Canadian Arctic community wants more polar bear tags

Peter Suvaksiuk said community needs more tags to keep community safe

A resident of Arviat, a predominantly Inuit community in Canada’s eastern Arctic Nunavut territory, is pleading with the Nunavut government to give hunters there more polar bear tags.

Peter Suvaksiuk said the bears are getting bolder, to the point that they are looking into windows of homes and eating caches of dog food.

Suvaksiuk said it’s a serious concern for the community.

“A bear was near one of the windows of our house and some of them are looking into people’s homes. I don’t understand why they are so tame now,” he said in Inuktitut.

The Nunavut government recently introduced a compensation program for repairs to property damaged by polar bears, and assistance in building more bear deterrents.

But Suvaksiuk said the community needs more tags to be able to keep the community safe.

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