Eye on Labrador -
One illegal caribou hunt, just one charge. So much for cracking down.
CBC broke the news last week that just one person has been charged in the wake of an illegal caribou hunt in Labrador in early 2009. The reason? Not enough evidence.
This news makes a mockery of Premier Danny Williams' recent talk about this year's illegal hunt by Quebec Innu, which he said would not be tolerated by the province. Interestingly, we're yet to see any charges laid in relation to that hunt.
But rest easy, everyone: the province has bought a bigger camera - complete with stabilizer - so better photos of hunters can be taken from the safety of the air.
There's something not quite right about all this. Last month, Williams said the province would confront illegal hunting in Labrador "head-on", all the while ensuring wildlife officers aren't put in harm's way. And now this?
Perhaps the policy changed between March 2009 and March 2010, but it seems seriously doubtful. It seems more likely that Williams' tough talk was just that - hollow words that don't really mean anything.
The logic behind not putting wildlife officers in harm's way is sound. There's no point sending five or even 10 wildlife officers in to confront a couple of hundred armed men who feel they have every right to be where they are. But it seems it's alright for those same wildlife officers to confront armed Caucasian hunters, as we saw outside Happy Valley-Goose Bay recently. Most of those hunters were charged, but not for poaching. Their crime was allegedly being outside a hunting zone - but it seems there's much confusion about the borders of that zone.
Many observers have pointed out that there seems to be one law for native hunters, and another for the rest of the population. And given the evidence on display in the public arena right now, it would seem they have a point.
But the real reason for the apparent double standard, the one that province doesn't want to talk about out loud is this: they worry that a confrontation with Innu hunters will turn into a bloodbath, while it won't with others.
If Williams is serious about cracking down on all illegal hunts, he must back up his words with serious action. The Quebec Innu usually announce their intention to embark on hunts considered illegal by the province well before they actually set off.
Flying in the necessary backup and properly documenting the next illegal hunt - and then laying charges against everyone involved - is the only way to truly stop these acts. There must be one law for everyone, not one law for those the province fears and another for everyone else.
Andrew Waugh, former editor of the Labradorian writes from Dartmouth, NS
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