The French government said it refused an application for extradition for a priest accused of crimes against children in Nunavut.
The request to extradite Johannes Rivoire, 90, was made by The Public Prosecution Service of Canada. Rivoire lives in Lyon, France.
The French national is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for a charge of sexual assault stemming from a complaint received last year.
“Heartbreaking to see this grave injustice continue,” Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said in a tweet Thursday.
Rivoire lived in Canada in the early 1960s to 1993 before he returned to France. He has previously avoided trial for multiple allegations of sexual abuse linked to his time as a priest in Nunavut.
In 1998 a warrant was also issued for his arrest. He faced at least three charges of sexual abuse in the Nunavut communities of Arviat, Rankin Inlet and Naujaat. Over 20 years later, the charges have stayed. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada said at the time it was partly due to France’s reluctance to extradite Rivoire.
Miller said the federal government is working with RCMP to have Interpol issue a “Red Notice,” which would allow for Rivoire to be arrested in any other country.
“Therefore, the prosecution in Canada remains possible if Johannes Rivoire leaves France,” Miller said.
A group representing Nunavut Inuit travelled to France last month to call for extradition.
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