Michael Miltenberger

Tonight, at the rise of the House, I think at seven o’clock, there’s a big public meeting over at the Explorer in the Katimavik Room, sponsored by the Dene Nation. That will be our next event as it relates to caribou. We have our folks on the lines with the Yellowknives or trying to get hold of the Yellowknives to see what their thoughts are on the offers that are on the table. Thank you.

We did get it right. We made, I believe, the necessary decision to protect the Bathurst caribou herd during this time when they are in great need of our support. They need to be able to recover and we need to come up with a longer term plan. So we did come up and make the right decision. We are committed to continuing to work with the Yellowknives on accommodation and that process is still underway. Thank you.

All the consultation we do, and have done, and will continue to do, is considered meaningful. In this particular instance there was a compressed time frame. The circumstances were such that we did the consultation that we were able to in the circumstances and had to proceed with a decision, because it was considered to be an emergency conservation issue.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Northern history stretches back over thousands of years, a rich and full history. Through that history, rich and full as it is, the caribou and the aboriginal people march over time, over the centuries linked together, as my colleague Mr. Lafferty indicated. It is very critical that we recognize that fact. As a government, we are aware of that link, of the need to respect that and we intend to do that, but there has never been a time in the past as there is right now where the pressures on caribou, on this Bathurst herd, are so great. The caribou need our help. We have...

Mr. Speaker, late September we had a press conference over here in the meeting room when we had the results that came in from all the work that has been going on doing the herd census. At that point we indicated at the table with the grand chief of the Tlicho as well as the national chief for the Dene Nation, the Tlicho chiefs, and we raised the issue and put the numbers on the table, that this herd was in critical condition, that by the end of December 31st, we had to come up with some clear measures that we are going to protect the herd to allow them to survive. The plan was to have the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the challenges for this part of the country is there is no harvest management plan for the Bathurst herd. We know that back in 2006, when the numbers were about 100,000 to 120,000, the red flags were raised. Three years later, we’re down to around 30,000 animals. We are now in what I would call the red zone. There is a requirement for constructive action, which we have taken. We recognize the need to accommodate that. We have done that. We recognize there’s an impact on businesses. ITI is working with that. There are funds in the budget to help...

With the Tlicho, my understanding is that they’ve had at least two, if not more, successful community hunts already outside the no-hunting zone. We’ve worked with the communities. We’ve gone out. They’ve harvested caribou. We’ve assisted them. They’ve brought the caribou back to the communities to be passed out to all the members and it’s been a very successful, cooperative process. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have offered some suggestions and alternatives to the Yellowknives. We’ve also taken the liberty of doing a survey through the Chief Drygeese territory to see what animals, what caribou may be available outside of the no-hunting zone. That work has been done. We are committed, when they get to us, to see where we can go and try to find that common ground. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member has basically listed the enabling legislation and subsequent authorities that we have used. The Northwest Territories Act, of course, is what gives us the ability to sit here in this forum to do the work of the people of the Northwest Territories. We have worked, and are working long and hard, to take over the decisions collectively as Northerners for the land and resources. Wildlife is one of the jurisdictions that we have authority over, as Minister Strahl confirmed when he was here last week. So the Northwest Territories Act and the Wildlife Act. Thank you...

Mr. Speaker, what is currently being discussed are specific proposals, suggestions, options in terms of moving forward to deal with the issue of the right to harvest, keeping in mind the broader and fundamental need to protect the herd over the course of this hunting season so that we can engage, through the Wekeezhii process and further consultation with the Yellowknives, the Tlicho, the Northwest Territories Metis, about a longer term harvest management plan for the Bathurst or the Ahiak or the Bluenose-East which is going to be, as I indicated, a very complex undertaking. Thank you.