NUNAVUT
The Government of Nunavut's fur pricing program will now pay 25 per cent more for sealskins harvested by Nunavut land claim beneficiaries.

Nunavut seal fur has many unexpected uses. Here Teena Angmarlik grabs her sealskin slider and gets ready for a slide. Funding to support efforts to expand the international market for Nunavut sealskin sales were announced recently. - photo courtesy of Joan Gilley

The change came into effect on April 1 and was announced by House Leader Paul Quassa in the legislative assembly on behalf of Environment Minister Johnny Mike on March 16.

Mike said prices paid to Nunavut hunters and trappers vary on the size and quality of each cleaned and dried pelt, "This will mean that prices will now range from $31.25 at the lowest to (a) maximum of $75."

For other furs, including fox, wolf, wolverine, polar bear and grizzly bear, the Government of Nunavut will now pay the hunters and trappers the eight per cent auction house commission that

was previously deducted on all sale proceeds.

For these two changes, the Government of Nunavut has budgeted an additional $160,000, for a total of $805,000 annually.

"We hope that a price increase will attract new participants to the program and we'll be monitoring the statistics to determine whether that occurs," Mike said, adding there have been approximately 1,300 individual "active users" who have sold fur to the program at least once in the past three years.

The environment minister said that since 2009, the GN has been purchasing a little more than 3,000 sealskins per year on average. But they would like to double that in order to meet both demand in the communities and have sufficient supply available at auction to stimulate interest domestically and internationally.

Mike was also careful to stress that the government does not sell furs to the auction house, it only facilitates storage and grading of the pelts.

"It offers pelts at auction that are open to any and all buyers who wish to attend," he said. "In this way, we are able to ensure all buyers ... have fair and equal opportunities to purchase furs."

In regard to criticism from Arviat South MLA Joe Savikataaq, accusing the GN of playing favourites with a single fur-buying auction house, Mike said that Ontario's Fur Auction Inc. in North Bay is the only one that is trapper-owned and specializes in the sale and marketing of wild fur, "which we feel are consistent (with) the values of Nunavummuit."

Mike added that due to the efforts of this partnership, Nunavut hunters and trappers achieved record-high revenues in 2012 and 2013.

The environment minister said that hunting is expensive and that the increase in prices paid for sealskins and furs allows hunters to receive immediate income at the wildlife office, which can then be reinvested in fuel and equipment.

"Buying a rifle or Ski-doo is not cheap," he said.

However, the Government of Nunavut's bulk purchase of fuel once per year due to the sealift meant that hunters did not get to benefit from the recent plunge in gas prices.

"We are hoping the government has already bought a good portion of the petroleum at a cheaper rate," Mike said, explaining that the minister in charge of ordering fuel already estimated a possible savings of $32 million with the early purchase program that happened this year.

"We're hoping the fuel prices stay at the level at this time."