The issue:
Culling wildlife
We say:
Listen to community
Getting shot by a government wildlife officer is not something people usually have to worry about.
But that was not the case when Dennis Nelner was shot in the leg while sitting in his home in Fort Simpson.
In September of 2019 a call was sent out for an aggressive bear roaming through Fort Simpson. Unidentified officers were dispatched in the community to find and destroy the bear. In the incident that followed, in an attempt to shoot the bear in the middle of the community, a stray bullet went through the a wall and hit Nelner in the right thigh.
Luckily he did not sustain life altering injuries. Nelner described his recovery as good as it was going to get, experiencing some pain if he remains seated for too long.
Since the shooting the wildlife officer who works for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing and charges will not be laid.
This is likely the best outcome for all parties involved as Nelner does not believe there was any bad intent in the incident, but he does believe officers could use some more training before being put into a situation like that.
Four shots were fired in an attempt to subdue the bear. It was the fourth that pierced Nelner's house wall, ricocheted through his kitchen and ended up putting a hole clean through his leg.
Nelner, who grew up hunting and personally knows former wildlife officers, insists that retired ENR officers that still live in the NWT should be hired to conduct at least some training because "that's how traditional knowledge gets passed on."
There is little doubt that ENR does its due diligence in training its officers. Firearms would not be provided to those who did not train to use them.
Spokesperson Darren Campbell even said that the officer in question had recently participated in "internationally led" conservation course which included tactical training.
It's great that the department has the resources to participate in large courses and surely these training sessions look great on a resume, but perhaps Nelner has a point. Would it be more useful for a trainee to get hands-on experience from people who have served in the same communities, who know the terrain and the animals and what to expect when you have to put down said animals?
It would not represent all of the training an officer would need, but there is merit to the idea.
It is also not clear if Nelner has received any monetary compensation for the incident, but what he surely has not received is an apology for the ordeal. Instead he has government officials berating him for questioning the training officers received.
ENR spokesperson Joslyn Oosenbrug wrote to News/North saying "to infer a connection between Mr. Nelner's own experience using firearms and his knowledge of ENR's training and firearms procedures, or the training and experience of the particular officer involved in the incident in question, is irresponsible and misleading."
After being shot in his home, it is more than fair comment for Nelner to question whether the officer who fired four shots in close proximity to the community received the right training, or to question whether the correct officer responded to the call.
For ENR to publicly apologize to Nelner would be an admission of guilt, which is likely what it is trying to avoid for legal reasons. But it would be right thing to do.
Attempting to control the narrative and not owning up to a truly unfortunate accident is not the most effective way of instilling confidence in the communities.
Taking the time to listen and learn from those affected and those who have experience on that land would be a start.