Mr. Speaker, I raise this issue due to the number of people I’ve been talking to in my region around this area here in terms of the importance of aboriginal people having access to their food such as caribou.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve talked to many people who know why it’s very important for us to have this food for our survival. People have said that we’ve been surviving for thousands and thousands of years. Mr. Speaker, actually, I read in a book called “The Alpine Hunters.” There was an ice patch study done in the Mackenzie Mountains that showed evidence from our elders and from scientific data...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, based on the government’s list in terms of consultation, he listed off a bunch of meetings. Mr. Speaker, the Minister has certainly done a lot of meetings. He’s shown me a very impressive list in terms of meetings. However, I believe that, Mr. Speaker, this will not stand up in the Supreme Court of Canada in terms of meaningful consultation. There is one process of doing meaningful consultation. The others tell him this is what we’re going to do and leave it at that. So, again, I ask the Minister in terms of building a relationship with the aboriginal...

Again I would ask the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, in regard to the Dene Nation leadership motion that was passed, did the Minister act on this motion as the leadership wanted some work to be done in regard to the caribou?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with millions of dollars this government couldn’t get right in terms of consultation with the aboriginal governments and the affected caribou hunters in this specific area. I ask the Minister, in terms of his consultation with even, for example, the YK Dene, they haven’t even come close to a deal. Can the Minister indicate to me if this deal is close to a resolution with this issue with the YK Dene?

Within the compressed time frame that the Minister has indicated to his definition of consultation with aboriginal governments, I want to ask the Minister what his definition is of a meaningful consultation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to use my Member’s statement to give my condolence to the Doctor family, Horassi family in Tulita. Over the weekend, we lost a community elder and member in Tulita. On Sunday morning I got a phone call from my brother, saying that a gentleman passed away in Tulita. Another one has left us in their community. I was thinking about the amount of elders that we have lost in the Sahtu region. Mr. Speaker, people like my uncle Adrian Menacho, an older gentleman in Deline that passed away last year, and an older man in Colville Lake Joe Martin Oudzi also passed...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome one of my staff members, Mr. Garth Wallbridge, and also Mr. Ken Young to the gallery. I would also like to welcome and say to my wife how much I certainly love her and I hope to... It’s okay, Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome my wife to the gallery.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to also thank all Members of the House for their thoughts, for their passion, for their analytical thinking in terms of this issue. It’s a very big issue. It’s good that the people of the Northwest Territories hear the peoples’ government talk about a very important species in the North.

Mr. Speaker, the motion that I’ve moved in this House is to consult; consult with each other, consult with the aboriginal governments and show respect to the aboriginal peoples and to the aboriginal governments.

Mr. Speaker, the comments about this animal, you know, thinking...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker,

Whereas caribou have been a source of food and a means of survival for aboriginal people of the NWT since time immemorial;

And Whereas caribou herds migrate across jurisdictions and across international boundaries;

And Whereas the Government of the Northwest Territories has scientific studies that show a decline in caribou herds and deem it an emergency measure under the conservation process to ban all hunting of the Bathurst caribou herd within a specified geographical area;

And Whereas Dene Nation Resolutions #10/11-003 and #09/010-014 propose a means by which all parties...

The motion speaks to a long-term plan with the GNWT on a government-to-government basis in terms of the basis to recognize the inherent right to hunt and the authority in terms of this issue here. Has this government here sat down with the Dene Nation leadership and talked about this issue as the motion dictated in terms of our saying this is what they wanted to do? Has this government done this in terms of answering to this motion that was passed on October 19th to 23rd, 2009?