Nunavut tourism operator found guilty of violating Nunavut Wildlife Act
Company’s sentencing scheduled for Jan. 23

Justice Paul Rouleau found tourism operator Arctic Kingdom guilty of all four charges it faced under the Nunavut Wildlife Act at the Nunavut Court of Justice on Jan. 21. (File photo)
Nunavut tourism operator Arctic Kingdom has been found guilty of four charges it faced under the Nunavut Wildlife Act.
The Ontario-based company, which has operated in Nunavut for the last 20 years, faced four charges, in the form of tickets, for offering wildlife observation activities without a licence in March 2017, in contravention of section 117 (2) of the Wildlife Act.
Justice Paul Rouleau, an Ontario judge who serves as deputy judge in the Nunavut Court of Justice, stated his decision over the phone at the Nunavut Court of Justice on Monday, Jan. 20.
The company had initially pleaded not guilty, claiming that the wildlife law is too broad and infringes on Section 7 of the Charter of Rights, which guarantees life, liberty and security of the person.
But after a hearing on April 15, 2019, Rouleau dismissed that claim.
The Nunavut Wildlife Act, under a part of the law that’s headed “Commercial and other activities,” states companies need a licence to conduct activities in which wildlife is “the object of interaction, manipulation or close observation, including the making of a film or the provision of an expedition, safari or cruise.”
Arctic Kingdom could face a fine ranging from a minimum of $500 to a maximum of $1 million.
Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 23, at 10 a.m. at the Nunavut Court of Justice.
they don’t give a care. I wish they’d be banned from operating in Nunavut 🙁
I believe, Peter, your comments are legitimate and any other persons who may have cause to give legitimate reasons for complaint should bring them up to the Government of Nunavut.
It is now everywhere that big business will try to override proper procedures so they will get what they want with no ramifications. We are seeing this attitude on the international scale, name entities like Trump, SNC, Baffinland and of course this company where their actions have no consequences even though their have been negative aftereffects. Atii Nunavummiut, keep working to retain a bit of what is still natural out there so our future generations can at least experience what was natural for us growing up.