Residents gather to discuss changes to Wildlife Act

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Nunavummiut gathered for a three-hour public meeting on Feb. 26 to share comments and concerns about a proposed Nunavut-made Wildlife Act.

The new act will replace existing legislation inherited from the Northwest Territories at division in 1999.

Wildlife officer Guy L’Heureux said a new act will protect hunters who harvest wildlife for food, not trophies. “In Nunavut, hunting is a way of life. In the west, it’s more of a sport,” L’Heureux said.

One problem with the act, which falls under the jurisdiction of the department of sustainable development, is that it has never been translated into Inuktitut syllabics, L’Heureux said. The omission will be corrected in the new act.

When asked how familiar most people are with wildlife policies, L’Heureux said, “People understand what affects them personally.”

Meeting participants raised concerns about export permits, polar bear restrictions and nuisance ravens.

The comments will be taken to a working group made up of members from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, DSD and hunters and trappers organizations. A draft of the act is tentatively scheduled for Nunavut’s legislative assembly in November.

Iqaluit resident Tagak Curley called for a definition of traditional hunting. He raised the issue in response to a Coral Harbour man who was banned from harpooning a polar bear for a documentary film several years ago.

“That is not traditional hunting,” Curley said.

Sytukie Joamie compared the NWT wildlife act with a Hollywood movie. “It does not incorporate the wisdom people have. It does not have the colour of the people who use the land,” Joamie said.

Wildlife officer Alden Williams emphasized that creating a new Wildlife Act is at the fact-finding stage and that the meeting’s purpose was to hear concerns, not solve them.

Two similar meetings were held in Qikiqtarjuaq and Baker Lake earlier this year. Public meetings elsewhere in Nunavut will take place before June, L’Heureux said.

A Web page and toll-free phone number are being set up to encourage public input.

L’Heureux was pleased with the comments raised at the meeting.

“It appears the community is behind us,” he said.