France rejects request to extradite priest facing sexual assault charge in Nunavut

The federal government says France has denied an extradition request for a priest accused of crimes against children in Nunavut.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada made the extradition request for Johannes Rivoire, who is in his 90s and lives in Lyon, France.

Rivoire is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant, issued in February, 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 was in Canada from the early 1960s to 1993, when he returned to France. He has previously avoided trial for multiple allegations of sexual abuse linked to his time as a priest in Nunavut.

A warrant was also issued for his arrest in 1998. He faced at least three charges of sexual abuse in the Nunavut communities of Arviat, Rankin Inlet and Naujaat. More than two decades later, the charges were stayed.

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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, 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.