In letter to PM, Nunavut premier said Parks Canada took Franklin artifacts without permission

In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last fall, Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna accused Parks Canada of taking artifacts from Sir John Franklin's lost ship HMS Erebus without permission, saying they belonged to the Nunavut government and the Inuit Heritage Trust.

• Inuit press claim for co-ownership of Franklin artifacts.
• Parks Canada juggles competing claims to Franklin shipwrecks

The wreck of HMS Erebus was discovered in September 2014, after years of searching. It is one of Sir John Franklin's ships from his 1845 expedition to find a route from the Atlantic Ocean to Asia through the Northwest Passage. HMS Erebus and HMS Terror became trapped in ice, and were later abandoned near Victoria Strait.

• Franklin expedition ship found in Arctic ID'd as HMS Erebus
• Sir John Franklin's long-lost HMS Terror believed found

Taptuna's letter, first obtained by the Ottawa Citizen, comes to light just before the first exhibit of artifacts from HMS Erebus opens at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. When Death in the Ice: The Shocking Story of Franklin's Final Expedition opens Friday, it will display up to 28 objects collected from HMS Erebus after its discovery, including the most well-known artifact, the ship's bell.

The letter is dated Sept. 26, 2016, the same day a shipwreck found off the shores of Nunavut's King William Island was confirmed as HMS Terror. It opens with Taptuna announcing his pleasure at the discovery. 

It also notes that the Erebus artifacts were taken by Parks Canada, even though they belong to the Nunavut government and Inuit Heritage Trust.   

"The wrecks are in Nunavut and the GN has regulatory authority over them," wrote Taptuna, arguing that the "waters between the islands in the Nunavut archipelago constitute internal water [of Nunavut]."

According to the Nunavut Agreement, the territorial government and Inuit Heritage Trust "jointly own all archaeological specimens that are found within the Nunavut Settlement Area (including marine areas), except specimens found on private property, or within areas administered by Parks Canada."

In an email to CBC, Parks Canada said that the agency "did not remove any artifacts from the wreck of HMS Erebus without permission."

"As the lead organization for the search efforts in 2014, Parks Canada obtained the necessary archaeological permits from the Government of Nunavut that allowed for the removal of artifacts should either wreck be discovered," the email reads.

"The bell's retrieval was done based on the archaeological permit provided to Parks Canada and the Government of Nunavut was consulted prior to the bell's excavation."

'Haphazard' search for Terror

The finding of the HMS Terror uncovered a strained relationship between Parks Canada and the Arctic Research Foundation around a communication plan and permits.

• HMS Terror find under review over permit issue

In the letter, Taptuna mentions the uncovering of HMS Terror "seems to have been outside the area subject to the permit."

"The finding of the HMS Terror to have been haphazard and not within the scope of the permits granted or the agreed to search parameters."