A Nunavut MLA is the latest advocate of compensation for Inuit polar bear hunters.
And Nunavut's environment minister Daniel Shewchuk is under pressure to introduce some kind of compensation after he announced last week that he would slash the hunting quota in Nunavut's Baffin Bay region, CBC News reports.
Starting this year, the quota will be cut by 10 polar bears each year for the next four years, bringing the number from 105 to 65 bears by 2013.
Shewchuk announced the cuts in Baffin Bay, where scientists and Inuit have long disputed the true number of polar bears there, in the hopes that some import bans will be lifted on bear parts.
"They're not electricians, they're not carpenters
these are the hunters. They don't know anything else," Tununiq MLA James Arvaluk said Tuesday in the legislative assembly.
"Are we now going to turn them into welfare people? They've been at it all their lives, quite proudly, as Inuit."
As an example, Arvaluk mentioned the Northwest Territories' assistance program for polar bear hunting outfitters, in which the territorial government there has earmarked $150,000 to help hunters affected by the U.S. import ban.
Shewchuk has maintained that the Nunavut government will not provide compensation for changes related to wildlife management.
"This government is under financial constraints and we have to act responsibly," Shewchuk said. "We do not have any compensation programs, but we are trying to mitigate the factors."
The Nunavut government will compensate people if their properties are damaged by a polar bear. As well, Shewchuk said there is help for outfitters to diversify their businesses.
In response, Arvaluk presented a report that documents hundreds of thousands of dollars paid in sole-sourced contracts to consultants living outside Nunavut to provide advice to the government.
"If our government can find hundreds of thousands of dollars to help southern consultants to get rich, why can't it find a few dollars to compensate Inuit hunters?" he asked.
Compensation for polar bear quota cuts?
Nunavut MLA wants compensation from Nunavut hunters.
Published: 11.03.2010 11:47
