NTI seeks emergency stay in firearms case

DENISE RIDEOUT

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. is requesting a stay in the application of a controversial federal firearms law that requires all gun owners — including Inuit hunters — to register their firearms by Jan. 1.

Canadians who don’t register their guns by the end of the year will be in violation of the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code and could be fined or imprisoned.

“It’s something that’s going to hurt Inuit,” said James Eetoolook, first vice-president of NTI, at a press conference on Nov. 26.

NTI will head to court on Dec. 18 to fight for an exemption for Inuit. Lawyers for the organization will argue that the firearms law violates Inuit hunting rights set out in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.

Section 5.7.26 of the NLCA says Inuit do not have to obtain licences or pay fees in order to hunt and fish.

That means Inuit should not be required to register their guns, and should not face criminal charges for hunting with an unregistered gun, NTI argues.

But the federal firearms law does not respect those rights.

“One way to stop that is to go to court,” Eetoolook said.

“We want to protect the rights of Inuit and the rights in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement,” he said.

In June 2000, NTI launched a lawsuit against the federal government, saying the firearms law ignores the right of Inuit to hunt — a traditional activity that many still use to feed their families.

But that court case is still half a year away from being heard.

And with only a month left before the Jan. 1 registration deadline, NTI needed a quick solution.

On Nov. 26, NTI lawyers filed a notice of motion with the Nunavut Court of Justice. It asks that Inuit be exempt from two key rules: the section of the Firearms Act that says it is an offence not to register a firearm, and the section of the Criminal Code that says it is an offence to use a gun that isn’t registered.

“We’re doing this now to protect the rights of Inuit before the additional requirements of the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code come into effect on Jan. 1,” said Steven Foulds, a lawyer for NTI.

The organization hopes the court will reach a decision soon after the Dec. 18 court appearance — and before the Jan. 1 deadline.

However, if the court overturns the motion, NTI isn’t sure what action it will take, Eetoolook said.

Timeline of events

The firearms legislation has been an emotional issue in Nunavut since it was passed by Parliament in 1995. It was seen in the territory as a violation of land claim rights that Inuit leaders were still fighting for.

In 1999, the Canadian Firearms Centre (CFC) opened an office in Iqaluit to help unilingual Inuit fill out the application — which was written only in English and French.

Then some applications went missing. A written timeline provided by NTI says, “to this day, CFC has not stated what happened to the original applications.”

In spring 2001, an Inuit working group made up of representatives from NTI, Inuit organizations from the western Arctic, Nunavik and Labrador, as well as Senator Charlie Watt, proposed amendments that would make the firearms law more relevant to Inuit.

This past May the group finished its report, suggesting that an Inuit beneficiary card be used in place of a possession licence and that Inuit be exempt from paying licence fees. Then they submitted a memorandum of understanding for review by the federal justice minister.

“We came so close with the MOU with the federal government and the federal justice minister,” Eetoolook said. “But there was a change of ministers and the whole thing died.”

NTI’s lawsuit against the federal government is expected to be heard in court by mid-2003.