MLA Jamie Kablutsiak is raising questions in the Nunavut Legislative Assembly about plans to let Kivalliq Arctic Foods buy up to 800 caribou a year from hunters near Rankin Inlet. He says the commercial harvest is unregulated and could hurt the Qamanirjuaq herd that so many people in the region rely on for food and culture.
At the May 28, 2026 session, Kablutsiak pointed out that the company already gets animals from several communities each winter. “Each winter, Kivalliq Arctic Foods in Rankin Inlet operates a commercial caribou harvest. Annually, the company anticipates purchasing up to 800 animals harvested by hunters from Arviat, Whale Cove, Rankin Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet, and Baker Lake,” he told the Assembly.
The Qamanirjuaq herd is now estimated at about 252,000 caribou. That is down from roughly 496,000 in 1994, a drop of nearly 50 percent. Even so, Environment Minister Brian Koonoo says the herd is still healthy and not considered at risk right now.
But one big worry is timing. The next full government survey of the herd is not set to start until 2029. Kablutsiak asked Koonoo to explain why such an important count is so far off, saying good decisions need up-to-date numbers.
The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board rates the herd’s vulnerability as medium-high. It says the decline seems to be slowing to about two percent a year, but the herd is still shrinking. Meanwhile, Kivalliq Arctic Foods, the only commercially licensed caribou meat seller in Nunavut, runs a federally approved processing plant in Rankin Inlet and buys animals from local hunters.
Caribou is a huge part of life in the Kivalliq. “As we know, caribou is very important to Keewatin. It’s very much part of their culture and diet,” Koonoo said. For now, while the NDC operates under an annual commercial quota, there are no broader territorial rules controlling how many caribou can be commercially harvested, and that has people in Rankin Inlet and other communities worried about whether the herd can handle the extra pressure.
