Greenlandic hunters have hunted polar bears on Ellesmere Island for years. Is it still happening? The military and Grise Fiord hunters want to know.
Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services
Grise Fiord (Mar 26/01) - Hunters and the military share concerns over hunters from Greenland taking polar bears from Ellesmere Island.
Greenlanders have been hunting on Ellesmere Island for many years but now diplomacy, sovereignty and the law and quotas have entered the mix.
"We are taking these reports very seriously and are attacking it on several fronts," said Northern Area commander Col. Kevin McLeod.
There has not been a confirmed hunt by a Greenlandic party in about nine years, but McLeod said finding evidence of hunts does not mean they have ceased.
"I haven't been given any hard evidence but that is not to say it is not going on," he said. "I would not say this issue is high on the priority list, but sovereignty is so we take it very seriously."
The topic is expected to come up during a conference in Nuuk, Greenland.
"Polar bears are not on the agenda but that may be a side-bar discussion," McLeod said.
He is in contact with Nunavut RCMP on a regular basis and this month a sovereignty patrol will take place with RCMP, Canadian Rangers and the military.
"The RCMP will be looking for evidence and talking to local people to see if this is still going on and if so, at what rate," McLeod said.
Quota concerns
Grise Fiord Ranger Sgt. Dennis Lambe said he is waiting for the military to release the dates for its next sovereignty patrol -- a flag-waving mission, he said, to show people are living up there.
The area of concern is the Kane Basin, north-east of the hamlet.
A member of the Grise Fiord hunters and trappers association calls the hunting a concern due to quota infringements.
Marty Kuluguqtuq said there are five tags available in the Kane Basin area but could be more if the probability of Greenlandic hunts was lower.
"We are concerned because when they are on the Canadian side that affects our quota," he said.
"But as hunters we are not going out there to defend the boundary ... the imaginary line that our Inuit brothers from Greenland have been coming over for years."
