Letter to the editor -
Dear editor,
For the third time in two years, we have seen the rampant slaughter of Caribou in Labrador. These hunts according to the Newfoundland and Labrador government are illegal and is endangering a protected herd, and in all cases, the provincial government stands by and does nothing with the excuse, we don't want to put people in danger.
When some wildlife officer did have the guts to charge some hunters and take their truck that was used in the hunt, our government pounced on their own employees and suspended them without pay.
It seems the excuse the Innu is using is that they were born on the land and they have certain rights. I was born on this land. My parents, grandparents and great grandparents were all born on this land, and as far as this government is concerned, I have no rights at all
I cannot purchase or lease a piece of land in the wilderness to park a trailer for the purpose of hunting, fishing or berry picking, or just enjoying nature.
While I am able to purchase or lease a piece of land for a cabin, the rules and regulations will discourage people from applying and the cost is beyond the means of the majority of people of rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
The purpose of this letter is to point out the discrimination that our people have to endure in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, while this government is allowing these illegal hunts to continue and doing nothing. They are sending their officials out in the country and picking on the elderly and widows that have built this great province - people that were doing no harm to the county or the environment, by forcing them to remove their trailers from the wilderness and not providing them any alternative. The people with cabins are given the opportunity to stay but at an exuberant price that many cannot afford
This government wants the Innu from Labrador to stop the hunt and talk, although I made several requests to this government to talk about the trailer/cabin issue, so far they don't want to talk to me, I guess they think it will die down and blow away.
If this government had put as many people up in Labrador to try and stop this hunt as they did out in the wilderness this past year, driving all the people with trailers home and forcing people with cabins to pay penalties and exuberant prices in order to stay, they could have stopped the illegal hunt. They acted like cowards, cowards pick on the weak and the helpless, but run away and hide when faced with confrontations.
(Retired) Capt. Wilfred Bartlett
Brighton, NL
wilfbartlett@hotmail.com
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