Robert C. McLeod

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents entitled "Northern Employee Benefits Services (NEBS) Pension Plan Annual Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2016," "2016-2017 63rd Annual Report of the Northwest Territories Liquor Commission," and "Northwest Territories Liquor Licensing Board 63rd Annual Report 2016-2017."

We try to work with the federal government, but, ultimately, the federal government will decide if a species is at risk, and then we will work with them plus our Aboriginal governments across the Northwest Territories to see how best we can mitigate the effects on the species that have been identified.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with the species at risk, the caribou, there is a committee called the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, and they make recommendations on species at risk. We work with them to try to come up with a territorial plan as to how we can implement that or what steps we need to take to have the protection of the caribou.

There will be some impact on Aboriginal hunters or Indigenous harvesters, but we have actually just gone through a plan that we are bringing to Cabinet in the next Cabinet meeting, and then I will share that with the Regular Members. Thank...

We rely a lot on traditional knowledge, and I can assure the Members of this House that there is extensive consultation with the Aboriginal governments. On the caribou, for example, we had sent out a number of requests. We got, I think, 147 responses back through various stakeholders, including the Aboriginal governments, so there is an opportunity there for them to have their input as we put our plan together as to how we are going to mitigate the fact that the federal government determines the species at risk. We work closely with the Aboriginal governments.

I have to give a shout-out to many...

In addition to the committee that I mentioned before, we do have a Species at Risk Committee within the Government of Northwest Territories, and we are close to them. If the federal committee decides that a species is at risk, then our Species at Risk Committee would have to determine how we would come up with a plan to protect the species that have been identified. I believe we have a representative who is on the federal committee, too, but I will confirm that and let the Member know.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Northwest Territories Species at Risk Committee Annual Report 2016-2017" and "Conference of Management Authorities Species at Risk Annual Report 2016-2017." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have had those discussions with the federal Minister of Fisheries, and we have raised the concern about the number of fisheries officers. They are more concerned with, through the devolution agreement, putting responsibility for fisheries on the GNWT as part of the devolution. We are continuing to have those discussions, and we have raised it with them, but their concern is possibly giving the NWT the responsibility for fisheries.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure of the exact number of DFO officers there are hired by the federal government, but I will gather that information and share it with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As far as the timeline goes, I am not sure. I will find out. We continue to have discussions with our counterparts in Ottawa. I think water, we already have. I think the discussion was more around the fisheries part of it. We will continue to have those discussions with the federal Minister of Fisheries. Also, on the ENR side, I do have a PT coming up, I think, in the beginning of November, and there might be an opportunity there to have those discussions, as well. We will continue our discussions with the federal Minister, and I take the Member's point about devolve and evolve. That is...

The Member, I think, raised a couple of questions there. He was talking about the fishing industry, and then the question was about protecting the waters of the NWT. Protecting the waters of the NWT, we obviously have a water strategy that we are working on. As far as the fishing goes, I mean, again, that is a federal responsibility. We have been listening to some of the outfitters on their concerns with sport fishing, so we have had those discussions with the federal Minister.