Climate change is costing Nunavik’s hunters, say KRG councillors

KUUJJUAQ—Kativik Regional Government councillors want to offer more support to Nunavik hunters who lose their equipment because unpredictable weather and changing sea ice conditions create hazards.

During KRG meetings on Feb. 27, several councillors around the table pointed out the high cost of replacing hunting equipment, like motors, canoes and snowmobiles, that are a necessary part of accessing country food.

“Whenever a hunter loses these things it is very expensive, it is a big task to tackle,” said Sarollie Weetaluktuk of Inukjuak. “It’s a means of survival for us.”

He asked whether hunters could receive more help in covering these costs.

At present, explained Betsy Berthe, the KRG’s Hunter Support Program coordinator, up to $15,000 can be claimed for a lost snowmobile.

But the cost of a new snowmobile, after it’s transported to a community, can far exceed this, several councillors said.

“We use canoes and snowmobiles to get food, to teach our young to go hunting so they can feed their families,” said Weetaluktuk.

“Food at stores is forever getting more and more expensive, so they suffer whenever they lose their canoes.”

Speaker Charlie Arngak, from Kangiqsujuaq, offered some hope in that the issue of lost equipment has been brought to Benoit Charette, Quebec’s environment minister.

During Charette’s visit to Kuujjuaq in early February, representatives of Nunavik’s hunters organization, the Regional Nunavimmi Umajulirijiit Katujiqatigininga, brought up the impact that the changing climate is having on hunters and their equipment, said Arngak.

The bulk of the Hunters Support Program’s budget has been spent on community freezer construction and boat replacements, said Berthe.

In the summer of 2020, new community freezers will be built in Kuujjuaq, Kangiqsujuaq and Inukjuak.

Funding assistance for lost equipment was approved for one hunter from Salluit and four from Umiujaq.

The Hunters Support Program also doled out its first round of community payments for the year at the end of January, totalling just under $3.3 million.

Looking for a solution, Jusipi Kulula from Quaqtaq questioned whether some sort of insurance program would be an option.

“We have no insurance claims or forms because it’s expensive enough already,” he said. But he questioned whether there may be an affordable insurance option.

In Nunavik, though, insurance is limited, said Johanne Fortin, director of the KRG’s legal department.

“It has been very difficult to find an insurance company interested in offering insurance to private owners here,” she said.

“We are still trying to get one insurance company who would agree to offer that insurance. Unfortunately, they are not interested in this market.”

A main reason, she said, is the high risk.

“I suspect if it was offered, premiums would be high,” said Fortin. “We keep asking our insurance consultant if he can reach out once in a while to see if they’ve changed their mind. The answer is always the same.”