NWMB research funding decisions make no sense

I had to do a second take after reading the Nunatsiaq News piece on the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board’s screening process for wildlife research.

On the first breath, the board members opposed any research involving tranquilizers and catch-and-release methods, then on the second breath approved most of the Government of Nunavut’s proposals to tranquilize (catch-and-release) polar bears off Davis Strait because the GN polar bear biologist was there to explain it all away.

Then the board members turned down an international proposal to study polar bears with an Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit component to it, after stating that they support research that intends to explore how IQ may be used.

Maybe it’s just me, but after reading all the noble sentiments and reasons publicly expressed by the board for “doing business differently” and then turning around and doing the exact opposite, I can’t help but feel that Inuit rights and entitlements have no protection whatsoever from the corrupting and eroding influence of the “old boys club” mentality that pervades almost all of the GN-Inuit relations.

Jay Arnakak
Iqaluit