GN disrespects Inuit rights: Eetoolook
Nunavut Tunngavik clashes with territorial government over caribou-harvesting numbers
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Published Monday, May 26, 2014
IQALUIT
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) vice president James Eetoolook called out the territorial government May 19, saying Inuit harvesting rights are being disrespected.
The conflict arises from different totals both sides have calculated for total allowable harvest and the basic needs level related to the Southampton Island caribou population as laid out in the Nunavut Lands Claim Agreement.
| "The GN's position is ... about restricting Inuit rights |
NTI proposed to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board that Inuit have the right to harvest approximately 4,325 caribou per year, while the GN has proposed 1,906.
"The GN's position is not about conservation. It is about restricting Inuit rights to first access of caribou that are established by the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. This is completely unacceptable," said Eetoolook in a statement released by NTI.
Further, Eetoolook said once the basic needs level is established, there are no provisions in the agreement for it to be changed.
"There are some species where the (agreement) says there is a presumption that all the total allowable harvest will go to Inuit (polar bears, muskox, bowhead whales, etc.)," stated spokesperson Sandi Chan in an e-mail to Nunavut News/North.
"Caribou are not one of those species. For caribou, there is a negotiated process outlined in the (agreement) for calculating the basic needs level for Inuit, which is the first demand on the (total allowable harvest)."
The statement from the GN spokesperson went further. "NTI is attempting to use the Southampton Island caribou conservation concern as leverage to force their interpretation of a section in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement for broader purposes," it stated.
The management board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the matter June 3 and 4 in Iqaluit. After the hearing, it is the board's responsibility to pass on its decision to GN Environment Minister Johnny Mike to be accepted or rejected.
