Quebec wildlife officials say Labrador Innu had no rights to seized caribou
CBC News | Posted: December 4, 2018 6:32 PM | Last Updated: December 4, 2018
Meat Chisasibi Cree say they gifted Labrador Innu was seized by authorities last week
Wildlife officials from Quebec say the Labrador Innu had no rights to the caribou meat officers seized from Innu Nation Grand Chief Gregory Rich and a few companions last week.
The meat, which Rich said was given to him as a gift on behalf of the Chisasibi Cree First Nation, was seized in Oujé-Bougoumou, Que., a Cree community about 300 kilometres northwest of Saguenay.
The meat came from the Leaf River caribou herd, which has been declining in size.
Rich said the Cree nation has permission to hunt the Leaf River caribou and that he had a letter from Chief Davey Bobbish supporting the Innu Nation in taking the caribou to Labrador.
Still, wildlife officers told him it was illegal to hunt caribou in Cree territory or to be in possession of the caribou meat, he said.
According to a statement issued by Quebec's wildlife ministry on Monday, the area in question falls under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, which protects the hunting rights of the Cree, Inuit and Naskapi beneficiaries.
The Labrador Innu Nation is not a beneficiary in the region, the statement said, and so they must comply with Quebec's hunting regulations.
An investigation into the incident is underway, according to Quebec officials.