Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to talk about an issue that was on CBC this morning that I feel will be coming up more regularly in the future and should be addressed by this government.

Mr. Speaker, I am referring to the government’s hunting and harvesting regulation and the penalties for meat wastage. I don’t believe the current penalties are sufficient and I would like to see more monitoring and policing of our highways and hunting areas by our renewable resource officers.

Hear! Hear!

Robert Villeneuve

Tu Nedhe

With regret to similar situations, Mr. Speaker, which have taken place in the Akaitcho Territory in 2002 that included a DIAND official, the penalties imposed or lack thereof, this type of hunting practice will only worsen and does not reflect traditional values which we are all trying to teach our children.

When violators know that our justice system does not effectively deal with infractions and people know they can get away with this type of practice, it will only continue. If a judgment had been made that was deemed fair and just, and a message to the public was made that this practice was totally unacceptable no matter who you are and who you work for, the number of incidents would be minimized and people would think twice about wasting meat or breaking traditional laws.

Mr. Speaker, I realize that it is one thing to get charged for such disrespect for wildlife through our justice system, but people have to get caught in order for our justice system to deal with the infractions. This increased pressure on our renewable resource officers to ensure proper monitoring and practices are adhered to by the public is something that this government should support by way of increasing the number of officers to carry out this function on a 24-hour basis. The migration of caribou being close to the city is something that does not happen annually or for extended periods, so the extra workload or costs associated with ensuring public safety for motorists and residents along the Ingraham Trail should not be jeopardized by government budget restraints. Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development about this issue during the question period later today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause