SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The owners of six outfitting companies in Yellowknife are suing the territorial government for more than $10 million in lost business they say was caused by a ban on sport hunting in the NWT, arguing the GNWT pushed them to establish long-term businesses years before cutting hunting tags.

In a statement of claim filed March 11 in Northwest Territories Supreme Court, owners of J Group Ltd., owned by Amanda Peterson; Bathurst Inlet Development (1984) Ltd., owned by Boyd Warner; True North Safaris Ltd., owned by Gary Jaeb;, Caribou Pass Outfitters Ltd and Qaivvik Ltd., owned by John Andre; and Arctic Safaris, owned by Barry Taylor, argue the territorial government gave assurances and made promises to support their industry's growth which constituted a contract.

The claim argues the GNWT breached the expressed or implied contract when Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger revoked all hunting tags from non-resident and sport hunters when caribou numbers were found to be dangerously low in June 2009. Territorial government studies indicated the Bathurst caribou herd, which outfitters relied on to attract sport hunters from around the world, had declined to approximately 32,000 from 126,000 in 2006.

Boyd Warner, owner of Bathurst Inlet (1984) Developments Ltd., said taking the territorial government to court was a difficult decision, but for him, it was the outfitters' only recourse.

"Litigation seems to be the only option available to redress what the outfitters'... losses have been," Warner said, adding the outfitters filing the lawsuit haven't bought into the government's stance that caribou have declined as drastically as reported. "We've been frustrated at trying to get the GNWT to show us all the scientific reports they have."

"We'd rather do things other ways and we've been to court once before and we felt things weren't honoured."

Outfitters have been at odds with the territorial government over the ban on sport hunting. Concerns over the science of counting herd and the recent rebound of two herds neighbouring the Bathurst herd, have the outfitters up in arms over the government's decision, which they say destroyed years of work.

"It's grossly unfair that the public, not just outfitters, but the public can't see all these reports," Warner said, adding the fact the government's reports were never peer-reviewed is a big issue for him. "They're incomplete and not peer-reviewed and you're driving people out of business. It's just not acceptable. Anyone can generate a report but in order for it to be backed up scientifically, biologists are supposed to have them peer-reviewed and that wasn't done."

In the claim, the outfitters argue the GNWT "took assurances, representations, commitments and promises" over a period of years leading outfitters to create employment and business opportunities in the territory.

The document lists a series of actions the territorial government took to promote outfitter growth, including the establishment of government policies promoting the industry and a 36 per cent increase in hunting tags in 1999. The decrease in caribou tags, starting in 2006 and eventually leading to the elimination of tags, according to the lawsuit, caused "economic losses ... and a significant decrease in the value of the good will developed in their business." It's estimated the reduction of tags over the last five years has cost the six outfitting companies more than $4.2 million in revenue.

The remaining nearly $6 million asked for in the lawsuit accounts for lost business investments.

Recent tourism data from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment project a sharp drop in tourists coming to the territory to hunt. In 2006-07 more than 1,200 hunters visited the NWT but it's estimated only around 300 hunters came to the NWT in 2010-11. As for spending - in 2006-07 some $116.2 million was injected into the NWT economy through hunting, while in 2010-11, only $3 million is projected.

The statement of claim has been sent to Clarence Hudson, the lawyer for the territorial government, and what will be the next step is yet to be known. Officials with the GNWT were unavailable by press time.

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