In 1979 the plaintiffs, the Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Association and the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITK) in "Hamlet of Baker Lake v. Minister of Indian Affairs", took the Canadian federal government to court for giving exploration licenses to mining companies in areas where the Inuit hunt caribou. Judge Mahoney of the Federal Court of Canada, recognized the existence of Aboriginal Title in Nunavut.The plaintiffs, which included the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITK) were concerned that "government-licensed exploration companies were interfering with their aboriginal rights, specifically, their right to hunt caribou."