{"id":588900,"date":"2026-04-07T22:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T22:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/588900\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T22:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T22:08:10","slug":"nti-to-challenge-gun-ban-after-ottawa-rejects-prolonged-inuit-exemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/588900\/","title":{"rendered":"NTI to challenge gun ban after Ottawa rejects prolonged Inuit exemption"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Inuit need rapid-reload rifles for polar bear protection and big-prey hunting, says NTI vice-president Adamie Itorcheak<\/p>\n<p>Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. will continue exploring how to keep some newly banned guns in the hands of hunters, after the federal government rejected a call to prolong an amnesty period for turning these weapons in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sure this will be a continuing file to be looked at by the board,\u201d Adamie Itorcheak, vice-president of NTI, said in an interview about his organization\u2019s next steps.<\/p>\n<p>More than 2,500 makes and models of assault-style weapons are banned under a federal law passed by the Liberal government in May 2020, saying these guns are \u201cdesigned to kill as many people as possible, as quickly as possible\u201d and are not appropriate for sport shooting or hunting.<\/p>\n<p>The law includes an amnesty period for people to turn in their guns as part of a government buyback program. That period ends Oct. 30.<\/p>\n<p>Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. issued a public call on March 26 for the federal government to <a href=\"https:\/\/nunatsiaq.com\/stories\/article\/ottawa-rejects-nti-request-for-inuit-exemption-on-assault-style-weapons-ban\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">prolong the amnesty period<\/a> by five years for Inuit and to use the time to find \u201cevidence-based\u201d alternatives for Inuit to continue to hunt for sustenance and protect themselves from polar bears while on the land.<\/p>\n<p>The federal government rejected that request.<\/p>\n<p>Of particular concern is the Ruger Mini-14, a newly banned semi-automatic rifle that can fire 40 rounds per minute and used regularly by hunters, said Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. spokesperson Hannah Uniuqsaraq in an email.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/nunatsiaq.com\/ads\/260327-legal-services\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"373\" height=\"331\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/260327.100.94-Legal-Services.png\" class=\"no-lazy-load wp-post-image\" title=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is the most popular,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>People need to understand \u201cthe pressures and the stressors\u201d of living in the North, Itorcheak said, pointing to unique circumstances in Arctic day-to-day life.<\/p>\n<p>Inuit need to be able to protect themselves when encountering large predators like polar bears and grizzlies, but also fast predators like wolves, Itorcheak said. Rapid-reload firearms are also useful in big-game hunting like whales and walrus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou need to be able to put it down quickly so that you don\u2019t let it suffer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Itorcheak, 60, started hunting when he was 16 years old. He is also former treasurer-secretary for the Amaruq Hunters and Trappers Association in Iqaluit.<\/p>\n<p>The decision about how to proceed sits with NTI\u2019s board of directors, Itorcheak said. The organization could, for example, reach out to Lori Idlout, the newly minted Liberal MP for Nunavut, for help.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/nunatsiaq.com\/ads\/250404-gn-hiring\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"373\" height=\"331\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/250404.100.86.jpg\" class=\"no-lazy-load wp-post-image\" title=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat avenue will be looked at,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Itorcheak said he would not discuss the possibility of legal action, saying that would be the board\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inuit need rapid-reload rifles for polar bear protection and big-prey hunting, says NTI vice-president Adamie Itorcheak Nunavut Tunngavik&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-588900","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}