NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Anyone with their sights set on a general hunting licence in the territory will now have to be an eligible member of an NWT Aboriginal organization.

Hunting regulations and fees saw several changes in the Northwest Territories Summary of Hunting Regulations, released in July.

Bill Enge, president of the North Slave Metis Alliance said, "You could be what's called an honorary member of an organization, but you would have to have some kind of membership in an Aboriginal organization to qualify for a general hunting licence now. But, there was a time in the past when non-aboriginal northerners could obtain a general hunting licence. But I think that stipulation has been removed."

Dawn Curtis, manager of public affairs and communications for Environment and Natural Resources, in an email to News/North stated, "Individuals must submit an application to Environment and Natural Resources indicating which of the NWT Aboriginal organization they belong to, along with supporting documentation to that effect."

The changes don't affect previous holders of such a licence, those will still be valid for the holder's lifetime and the new GHL will still be a lifetime licence and are required to be produced if a Renewable Resource officer requests to see identification.

Curtis stated the regulatory change was based on the new Wildlife Act and reflects Aboriginal or treaty harvesting rights and Land Claim Agreements.

"Now, GHLs are tied to whether you belong to, or are eligible to belong to, one of the recognized Aboriginal groups in the NWT. This is the way co-management partners wanted the applications to be done," she stated in an e-mail.

And although GHL holders have the right to harvest, the new Act recognizes these rights are subject to the Wildlife Act and its regulations, and Land Claim Agreements.

The Inuvik Hunters' & Trappers' Committee wasn't available to comment on the recent changes to the Act or the GHL as they haven't received any information from its board of directors about the changes.

In addition to that new heritage requirement, licence fees have also shot up for the first time in six years.

For example, tags that cost $20 last year now cost $22.

Curtis said licence costs had remained unchanged since 2011 and that a review of fees is required every five years by the Financial Management Board. She said fees received an increase of 10 per cent across the board.

"Even with the increase, these fees remain less than those in most jurisdictions in Canada," stated Curtis.

It lists in the handbook, available on ENR's website, that some of these new regulations will affect when caribou and moose can be harvested in special harvester area wildlife management zones.

"These rules apply to all non-participants to the Land Claim Agreements made in 1992 (Gwich'in) and 1993 (Sahtu)," stated Curtis.

Special harvest areas open to licensed hunters are defined by big game hunting regulations, but season lengths are defined by the respective land claim agreements for those wildlife management areas.

Meanwhile, a recommendation was issued in April by Andre Corriveau, NWT chief public health officer. The update recommended consumption of the organs of moose harvested in the southern Mackenzie Mountains in the Deh Cho be limited due to high levels of cadmium.

Moose that were tested in the Mackenzie and Liard valleys and moose in the Sahtu region tested with lower levels of cadmium below the recommended guidelines.

Corriveau said an advisory wasn't issued for the public as the data hadn't changed significantly even though the Sahtu region had been added to the sample field.

Corriveau said cadmium ingestion has been associated with some adverse health outcomes, but international data puts smoking at a higher risk than ingesting from sources such as organ meats.

"The data we have (shows) the largest exposure that human beings have to cadmium is to smokers," he said.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.