Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Gary Anandasangaree has formally apologized to Inuit in Nunavik for the federal government's role in the mass killing of sled dogs in the region in the 1950s and 1960s.

"They had no more means of going out on the land, to go hunt, to fish..." Ottawa apologized for its role in the slaughter of Inuit sled dogs and announced $45M in compensation.

Thousands of sled dogs were shot by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and other authorities in Inuit settlements from the mid-1950s onwards, said Pita Aatami, President of Makivvik, the organization representing Quebec's Inuit.

Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Gary Anandasangaree delivered the apology in Nunavik, in northern Quebec province.

A 2010 report from found Quebec provincial police officers killed more than 1,000 dogs in Nunavik ‘without any consideration for their importance to Inuit families’

Inuit spoke about how much they depended on their sled dogs, and how much they lost when over 1,000 dogs were slaughtered by police in the 1950s and 1960s. For some, a formal apology from the Canadian government has brought a sense of closure and a glimpse of the path forward.