Nunavut court sends NTI firearms case to trial

PATRICIA D’SOUZA

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. will get its day in court to argue against a federal firearms law that requires Inuit to register hunting weapons, after Justice Robert Kilpatrick rejected a motion by the federal government to dismiss NTI’s court action.

“This court is satisfied that there is a genuine issue for trial involving both mixed fact and law that is properly left to the trial court to resolve,” Kilpatrick said in his reasons for judgment, filed with the Nunavut Court of Justice on July 8.

In addition, he granted an interim stay in the application of the federal Firearms Act to Inuit. The act requires that gun owners register their weapons or face fines or imprisonment.

This most recent stay is essentially an extension of one granted late last year before the legislation went into effect on Jan. 1. It means Inuit will not have to register their guns and will not face criminal charges for hunting with an unregistered gun until the matter goes to court sometime next year.

NTI contends the law violates Inuit hunting rights set out in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Section 5.7.26 says Inuit do not have to obtain licences or pay fees to hunt and fish.

The federal government argues that Section 5.7.26 says firearm control laws may be used to attach limits to the use of guns by Inuit.

In deciding whether to impose a stay, Kilpatrick had to decide whether a refusal to do so could be so harmful to Inuit that the effects could not be remedied after trial.

NTI said Inuit rely on country food for cultural as well as physical survival. However, the federal government argued that Inuit could just as easily shop for food at a grocery store.

“Those Inuit unable to access firearms can always use commercially available foods as an alternative to that ordinarily obtained through Inuit harvesting practices,” Kilpatrick said, in describing the federal government’s position.

“Implicit to this argument is the assumption that Inuit throughout Nunavut have ready access to a commercially available food source on a consistent basis.”

He added that many Inuit continue to face language and literacy barriers in completing firearms registration forms, and despite efforts by the Canadian Firearms Centre to provide assistance, those barriers still exist.

“To the Inuit hunters adversely affected by this legislation, the loss or impairment of a traditional lifestyle upon the land would mark the end of living and the beginning of survival,” Kilpatrick wrote.

“To the extent that the core values of a hunting culture are damaged or weakened, the elders and hunters revered by contemporary Inuit society for their traditional knowledge and on-the-land skills would see their skills devalued and their place in Inuit society diminished. These groups would be at risk of becoming mere anecdotes; anachronisms of a bygone time and a lifestyle that is passing.”

NTI and the Government of Nunavut, which is an intervenor in the case, cheered the decision and reflected on the symbolism of Inuit rights being upheld just one day before the 10th anniversary of the land claims agreement.

And in an even more symbolic move, NTI and the GN praised each other and the work they had accomplished together.

“We are pleased to be working with NTI to ensure that the rights of Inuit under the land claims agreement are upheld,” Premier Paul Okalik said in a press release on Tuesday.

“We appreciate the Government of Nunavut for their support,” said Cathy Towtongie, president of NTI. “We’ve worked very well together throughout this process and we have to continue to do so in the months ahead leading up to the main court action.”

Towtongie said the court recognized the most significant factor affecting Inuit – the high cost of living in Nunavut.

“I don’t think at this time Nunavut Inuit can afford any more cost of living. Sixty-four dollars may not sound like a lot in the South, but $64 can buy diapers and bread or pay for a licence,” she said.

“I think the comparison between the southern standard of living and the Nunavut standard of living is not realistic. Can’t be. I can’t see a family of five going down to the Northern and buying a $25 steak.”

Hana Hruska, director of communications for the department of the solicitor general of Canada, said the ruling does not change the current situation. She refused to comment further while the matter is still before the courts.