MONTREAL, NOV 24 – The Canadian government officially apologized Saturday to indigenous communities for the killing of hundreds of sled dogs by police more than half a century ago.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree delivered the apology in Nunavik, in the northern province of Quebec.
“It shouldn’t take decades for Canada to apologize to the Inuit of Nunavik for the Federal Government’s role in the expropriation and painful loss of sled dogs, who were considered friends and family,” said Anandasangaree.
According to a 2010 report, more than 1,000 dogs belonging to the Nunavik community were killed without considering the serious consequences and difficulties faced by dog owners and their families.
The sled dogs are “vital to their owners’ hunting, fishing and trapping activities, as well as to entire communities that depend on these dogs for survival and transport,” according to the report, which was published by a retired judge. – AFP
