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Liberals, Tories snarl, yelp over sled dogs

Karetak-Lindell on defensive after requesting inquiry into dog killings

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Nunavut MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell put on her political boxing gloves this week in a nasty debate in Ottawa that labeled her "disrespectful" of the Inuit demand for an inquiry into past sled dog killings.

Karetak-Lindell found herself on the defensive after she presented a request in the House of Commons on May 10 calling on the federal government to launch an inquiry into why RCMP officers killed Inuit sled dogs in the 1950s to 1970s.

Her motion came at a time when the House of Commons was rumbling with expectations of a federal election, brought on by the Conservative Party and Bloc Québécois efforts to bring down the minority Liberal government in a confidence vote.

In her short presentation, Karetak-Lindell asked the government to support the request because "people need the chance to tell their stories and find out exactly what the reason was behind doing this and whether there can be some reconciliation between themselves and the Government of Canada."

However, the debate was postponed by her Liberal colleagues, which prompted Conservative MPs to accuse Karetak-Lindell and the Liberals of using the Inuit sled dog issue to manipulate the proceedings of the House.

Jim Prentice, Conservative critic for aboriginal and northern affairs, said Inuit should be offended by what happened.

"It's clearly a strategy of the Liberals," said Jim Prentice, Conservative critic for aboriginal and northern affairs. "The net effect of it all is it shuts the House down for the entire morning. It's disrespectful to Canadians generally, but it's especially disrespectful for the Inuit people in the North, for whom this is an important issue to look into."

Prentice pointed out that the Liberals spent most of the allotted time arguing about parliamentary procedure, instead of debating Karetak-Lindell's motion. He said Karetak-Lindell's motion, known as a concurrence motion of a committee report, could have been given three hours for discussion.

The Conservatives also questioned why Karetak-Lindell suddenly brought forth the committee's request almost a month past their suggested deadline.

Karetak-Lindell, normally a mild-mannered politician, shot back at in an interview that it was the Conservatives who were manipulating the debate to their own political gains.

"If anyone's been paralyzing Parliament, it's the opposition parties," Karetak-Lindell said. "I'm very upset at Prentice misrepresenting the Conservatives. They have never been the champions of aboriginal rights.

"I've lived the aboriginal life. I've grown up in the aboriginal life. I can take them on, on aboriginal issues, any day."

Karetak-Lindell's request was based on a motion from the federal committee on aboriginal affairs and northern development, chaired by Karetak-Lindell.

The motion was passed by opposition MPs on the committee on March 10, after hearing testimony from Inuit elders and members of Makivik Corp. and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association.

All Liberal members on the committee voted against the request, which called for the federal government to pick a superior court judge to oversee an inquiry into the dog killings, by April 15.

When the deadline passed, the committee passed another motion, denouncing the government's inaction, and repeating their request without a deadline. The government responded by directing the RCMP to compile a report based on interviews with past police officers and special constables working in the Arctic at the time of the dog killings.

Later, Karetak-Lindell was criticized by some Inuit leaders when she hesitated in a media interview to say a judicial inquiry was the best way to get answers.

The recent debate put Karetak-Lindell squarely behind the Inuit organizations' request.

"I wanted to be on the record saying I supported the inquiry," she said.

Prentice echoed support for the judicial inquiry into the dog killings, saying a Conservative party would launch one, if they were elected.

The debate on the inquiry is scheduled to resume on May 31.

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