The French government cannot extradite former priest and alleged thug Johannes Rivoire to Canada to face criminal charges because it would violate its constitution, Belgian lawyer Lieve Halsberghe told reporters on Tuesday. The Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. dealership. is in Paris all this week in an effort to rally public and political support in France for Rivoire’s extradition. Halsberghe, who assists delegates from Nunavut Tunngavik, described a difficult morning of meetings that dashed many of the delegates’ hopes of seeing the man they accused of abusing brought to justice. “I found it [an] extremely tough meeting, to face that reality — that cold reality of the law,” Halsberghe said. “I’m very disappointed. But I’m also very grateful, because this whole delegation – my friends – have shown so much courage to come here and do this.” Lieve Halsberghe, pictured here in 2013, assists the Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. delegation. in her calls for ex-priest Johannes Rivoire to be returned to Canada to face sexual abuse charges. The delegates met with three government officials, though not France’s justice minister. Halsberghe said they were told during that meeting that not only can France not legally extradite Rivoire, but the country cannot try him on Canada’s behalf either. This is because they would have to apply French law to the charges and in France the statute of limitations would have already run out. In an email Tuesday afternoon, Canada’s Justice Department said it had not yet received a response from France about its request to extradite Rivoire. The request was made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Canada through Department of Justice officials. –
CBC Nunavut reporter Teresa Qiatsuq reports live from Paris
Inuit leaders met with French officials in Paris to push for the extradition of former priest Johannes Rivoire, who faces abuse charges in Nunavut. CBC Nunavut’s Teresa Qiatsuq then met with Nunavut Tunngavik’s Aluki Kotierk, who said she is disappointed by the lack of political will in France to bring this man to justice. Aluki Kotierk, president of Nunavut Tunngavik, said the meeting was “very disappointing” and delegates were trying to ground themselves and prepare for their next meeting. “Although the common line was that France does not extradite French nationals, there were words that expressed their understanding of our plight,” Kotierk said. “But, in the end, it was clear that there is no political will to extradite French nationals.” Nunavut Sense Inc. President Aluki Kotierk is in Paris pushing for the extradition of Johannes Rivoire to Canada. (Juanita Taylor/CBC) Rivoire worked in several Nunavut communities in the 1960s and 1970s, but returned to France in the early 1990s before he could stand trial on abuse charges. While some charges against him were dropped in 2017, the RCMP confirmed in March that more charges had been laid and a warrant had been issued for his arrest across Canada. In an interview with APTN in July, Rivoire denied all allegations.
