Nunavut leaders question narwhal tusk ban

Some Nunavut leaders, including Conservative MP Leona Aglukkaq and the territory's environment minister, are demanding to know why Ottawa is banning the export of narwhal tusks from many communities.

The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has restricted the international export of narwhal tusks and related products from 17 of Nunavut's 25 communities. It cites overhunting in four of the six narwhal populations in the region.

Nunavut Environment Minister Daniel Shewchuk said Wednesday that he has communicated directly with federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea about the ban, which he said is a concern for the territorial government.

Seeks clarification

Shewchuk said narwhal do not fall under the territorial government's jurisdiction, but he wants clarification from Ottawa on why Inuit were not consulted by DFO on the matter.

"The Nunavut land-claim process, to us, wasn't really followed. There should have been more consultation in what was going on,"Shewchuk told reporters in Iqaluit, during a meeting of Baffin Island-area mayors.

Aglukkaq, who is also federal health minister,said she believes proper procedures were not followed in the narwhal tusk matter, and she wants answers.

"I'm an Inuk. I eat narwhals just like everyone else does, and this is important to me," said Aglukkaq, who added that she learned of the export ban through the media.

"I'm working behind the scenes and hopefully we'll have that issue addressed in the next few weeks or so. But I can tell you that DFO is committed to working through on some of what happened."

Inuit group filed court challenge

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the organization that represents Inuit land-claim beneficiaries in the territory, says it was notified of the export ban in December.

The organization has since filed an application with the Federal Court to challenge the ban, arguing that Inuit were not consulted.

Inuit hunt the Arctic whale for its skin and blubber, a traditional food source. To earn extra income, whalers also hunt male narwhal for their heavy spiralling tusks that extend more than two metres from the jaw.

The tusks are valued in their own right and as raw material for Inuit carvers. A tusk in good condition can fetch a lucky hunter as much as $450 per metre. The ban affects both carvings and raw tusks.

"It's disquieting when our federal government is not supporting our traditional economy and our food, given the science supports that the populations are healthy," said Iqaluit Mayor Madeleine Redfern said.