Dog slaughter petition before Parliament

ODILE NELSON

Guy St-Julien, the Liberal Member of Parliament for Northern Quebec, presented a petition to the House of Commons Oct. 1 asking for a public inquiry into the federal government’s slaughter of Inuit sled dogs during the 1950s and ’60s.

Forty residents from Inukjuak and Puvirnituq signed the petition asking the federal government to recognize the “significant social, economic and cultural repercussions” the dog slaughter had on Nunavik’s Inuit.

Pita Aatami, president of Makivik Corporation, said he is very pleased St-Julien is supporting the work Makivik initiated nearly four years ago.

“Up until now we haven’t been able to convince the government to do a public inquiry into the RCMP and Surêté de Quebec’s slaughter of the sled dogs,” Aatami said.

“We’re very appreciative of the efforts he is putting on behalf of the Inuit people. With his help maybe we can get somewhere.”

St-Julien, MP for Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik, recently spearheaded efforts to have the federal government recognize the 50-year-old killings.

In April, St-Julien attended Makivik’s annual general meeting and offered a personal apology to the province’s Inuit for the dog slaughter. He also vowed he would seek an apology from the federal government on behalf of his constituents.

A month later, St-Julien followed through on his promise and presented a motion in the House of Commons outlining the questions a public inquiry should address.

The proposed questions included whether the government ordered the killing or promoted it indirectly and whether the Inuit were consulted before the slaughter began.

St-Julien is still awaiting a response to this motion.

Since the late 1990s, Makivik has conducted 200 interviews into the slaughter and sent several official complaints, in partnership with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, to the Canadian and Quebec governments.

But the federal government has not yet acknowledged the slaughter even took place.

Aatami says it has been difficult to persuade the Canadian government to apologize or recognize its actions because there are few written records of the events.

Makivik’s collection of interviews with Inuit elders, however, suggest police conducted a purposeful slaughter – ostensibly to control rabies and distemper and to rid developing communities in the Baffin and Northern Quebec regions of loose sled dogs.

The Inuit elders also said the government’s actions had abrupt and profound repercussions for their traditional way of life. Without sled dogs, Inuit could no longer hunt as they had done for thousands of years and were forced to rely on government handouts for food.

Aatami said he is very hopeful St-Julien’s involvement will prod the government into apologizing and making amends for its actions – something Makivik has not yet accomplished on its own.

If it does not, the corporation is considering legal options or going to the United Nations to see if it can persuade Canada’s government to address the issue, Aatami said.

“The dog slaughter deeply affected the Inuit livelihood. Whole families were touched by the loss of their dogs and we refuse to give up until something moves on this,” Aatami said.

The federal government has 45 days to prepare a response to the petition.