Ottawa will apologize and pay $45 million in compensation for killing a dog in Nunavik Inuit – CP24

OTTAWA — The federal government is providing $45 million in compensation to Inuit in Nunavik as part of Canada’s apology for its role in the killing of sled dogs between the mid-1950s and late 1960s.

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangari is traveling to Kangiqsujuaq to apologize for Canada’s role in the Saturday afternoon killings in Northern Quebec.

A 2010 report by Jean-Jacques Croteau, a former Quebec Superior Court judge, said Quebec provincial police killed more than 1,000 dogs in Nunavik “without any consideration of their importance to Inuit families.”

Croteau found that the federal government did not intervene or condemn these actions, and stated that the introduction of compulsory schooling and boarding schools was fundamental in preparing for the dog killings.

“I hope this brings closure to some of them,” said Pita Aatami, president of Makivvik, which represents Inuit in Nunavik.

“When I hear some interviews with elders whose dogs were slaughtered, I realize that the pain they experienced was very severe. Their livelihood was taken away.

“They no longer had the opportunity to go out onto the land, go hunting, go fishing, go get ice or go to the forest. Everything they did with their dogs was taken away.”

Aatami told The Canadian Press the federal government will provide $45 million in compensation as part of the apology.

He said the money would go toward reviving the region’s dog sled culture, as well as “everything people need to raise dog sleds.” This includes training, nutrition and fencing.

“Historically, the Inuit did not leash their dogs. This was one way to keep them healthy. It was only when the foreigners arrived that they had to tie up their dogs. And then the dogs became more vicious and lazy. Not as good as before, something like that.”

Aatami said some of the money will also go toward direct compensation, but how it will be distributed has not yet been determined.

“For me, this is just the beginning because we also need funds for mental health treatment and so on,” Aatami said, adding that Makivvik had asked for $75 million.

“Whenever there was alcohol in the community, they turned to alcohol to numb the pain they were going through because their livelihood was taken away. Their independence was taken away.”

Croteau’s 2010 report found that Canada’s responsibility for the dog deaths arose in part due to the creation of compulsory schooling and residential schools in Nunavik villages, and a failure to intervene earlier when sled dog killing began in the four original villages. .

“The authorities chose confrontation over negotiation, using the services of the provincial police. As a result, any untied dog was killed without prior warning, while the underlying law allowed anyone to kill a stray dog ​​without being held accountable,” Croteau wrote.

Croteau found that Canada was aware of the problem of sled dog killing as early as 1958, but still opened more schools in other villages. Croteau said Canada should instead pause the unilateral opening of day schools and first consult with Inuit elders and open more schools as needed.

“The problem arose after the introduction of compulsory schooling and the transition to a sedentary population that was not ready for it,” writes Croteau.

“The Inuit lived a lifestyle that included the use of sled dogs to provide their livelihood.”

Since attendance was mandatory and the Inuit then never allowed themselves to be separated from their children, “Inuit families hastened to settle in villages, bringing dogs with them to provide their livelihood and transportation,” Croteau wrote.

The Inuit passed on traditional knowledge orally, but according to Croteau’s findings, residential schools “displaced the oral tradition.”

Particularly in Kangiqsuhuaq, where Canada apologizes, Croteau’s report recalls how the federal government opened a school in 1960 and a health center a year later. By 1962, small prefabricated houses were built and Inuit settled in the village.

“As in other villages, the problem with dogs arose after the opening of the school, because compulsory school attendance led to families who had led a nomadic life settling in the village,” writes Croteau.

“Never before, that is, since time immemorial, have outsiders tried to establish control over dogs that seemed so strict to members of the community.

“For the Inuit, the attitude of the whites was a threat to their culture, their way of life. They could not understand how a provincial law, of which most were unaware, could give an officer the discretion to determine the fate of their sled dogs. “

Croteau also wrote that many dog ​​owners did not have proper collars or chains to even tether their dogs. He determined that over a three-day period sometime between 1965 and 1967, more than 200 dogs were killed in Kangiqsujuaq alone, representing more than half the canine population.

The Inuit also reported that some of their dogs died after being vaccinated. The vaccines were requested by the community’s federal administrator, Croteau’s report said, but no one warned Inuit about the risks.

“It was therefore a shock to them when some of their dogs actually died,” Croteau quoted a 1964 memo from a federal administrator as saying.

Croteau decided that the federal government must have known that the influx of large numbers of non-Inuit into the North would significantly disrupt Inuit culture and way of life.

“Moreover, Canada, as a trustee, should have asked its government officials to resolve the problem in the above-mentioned villages through negotiation rather than confrontation,” Croteau wrote.

In 2011, then-Quebec Premier Jean Charest formally apologized to Inuit in Nunavik for the province’s role in killings across the region and agreed with Makivvik to pay $3 million to promote and protect Inuit language and culture.

In 2019, the federal government apologized to Inuit in Nunavut for the RCMP’s role in the killing of sled dogs there.

The Qikiqtani Truth Commission’s final report on the matter stated that the RCMP shot hundreds of dogs due to fears of losing the dogs or spreading disease.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2024.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press