November 24, 2000
AARON SPITZER
Nunatsiaq News
ARVIAT — Nunavut leaders are asking Ottawa to delay implementing the federal firearms law in Nunavut.
In a joint letter to Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Nunavut’s premier and the head of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. ask that the Jan. 1, 2001 deadline for licensing firearms in Nunavut be postponed.
Premier Paul Okalik and NTI acting president James Eetoolook co-signed the letter at NTI’s annual general meeting in Arviat on Nov. 16.
"The negative impacts of these planned new restrictions on firearms owners and users far outweigh their intended benefits," the letter reads.
"For many households in Nunavut, these restrictions are considered to be — literally — a threat to their continuing to be able to feed their families with confidence."
The letter notes that if the law comes into effect Jan. 1, it would see only limited compliance.
Language barriers have complicated the completion of license applications for many Nunavummiut, and federal teams tasked with helping residents apply for licenses have not yet visited all of Nunavut’s communities.
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. is currently taking the federal government to court, asserting that the firearms law is in violation of the 1993 Nunavut land claims agreement, which guarantees Inuit the right to hunt without licenses or fees.
But the court case will likely not be heard until spring or summer of next year. For that reason, NTI has advised Inuit to register under the act so they will not be in violation of the law come Jan. 1.
But the suggestion that Inuit should go ahead and register, and the decision to ask for a moratorium, raised some debate at the AGM in Arviat. Several delegates worried the request suggests that Inuit agree with the act and are legally compelled to abide by it.
There were also fears that any move to abide by the firearms law would undermine NTI’s court case — a fear that NTI legal services director Laurie Pelly said was unwarranted.
According to Chantale Breton of the Canadian Firearms Center in Ottawa, licensing-assistance teams have travelled to every Nunavut community except for Repulse Bay and Pelly Bay, and may have to make return trips to other communities.
So far, 4,763 Nunavummiut either have a firearms license or have submitted an application. That figure represents just over 70 per cent of the gun owners in the territory.
Gun owners not licensed by Jan. 1 will not be permitted to purchase ammunition and will be in illegal possession of firearms.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said Wednesday that Jean Chretien has received the request for a moratorium "and will respond in due course."