VAL-D’OR – Christian Leblanc, a lawyer who has previously worked with Cree and Inuit communities, has been named chief prosecutor of the Quebec Commission of Inquiry on Aboriginal Relations.
Jacques Viens, the retired judge who will chair the commission, made the announcement on Friday.
After being called to the Bar in 1993, Leblanc began his career in Val-d’Or as a criminal lawyer. He has been a crown prosecutor since 1995.
The commission, announced in December, will investigate police services, in addition to exploring the relationship between aboriginal people and youth welfare, public health and justice.
Calls for an independent inquiry grew louder this fall after an investigation into allegations that provincial police abused indigenous women in Val-d’Or concluded there was not enough evidence to lay charges.
The Commission’s report is expected by November 30, 2018.
