Hearings may start this winter

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association voted this week to give final marching orders to the long-awaited Qikiqtani Truth Commission.

The commission will conduct an inquiry into the widespread killing of Inuit dogs and the relocation of Inuit into settled communities in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, as well as other government decisions that affected Inuit in those years.

The commission's mandate states that its main objective is to "ensure an accurate history" of those events. It must produce a report by March 31, 2010.

The mandate goes on to describe the truth commission's work as a "truth and reconciliation process" that "seeks to promote healing for those who suffered wrongdoings, as well as to heal relations between Inuit and the government."

Until 2006, QIA and the Makivik Corp. had lobbied the federal government unsuccessfully for a full-blown judicial inquiry to look into their dog slaughter allegations and other related events.

Makivik also demanded money to compensate Inuit for the loss of their dogs and to reimburse Makivik for the cost of its lobby effort.

But the QIA's truth commission will not provide financial compensation to people hurt by the painful events of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Instead, it will produce recommendations aimed at "promoting reconciliation" and people who make full disclosures to the commission will be granted amnesty from lawsuits. Government officials and past or present members of the RCMP will get a chance to participate in the commission's work.

At the same time, the QIA says they still support Makivik's desire for a judicial inquiry.

Though the truth commission is a QIA creation, its terms of reference state that "the commission shall operate independently and free from interference from the Qikiqtani Inuit Association."

The QIA's president, Thomasie Alikatuktuk said the truth commission will cost about $600,000 for its first year. He said the Makivik Corp. has contributed $50,000 and that QIA is asking Nunavut Tunngavik to help fund the commission until 2010.

This past May in Cape Dorset, the QIA's board voted to appoint James Igloliorte, a retired provincial court judge from Labrador and the first Inuk to serve as a judge in Canada, to head the commission.

They also named Iqaluit lawyer Madeline Redfern as executive director and Iqaluit lawyer Paul Crowley as special advisor.

But after making those decisions at a board meeting in Cape Dorset, the QIA waited until this month to approve the commission's terms of reference – the basic instructions that will guide its work.

It's likely that community tours will start this winter and continue into the spring and summer of 2008.

Many Inuit in the Qikiqtani and Nunavik regions were disappointed by the federal government's response to their quest for a public inquiry: a one-man report by an RCMP officer, which concluded in 2006 that there was no government plan to slaughter Inuit dogs en masse.

Here are other highlights from the truth commission's terms of reference:

• The truth commission will not look into the treatment of Inuit at residential schools or the relocation of Inuit from northern Quebec to the High Arctic. That's because those issues have been resolved through other processes.
• The commission will hold its hearings in public, inside or outside of Nunavut, unless the commissoner, Igloliorte, decides at his discretion to hold private hearings.
• The commission may look at any information or evidence that may be helpful, even it would not be admissable in court.
• The commissioner may spend money on staff, travel, research, space rental, and translation and interpretation.
• The commission must operate under the QIA's financial rules and provide regular financial reports to the QIA.