Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today in my Member’s statement I mentioned the increased need for physical intervention to provide safety to both motorists and bison on our NWT highways. Admittedly the Department of ENR in conjunction with the Department of Transportation have done a relatively good job under the Wood Bison Management Strategy, with harvest strategies, deterrence measures, communication and improved signage. However, it is very clear that it is not enough, given the unique circumstances and increased migration of bison onto our highway corridor. Can the Minister of ENR indicate what’s been taking place behind the scenes with his department that would address a more forward thinking of bison and motorist safety on our NWT roads?
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The list that the Member outlined I think is fairly progressive and it’s reflected in the number of collisions that ENR has in their database. There’s been a steady decline since 2009. There’s 17 collisions in 2009, six in 2010, five in 2011, none so far in 2012. I think the work is paying off and the ultimate responsibility, of course, for the control and care of the vehicle is that of the driver and making sure they drive appropriately given the conditions on the road, be it the condition of the road itself and if there are animals in the vicinity. Not just bison, there could be moose as well. I would point out that there’s a far greater chance of suffering any kind of injury or fatality by hitting a moose than there is a bison.
It was impressive today to hear some statistics. Unfortunately, if one is looking under the website under the Drive Alive program and bison awareness, the most recent statistics posted are somewhat dated. In fact, the last entries indicate only 2007 numbers in which 18 wood bison were killed by vehicle collisions. Given this information here, can the Minister indicate as to when the proper information that we just heard in the House will be posted on the website for update?
The officials are listening as we speak and we’ll make sure that this information that I have before me is there for the public as well.
I guess the question today is not so much the probability of hitting a moose; the hot topic today is bison. I believe there is obviously a need for it. Anyone who is driving these roads, as I said earlier, it’s not a when, the imminence is there. There is no doubt. Given the need for a physical intervention, as I mentioned earlier, potential electronic tagging or reflective tagging to alert motorists of imminent bison danger, would this Minister and his department consider working with Regular Members, with industry leaders of reflective technology, the scientific community, and of course Aboriginal leaders to draft a business case that would allow real employment in the region, real-time herd management, and of course motorist safety in the region.
The accidents involving bison are on a fairly significant decline, it would appear, because of the concerns that have been voiced over the years and the efforts that have been made to inform the public, to educate them, to do some of the signage issues, the increased hunting, the tags, which I think has been a great deterrent to bison hanging around the roads. The worst time of the year is October as things get dark and people still drive at speeds that they do in the summer and often get surprised. I also understand, as well, that bison don’t, unlike other animals, turn into the approaching lights but tend to keep sideways, minimizing whatever benefit would be there from reflective tags. The other big issue is, especially with bulls, during rutting season tags tend to get torn off and all that work is in vain, as it were, so that the cost is great and the benefit seems to be minimal for that particular type of approach.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d have to disagree with the Minister on this one here. Studies in Colorado and BC are actually telling quite the opposite story with reflective technology and I would encourage the Minister and his department to do some research in that area. I hope that at the end of the day we’re talking about public safety and it only requires one incident here, and we’re trying to prevent that one incident.
Again, my last and final question to the Minister is: How and when would the Minister consider such a strategy to be implemented within the life of the 17th Assembly?
I’ll ask the officials in ENR to take a look to see what other studies have said. Clearly the numbers don’t bear out the type of investment the Member would seem to want and the risk to public safety, I would once again submit, is greater if you’re driving the highways in the North, especially towards the southern part where there’s moose, of hitting a moose where there has clearly been fatalities that I’m aware of both in the North and in the South. Once again, the ultimate responsibility of the vehicle is under the control of the driver and the driver has every responsibility to exercise due care and caution.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
