Retired jurist to probe dog slaughter

For retired judge Jim Igloliorte, taking a seat on the Qikiqtani Inuit Association's truth commission investigating the dog slaughter is an ideal job.

In addition to nearly two decades on the bench, Igloliorte worked as a geologist, then a teacher.

But the law was where he made a name for himself, working the circuit on the Labrador coast from 1985 until 2004, from Goose Bay to Nain and earning the nickname of "Judge Jim." He's the first Inuk to serve as a provincial court judge in Canada.

"The nature of the project is very interesting and an opportunity to put Inuit issues foremost in people's minds," Igloliorte said from his home in St. John's earlier this month.

The QIA is spending $600,000 this year to investigate from the Inuit point of view allegations that the RCMP purposely tried to exterminate Inuit sled dogs to force Inuit off the land and into organized settlements. Iqaluit lawyers Madeleine Redfern and Paul Crowley will also help run the commission, which received its terms of reference from QIA this week.

An RCMP internal investigation tabled in the House of Commons in November 2006 determined "no evidence was found of any policy decision to conduct a mass cull or killing of sled dogs, either as internal RCMP policy or from the government."

Inuit allegations put the total number of dogs killed between 1950 and 1970 as high as 20,000.

The 26-page report also says the RCMP's own investigators could not determine the number of dogs killed during that time, nor could they find evidence that enough ammunition to kill 20,000 dogs was ever shipped North.

But the report did concede that Mounties killed sled dogs, mostly to control disease and sometimes at the request of dog owners. That led the report's author, Staff Sgt. Phil Campbell, to admit Mounties could have done a better job communicating their intentions to Inuit before shooting their dogs.

Many Inuit dispute those conclusions, and Igloliorte said more than 150 people have already given statements to the QIA. The commission's job, he said, will be to present that evidence in public as a challenge to the RCMP's own findings.

The commissioners will have to gauge the accuracy of claims, which may be challenging given the amount of time that's passed since the killings took place.

Igloliorte hopes the commission will be able to conclude its field work, including travelling to the communities, within 12 months.

"It's going to be a year plus, but it's very hard to put a time frame until we actually sit down and look at all the contingencies."