Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I find it hard to believe that as a government we still don’t have a firm consultation policy when it comes to dealing with aboriginal governments in our Territory, considering half the population here, Mr. Speaker, is of aboriginal descent.
Mr. Speaker, we have a duty to be fair. Successful consultation must include a process and a decision. Today across this country, governments are actively engaged with aboriginal peoples. This engagement undoubtedly includes a degree of accommodation and mitigation. Our government cannot continue to downplay the importance of inherent treaty rights. Consultation process needs to be fair, reasonable and transparent. I’d like to ask the Minister of ENR: how does the decision to ban all hunting in the North Slave region accommodate the rights of aboriginal harvesters? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there’s the short-term need, because of the precipitous drop in numbers, for the ban. The long-term goal, to affect the rights of all aboriginal harvesters especially going forward into the future, is to make the right decisions now to make sure that there are caribou, in fact, available to be harvested and so that aboriginal people can, in fact, exercise that right to harvest. Thank you.
Other Members have talked about this, but the Sparrow case in British Columbia and the Sparrow test, I wanted to mention this, as well, Mr. Speaker. Is there an existing aboriginal right? Most certainly there is. Under the Sparrow test, does it impose undue hardship? Undoubtedly, it does. Does it prevent the holder of the right from preferred means of exercising that right? Undoubtedly, it does. The Minister’s decision, he says that it was made on the basis of conservation. Now, in that Sparrow test, the government has to recognize a priority for First Nations harvesting. I’m wondering how the government has recognized First Nations as being a priority in harvesting, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
We have a clear priority and we have held to that and we have held to it consistently across the Northwest Territories. There’s no more outfitting. There’s no more commercial harvest. There’s no resident harvest. The only harvest that’s permitted is aboriginal harvest. We’ve indicated that in this one area there’s a need to preserve the herd, but we’ll make an accommodation and we’ll provide the resources to go access and put to use the right to harvest in a carefully controlled circumstance with the Bluenose-East and the Ahiak.
So, Mr. Speaker, we are very aware of our obligation in everything we do and we can point to example after example of how we fully engage in consultation in the past, now, and we’re going to do it in the future. In the case of the caribou, we have done that and we’re going to continue to do that. We have support from the Metis, the Tlicho and we’re going to continue work to resolve the situation with the Yellowknives. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister talks about groups that are onside, but there are groups that aren’t onside, and I know he says we’re working on it. I’d like to ask the Minister today, how exactly is he working on bringing other groups onside with the decision to ban hunting in that area. Also, how is he going to accommodate the treaty right for aboriginal people to harvest caribou in that zone? Thank you.
I want to speak first to the issue of, yes, there are some treaty right implications, but the aboriginal right to harvest, as well, includes those of the Metis, and we are very sensitive to those as well. I met with the Yellowknives last night. We’ve had discussions this morning. I met with the Tlicho acting grand chief today along with Minister Lafferty. There are discussions happening this afternoon. There is active work with the Yellowknives and with the Tlicho to make sure that we can keep moving forward, keeping in mind the primary function and focus of the ban and the purpose of the ban is conservation so that, in fact, for the coming generations there are, in fact, animals to be harvested so that the traditional right and aboriginal right to harvest can, in fact, be put to use. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there were two motions recently passed, one in October of last year and another one late last year, pertaining to caribou by the Dene Nation. I was wondering if the Minister is aware of those two motions that were passed and the fact that they show goodwill on behalf of the aboriginal leaders and governments in this Territory. Why is it that we’re in the predicament that we’re in today? Why couldn’t a solution be found to this situation? The goodwill was out there and now we’re left, again, our credibility is suffering because we cannot come up with a solution to this, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
I think the Member is over-generalizing. That, in fact, if you look, the Inuvialuit, Gwich’in, Sahtu and the Tlicho, the Metis, we have worked through our arrangements with any decisions on wildlife. Where there are settled claims, we have very solid, productive working relationships on very difficult circumstances. In the North Slave, with the Tlicho and the Metis, and we’re working on the Akaitcho. I think the Member, this is a case of where I believe our glass is about 80 percent or 90 percent full, and we’re working on the final 10 percent with the Yellowknives to come to an accommodation. I think we should be celebrating the success we have working with aboriginal governments in a whole host of areas, including co-management boards. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
