RCMP Cst. Jasper Nelson鈥檚 father makes a deathbed admission: his son has an illegitimate sister.
It鈥檚 one of the opening moments of Ketsia Lessard鈥檚 novel On Duty, which was released this spring. Following that scene, the woman is revealed as Heidi Finlay, an RCMP officer raised by an Inuvialuit family in Inuvik.
After the lost siblings meet, Nelson is transferred to Inuvik and the two begin fighting crime and connecting after years of separation. What follows is a largely episodic novel, where the characters live the legacy of residential schools and their own roles as RCMP officers in the community.
Photo Courtesy of Ketsia Lessard
Their relationship is the heart of the novel, and tends to ground it when it veers into more uneven sections, the most unexpected of which is a hastily introduced Free Mason plot in its final chapter. For the majority of the novel, however, Inuvik appears as the third main character, lending place and context to the siblings鈥� story.
Speaking to Inuvik Drum, author Ketsia Lessard said she was drawn to the setting when painting a picture set in town. Over the course of her research, she read local records and media coverage and the memoirs of a northern RCMP officer to learn more about Inuvik, and wove it into her storytelling.
鈥淲hen I discovered the town in the context of the painting and the characters, I decided to set it there. I was just drawn to the place I guess,鈥� Lessard said, adding her roots in northern Quebec helped her connect to the setting.
She also chose Inuvik to explore the legacy of residential schools in the area. While the complexity and weight of the subject could be difficult to broach, she said she found 鈥淟ots of beauty, not just pain鈥� in her research on the local history of the subject.
Her readings fascinated her. The research pushed back on the south鈥檚 stereotypical image of the north, she said.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just winter 12 months out of the year. The polar nights, the polar days. Mosquito season, It was such an interesting place to describe in the book. I really wanted people to love being in that place, not just find it a depressing subject.鈥�
She said she hopes the novel lends 鈥渁 certain pride鈥� to residents who read it.
鈥淚 hope they can have pride, and be happy about it, feel like they are heard and loved and understood,鈥� Lessard said.
Parallel to this attention to local detail is the two main characters鈥� process of considering their positions as RCMP officers in the community. Lessard, who鈥檚 based out of Montreal, said it wasn鈥檛 her job to tell 黑料吃瓜网ers鈥� story for them. As a result, the characters aren鈥檛 鈥渉eroes or saviours,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e eye-witnesses and narrators of what鈥檚 happening.鈥�
Their relationship underlays this process, with the novel switching between Jasper鈥檚 more florid prose, and Heidi鈥檚 more measured reporting. Both sides hint and their growing ties, and was based-off Lessard鈥檚 own experience with her older brother, who moved out when she was young.
鈥淚 always missed him very much,鈥� she said. 鈥淪tories about siblings always moved me very much, and I didn鈥檛 have to make that up in the sense that it was already inside of me. These were feelings I already had and I could draw from that.鈥�
Building off that spirit of redemption, she said she hopes the novel, while dealing with heavy themes, is an alternative to downbeat Canadian literature. Addressing larger subjects is important, she said, but it鈥檚 also vital to feel hopeful.
Ultimately, that鈥檚 what she hopes the residents of Inuvik take away from her book. 鈥淚 wanted them to feel uplifted,鈥� she said.
