Shane Thompson

Good question. I trust that they are going to do this. I know that I will be having a meeting with the board when I can fit it into our schedule. They have made a commitment. They have made an oath. They have signed a document saying that they are going to be impartial. They are looking out for what is best for the Northwest Territories. That is what they are there for. We have looked at their skill sets, and that is how we got them in place right now. I am going to trust them moving forward, unless they break that trust, and then, as the Minister, we make some quick decisions after that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I apologize. They are not DMs, but the skill sets that they have are actually helping the board run. Right now, we are filling them in that position until we get the governance model moving forward. We have asked them to come up with a governance model, and we are utilizing their skill sets to do this job. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don't know if I heard the last part of the question, but I am thinking. ENR conducts regular ground and aerial monitoring of the mobile zone, and we do have the two checkpoints there. They are manned 24/7 during the season. I know, from talking to some of the hunters, that the monitors and the staff actually stop people and talk to them and communicate, and some of the times, if they have heard or seen some challenges, they investigate that further.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Caribou are central to our communities as a food source and as part of our local culture and way of life.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, our caribou herds are struggling. In particular, the Bathurst and the Bluenose-East herds have suffered serious declines in recent years.

The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to supporting our caribou through periods of decline. Today I am here to highlight some of the actions that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is leading in our government's efforts to manage human impacts on the Bathurst caribou herd...

The Member raises a valid concern. Again, ENR is in communication with the Government of Alberta and the federal government related to commitments under the transboundary agreements. These include prior notification, sharing of monitoring results, maintaining ecological integrity, cost-sharing arrangements, and staff capacity and engagement. As well, I can tell this House that I'm reaching out to the Minister from Alberta and to the Minister of the federal government responsible for this, and we are trying to work together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Under the Mackenzie River Basin Transboundary Waters Master Agreement, which was signed by the federal government, NWT, Alberta, Yukon, BC, and Saskatchewan in 1997, each party to the agreement maintains the right to manage the use of water resources within its own jurisdictions, providing the ecological integrity of the aquatic ecological system is maintained. The GNWT's position is that upholding this agreement ensures that the commitment of the bilateral agreement with Alberta is adhered to.

I'd like to thank the Member for bringing these up. It's important, and he keeps us on our toes, and I appreciate that. I thank him for these questions here today. The Tlicho Government and the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board are currently working together to develop an adaptive management framework for the Bathurst herd. The Barren-land Caribou Technical Working Group has prepared a draft framework. This framework will help us make decisions by all co-management partners on the Bathurst caribou herd management, including habitat protection. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The government is currently working with our co-management partners to identify high-priority habitats through traditional knowledge workshops with elders and land users. As well, once areas are identified, the government will work with our partners to identify appropriate ways for protection.

This is exactly some of the things we're looking at. We are willing to work with committee. We're trying to understand how we can best serve the people of the Northwest Territories. Right now, I've asked the chair and the board to come up with a governance model to give us some options, and we're willing to work with committee on this as we move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What happened was we had a board, we needed to appoint a number of people so the board could continue, so we did that. In the meantime, deputy ministers, we're using their skill set to run it. They are actually not deputy ministers sitting on the board. They are actually regular people in there working together with the government, with the Power Corporation. The biggest challenge is that we need to look at making a right decision and how we can improve it. Right now, we have to get the board up and running, so we appointed deputy ministers in that role.