Dog slaughter inquiry still a “maybe”

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Despite urgings from the majority of MPs, the federal government has balked at launching a judicial inquiry into why RCMP killed thousands of Inuit sled dogs throughout the Arctic decades ago.

The House of Commons passed a motion last week calling on the Liberal government to appoint a superior court judge to look into the widespread killings of Inuit dog teams through the 1950s to 1970s – a period known as “the dog slaughter.”

The vote came after heavy lobbying from Inuit leaders who believe the police were acting out a government policy to keep Inuit in settlements. RCMP officials say they were protecting communities from dangerous stray dogs, and a disease called distemper that was spreading throughout the region.

But Alex Swann, a spokesperson for Anne McLellan, the federal minister in charge of the RCMP, said the motion passed last week doesn’t guarantee that there’ll be an inquiry.

He said McLellan wants to wait for the police to finish their own investigation into the dog killings before making a final decision about an inquiry.

“The motion technically isn’t binding,” said Swann, who works in the department of public safety and emergency preparedness. “It’s a first step. Whether we have a judicial inquiry remains to be seen.”

Swann said the minister ordered the RCMP investigation in March when the motion was first passed by the standing committee on aboriginal affairs and northern development, chaired by Nunavut Liberal MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell.

Elders and Inuit leaders gave emotional testimony at committee meetings about how Inuit in the Baffin region and Nunavik would sometimes bring their dog teams to settlements to pick up supplies, and exit the store to find the RCMP shooting their entire team.

Despite the testimony, Swann suggested the minister hasn’t heard enough new information since Inuit groups began pressing previous federal governments for the inquiry in the 1990s.

“There’s not much evidence frankly at this point,” Swann said.

Inuit organizations have rejected the government’s reasons for holding back on a judicial inquiry.

They claim RCMP can’t investigate themselves without creating the suspicion that officers are covering up any findings that make the police look bad.

“It’s not good enough,” said Jocelyne Barrett, a legal advisor to Makivik Corp. “It’s internal and it’s one-sided.

“You can’t investigate yourself. We’re still demanding an independent investigation.”

Terry Audla, executive director of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, said the federal government shouldn’t be handing the file to McLellan, in the first place. He says a judge needs to investigate multiple departments, because the command to kill dogs wouldn’t solely have come from the RCMP.

“If you look at the whole file, we’re not necessarily just looking at the RCMP,” Audla said. “It was not only the RCMP that were involved in this. It’s the government of the day. It’s the system.

“To leave it with just the one department is not the correct thing.”

Even fellow Liberals are bashing the government’s inaction.

Liberal Senator Charlie Watt of Kuujjuaq said he was confused by their decision not to act on the motion immediately.

During their meetings in March, Watt pleaded with MPs on the aboriginal affairs committee to treat the dog killings as a non-partisan issue, before they sent their motion to Parliament. All Liberal MPs on the committee voted against the motion.

The motion in the House of Commons was passed on June 8 on division. That means all parties agreed to the motion, but individual votes are not officially recorded.

“Why did they pass the motion then, if they’re not going to call an inquiry?” Watts said. “Now that I know they’re not that serious to investigate, it puts me in the position that I’m going to have to start laying a lot of pressure on them to conduct that investigation.

“It’s a reality. The people have to know.”

McLellan is expected to bring the results of the RCMP investigation to the committee on aboriginal affairs later this year.