Debates of October 24, 2006 (day 14)

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I’d just like to talk about this government’s Barren Ground Caribou Management Strategy for the Northwest Territories rolled out earlier this year. The five key components of this strategy focus on, one, engaging partners; two, ensuring appropriate information is available for management decisions; three, managing impacts of human activities; four, informing the public about their role in this management scheme; and five, addressing hardships. Of course the success of this strategy rests on everyone’s participation and input.

Mr. Speaker, the one strategy component that I would like to get more information on is the fifth component related to addressing hardships. Winter’s coming and I feel that this is where our declining numbers of caribou really become important, and the hardships because of that will become very evident in many of our small remote communities in the NWT where cash is scarce, rent is high, and the cost of living is rising every day.

Mr. Speaker, these hardships are already being felt by local hunters and providers with increases in fuel prices and the need to travel further out on the land to find the main meat source. Later on today I will be asking the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources if the department has any information available to northerners, especially those who rely heavily on caribou, about how this government is planning to help them and at what cost. I will be asking these and other questions, Mr. Speaker, because this information is listed in the strategy document as TBD -- To Be Determined. I want to know what we have determined to date. Thank you.

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