Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Wildlife Act was recently passed by this House after many years of effort, but it left many of the tough decisions to regulations, which must be developed for implementation of the law.
Can the Minister of the Environment provide an update on the development of these regulations to date? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister of ENR, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was a preliminary meeting held in mid-January of the working group to look at what needed to be done, what regulations are required for the Wildlife Act to come into effect, what regulations may take longer and what regulations may not be required. That work is underway and the next formal meeting is going to be near the end of March. In the interim, as well, we intend to work out the process to engage with the stakeholders and Wildlife Act Advisory Group on the work that’s been done on regulations, and my intent is to meet the timelines and have the Wildlife Act ready to come into force within the year since it was given assent. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister. I’m glad to hear we’re off to a start here. A large part of the reason it took so many years to revise the Wildlife Act was that people did not feel they were included in the early rounds of discussions.
Can the Minister outline the approach we will be taking to ensure that everyone will be included in the development of the new regulations – and so far the people I’m talking to are not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling there – and how committee will be included in this work? Mahsi.
The intent is to use the same process that we had developed, maybe with some modifications since the type of work is a little different, but the same intent that we had when we engaged with the Aboriginal governments, the Wildlife Act Working Group and then, as well, with stakeholders, the Wildlife Act Advisory Group to make sure we get the full range of input as we lay out and do the work in terms of the regulations. We will, of course, be prepared to provide regular updates with committee whenever they would like to have that feedback and opportunity to have input. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister again. I’m not aware of any briefings to committee on this, or any offer, but I appreciate that offer now. This House, I believe, is on record on wanting input into the development of regulations for this act and also the Heritage Fund Act.
How has the Minister started work on this approach and what groups have been contacted so far? Mahsi.
Thank you. As I indicated, there was a very preliminary meeting held in mid-January with the Wildlife Act Working Group. They’re working out the work plan, they’re looking at the regulations, the extent of the regulations, what regulations need to be done, what regulations are currently in place that are fine as they are and what regulations may require more work, they’re laying out that work plan. We’re laying out how we can best engage. Part of that work is being done as well. So right now the initial focus is on making sure we have that process nailed down. Thank you.
Again, the Minister referring to the working group doesn’t tell me exactly what groups are being contacted there. Perhaps he could provide that information. I just note that in developing the Wildlife Act we recognized that our desire to carefully manage wildlife through accurate reporting of how many animals were harvested was perceived as a barrier to hunting by Aboriginal people, especially elders. We left that issue unresolved, but, if anything, the need for accurate harvest estimates has become even more extreme, as the Minister has stated himself.
What is the Minister’s approach to this as the regulations are developed? Mahsi.
The make-up of the Wildlife Act Working Group is there for review. It contains and involves the Aboriginal governments and their representatives, the GNWT, the stakeholders, Wildlife Act Advisory Group as well as a membership that was in place prior to the start of the regulatory development. We’re looking at engaging those two bodies again.
One of the challenges that is on the table, as the Member has pointed out, is an understanding reflected in regulations that’s going to require mandatory reporting so that we can collectively manage the wildlife in the Northwest Territories, because you can’t manage what you can’t count, as the Member has often said and I have concurred with. That is going to be one of the expectations coming forward, that we’re going to come up with a meeting of the minds on how that is going to get reflected in regulations so that it is applicable across the board so that we can all have that same information and all the concerned parties, all the public co-management boards, Aboriginal governments, everybody knows and agrees with the rules and the need to have that critical information. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
