Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Jan 10/00) - When the secretary-managers of Nunavut's Hunters and Trappers Associations gather in the capital next month, they'll have something to sink their teeth into -- at least as far as the issue of assigning Inuit harvesting rights goes.

That's according to Madeleine Redfern, a member of the Amarok HTA assignment committee in Iqaluit.

She said when the 80 or so representatives meet in February, with delegates from the regional wildlife organizations also in attendance, they'll be considering the developments that were made at a special assignment meeting in Rankin Inlet and at the Amarok HTA's annual general meeting held on Dec. 4.

Specifically, the secretary-managers will consider the original intent behind Inuit assignment and thus develop appropriate policies and procedures for governing the issue in their respective areas.

"We need to know what the original intent was and then we can start developing procedures based on that intent. (Nunavut Tunngavik) is going to provide that for the upcoming meeting," said Redfern.

Created under the Nunavut Land Claim in 1993, the issue of assignment was thought to be included as a way of allowing Inuit who could not harvest wildlife for themselves to assign their hunting rights to another Inuk or a non-Inuk spouse to ensure a food source.

But, some HTA members feel that assignment is being misused by non-Inuit who wish to get harvesting rights as a means of hunting big game species currently not available to them.

Once the matter of original intent is settled, it is felt the problem of misusing assignment can then be curtailed through future policy.

Redfern also noted another important step taken during the Rankin Inlet meeting.

"There was a general consensus that the (regional wildlife organizations) and the HTAs do have, under the Nunavut Land Claim, the responsibility for establishing the procedures of assignment," she said.

With such ambiguities cleared up, it became easier to move forward locally. During their scheduled annual meeting, the Amarok membership passed two crucial resolutions.

As well as amending their bylaws to reflect the authority given to them under the land claim to govern assignment in the Iqaluit area, the membership passed a resolution requiring a special meeting to be held no later than March 31, 2000, at which assignment procedures for the HTA will be approved.

Spearheading the assignment movement since March of 1998, Amarok -- the only HTA to date with an assignment committee in place -- must come up with a set of draft rules within three months.

This will allow the capital's organization to continue to pave the way for other HTAs to begin a similar process. It is expected that they will hold a series of community consultation meetings with their membership in an effort to set up appropriate rules.