Independent Sunday that a formal extension request was not made until Igloliorte rejoined the inquiry. It was Qupee and Devine’s “preference […] for the panel of [three] Commissioners to be reconstituted before making such an important request,” he said.

“Whatever the decision on the extension request, we hope to have a schedule of proceedings published soon thereafter that will provide everyone with an understanding of the projected path to completion,” Harvey continued. “For now, we do not anticipate any public proceedings in February and March, but if an extension is granted, we would be ready to get back to the communities as early as the first part of April.”

Note: A previous version of this story noted The Independent asked the Inquiry if any deadlines had changed but did not receive a response by the time of publication. The story was updated Feb. 2 at 11:43 NST to reflect the response from Inquiry Lead Executive Officer Brian Harvey.