Nunavut hunter compensation fund too hard to access, MLA says

Nunavut Environment Minister Joe Savikataaq answers Uqqummiut MLA Pauloosie Keyootak’s questions about the Government of Nunavut’s Wildlife Damage Compensation Program. Keyootak said his constituents are struggling with the GN’s lengthy process for approving compensation claims for damage caused by wildlife. (PHOTO BY BETH BROWN)

Uqqummiut MLA Pauloosie Keyootak, who represents Qikiqtarjuaq and Clyde River, wants to know why none of his constituents are able to access territorial government money allocated to compensate hunters for damage caused by wildlife, especially polar bears.

The simple answer, after hearing from Environment Minister Joe Savikataaq, might be that the process is extremely onerous.

When out on the land, hunters from his community used to spend their winter nights in tents, or sleep right on top of their qamutiks in the summer, Keyootak said Sept.18 during question period in the Nunavut Legislature.

“These days it is too dangerous. We need to stay in cabins when we go to our hunting areas,” he said.

But even those shacks are vulnerable to bears.

“Polar bears are completely destroying the shacks and the contents are strewn outside,” Keyootak said. “There was one person who said he had his cabin destroyed three times.

“Bears are causing a lot more damage than in previous years.”

The cabins, and their contents, can be very costly, he said.

Because of this, residents in his community have applied for money through the Government of Nunavut’s Wildlife Damage Compensation Program, but to no avail.

“We all know it’s very difficult to get compensation. Many people have tried for compensation from my community and up to now, nobody has ever been approved. Why is it so difficult to get compensation?” Keyootak said, in a questions to Environment Minister Joe Savikataaq.

“We have policies that have to be followed,” Savikataaq said. “If they meet that criteria they can get compensation.”

For one thing, applications for compensation must show that a hunter took every effort to prevent damage from happening in the first place.

Some of these preventative measures include:

• removing all attractants (food, hides, carcasses, fuels, etc.) from the camp or area and/or storing the attractants in a suitable bear resistant container;

• cleaning the cabin to get rid of garbage, carcasses, human waste, grey water, and cooking odors; 
 
• covering windows and doors with plywood;

• owning a well-constructed cabin that could, “reasonably resist the activities of an unmotivated bear”;

• storing snow machines and all-terrain vehicles in a shed or under a cover out of season; and,

• evidence must be shown that these deterrent efforts were taken, through photos of maintained electric fencing and bear‐resistant food containers.

But Keyootak said his constituents know the criteria.

“We’re told to take pictures of the damage and write down what happened.”

“We tried to do that,” he said. “Who does the approval of these compensation requests and who says no?” he asked.

The answer to that was: a lot of people.

That’s because, according to Savikataaq, there is a lengthy administrative process for applicants to navigate.

A hunter must complete a form, with a written explanation of the damage and show evidence that preventative measures were taken.

They also need an affidavit of loss signed by a commissioner of oaths, which for most communities means a trip to the RCMP detachment.

These forms have to be submitted to the local wildlife officer within one month of the damage.

If possible, the conservation officer is supposed to check out the area of damage and make recommendations.

Then the community Hunters and Trappers Organization has to make recommendations and sign off on the application.

After that, the application is sent to the regional wildlife office—in Pond Inlet for the Baffin region—to be reviewed by a board made up of regional wildlife managers, a wildlife deterrent specialist and the assistant director of wildlife for the Department of Environment.

Once that board approves an application, it then has to be signed by the department’s director of wildlife, in the Iqaluit office.

At that point, some time within 90 days, or three months after departmental receipt of the application, the hunter will be told whether they are eligible.

“That’s set so they don’t wait forever for their answer,” Savikataaq said.

The funding program is available to all Nunavut residents and non-profit community groups.

There is no minimum amount of damage or cost to apply for compensation, but there is a maximum pay out, Savikataaq said.

That figure is capped at $2,000. Meat caches or unprotected country food cannot be compensated.

For Nunavut residents who want to apply, the application form can be downloaded here.