Canadian authorities will pay 45 million Canadian dollars ($32 million) in compensation to the Inuit tribe living in the northern part of Quebec province for the mass killings of their sled dogs in the 1950s and 1960s.
This was reported by the Canadian TV channel Global News.
The policemen at that time killed all loose dogs, because at that time schools were being built in the Nunavik region for the indigenous people of the Canadian North.
The Royal Constabulary claimed that the dogs were being destroyed for safety reasons. They acted in accordance with the "Dog Ordinance", which came into force in the North-West Territories in 1929. This law prohibited dogs from running freely in certain areas, and the police could seize stray dogs and, if they were not picked up by their owners, euthanize them.
Until 1966, owners were warned and could pay a fine to release their dogs, but many Inuit were unable to pay. After 1966, the rules became stricter, and dogs that posed a threat could be destroyed without warning.
The Inuit saw the extermination of the dogs as part of the Canadian governmentʼs plan to force assimilation and forced them into a sedentary lifestyle. For centuries, the Inuit lived in close contact with their dogs, which required constant movement to maintain the physical strength required for sledding. For the Inuit, dogs were not only transport, but also help in hunting and fishing.
This process had devastating consequences for the Inuit, who were cut off from their native lands and forced to settle in permanent settlements.
“The federal government is taking responsibility for its role in killing the dogs. During the 1950s and 1960s, federal officials knew that dog slaughter was taking place and allowed it to continue, knowing that Inuit depended on dogs for their livelihoods, health and well-being," said the Indigenous Affairs Minister Gary Anandasangari.
In 2010, former Quebec Superior Court judge Jean-Jacques Croteau released a report that found Quebec provincial police officers had killed more than 1 000 dogs in Nunavik "without considering their importance to Inuit families". Croteau found that the federal government did not intervene or condemn these actions.
The Inuit also reported that some of their dogs died after vaccination. According to Croteauʼs report, vaccines were sent by local authorities, but no one warned the Inuit of the risks.
The allocated compensation of $35 million will go to the revival of the culture of owning sled dogs in the region, as well as "everything that people need to raise sled dogs." This includes training, food and fencing.
- The government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau consistently advocates reconciliation of the descendants of European colonizers with the indigenous population of Canada. In 2017, the prime minister officially apologized to the indigenous people of the country who suffered while studying in so-called residential schools, where Indian children were forcibly taken.
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