Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today I'm doing it on caribou. Tlicho people have lived with caribou since the beginning of time. Traditionally when the caribou moved, Tlicho people followed. They would move from their settlement area to the barren lands to follow the path of the caribou. The meat would be harvested, the hide tanned, the bone marrow boiled, and other bones used for tools. Every part of the caribou was used and an important part of the Tlicho way of life. Today, Madam Speaker, we know the relationship with caribou is changing because the numbers of the herd continue to decline, and a ban is in place to protect the caribou for future generations.
There is a concern about this due to conflicting information regarding caribou herds. The herds of the caribou that we heard of. Accordingly when the ban was in force, Tlicho people were told the ban would be for three months in 2010. It is now 2021 and the number of herds reported is still low. The ban has been place for over ten years.
Madam Speaker, there is concern that people who have always relied on caribou to survive are being separated from their traditional way of life. People identify themselves by their relationship to caribou. The current state of the herd and the ban on hunting impacts Tlicho way of life. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has a lot of ontheland programs to support families to get out on the land. I recognize the department's efforts to support healthy relationships with the land. But, Madam Speaker, it is very difficult for Tlicho people to live as they always have since the herd is not easily accessible. Thank you, and I will have questions for the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
Member’s Statement on
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, there is one issue that I have tried resolving off the floor of the House. But today, I have not had sufficient responses on. Perhaps here I can get some clearer answers. The issue is about a position within the Northwest Territories Power Corporation which used to exist but has since been changed or terminated. That position is the regional South Slave superintendent.
Madam Speaker, I have tried asking now two separate Ministers of NCPC to reinstate the South Slave superintendent position at the Fort Smith NCPC office. The last Minister told me that this position never even existed in Fort Smith or in any other of their regional offices. Well, that's odd, Madam Speaker, because I know a Fort Smith resident who is a former employee of NCPC whose title was superintendent and he worked there for nearly 20 years.
Madam Speaker, I asked oral questions about this on March 30th, 2021, but the Minister did not have any substantive answers. I have also sent emails January 25th, April 19th, and on May 10th, all of which went unanswered providing no responses at all.
Madam Speaker, I am asking that this position be reinstated and be based in Fort Smith just as it had been one time before. This might seem like a little thing to some people, but this position is important to Fort Smith. In fact, the entire Fort Smith leadership agrees with that and stated that to the Minister when she visited in March earlier this year. Especially with the expansion of the Taltson Dam underway, a position like will be beneficial with the undertaking of this project, particularly because the largest hydro dam in the NWT is in the Thebacha region. Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted
Lastly, Madam Speaker, I do not agree with the current management and reporting structure within the regional office of the NCPC. It is counter to regional decisionmaking authority. Also, it is not okay that all or most of the reporting of NCPC in the South Slave region began to be based out of Fort Simpson. The department has denied that but people have told me that, and there are other ways to avoid duplication of jobs too, since that was another excuse that the government has used to avoid reinstating this position and its former are reporting structure. I will have questions for the Minister responsible for NCPC later today. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
