Long-gun registry violates land claims: NTI

The organization representing Inuit in Nunavut says it wants to work with the federal government to come up with a “made-in-Nunavut” solution to Canada’s controversial long-gun registry.

And this solution must make it easier for Inuit to have access to hunting rifles, said James Eetoolook, acting president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc..

Eetoolook was reacting to a House of Commons vote Sept. 22, when MPs voted 153-151 against a private member’s bill and kept the federal long-gun registry.

“We are disappointed that the registry will remain in place,” Eetoolook told Nunatsiaq News. “It will make it more difficult for Inuit to access arms for the purpose of hunting and providing food for their families.”

The current federal long-gun registry already violates the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement because it’s supposed to guarantee Inuit the right to hunt without a license or permit, Eetoolook said.

Across Nunavut, a firearm acquisition or license is needed to purchase ammunition at local stores, although since July 2003, an interim injunction from the Nunavut Court of Justice halted the enforcement of the registration and licensing.

Most Inuit also own more than one gun, Eetoolook said.

So even with this injunction in place, he said it is still hard to acquire a firearm in the territory without “feeling like a criminal.”
“Nobody wants to break the law,” he said. “Hunters still wonder if they’re violating the Canadian constitution.”

Although Eetoolook still hopes to see the long-gun registry abolished, he said now is the time for federal and territorial leaders to sit down and come up with a process that recognizes the hunting needs of the Inuit.

“We’re looking forward to working with our MP [Leona Aglukkaq] to come up with something made in Nunavut, that respects the rights of Inuit,” he said. “We very much support safety, but the registry isn’t doing much to safeguard the public.”

Aglukkaq voted in favour of abolishing the gun registry, because of “the negative implications of the long-gun registry on her constituents,” her website says.

“While our government supports reasonable gun control, the long-gun registry does not prevent crime. It is simply a registry, one that is wasteful and ineffective,” Aglukkaq said. “I assure my constituents that we will continue to fight to abolish the long-gun registry which is unsupportive of the Inuit way of life.”

The MPs who voted to kill the Conservative bill to scrap the long-gun registry included Yvon Lévesque, who represents the riding of Abitibi-James Bay-Nunavik.