Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today the Honourable J. Michael Miltenberger, Minister of Environment, talked about an update on the barren ground caribou management and a particular question that’s come regularly from the constituency is the outfitter problem. We can see significant growth in the population of the herds. I’d like to ask the Minister of ENR when the outfitters can expect to get back into the business of providing outfitting opportunities. Because the caribou setback and moratorium had done considerable damage to the reputation of the North, and certainly these outfitters are bleeding when it comes to financial support, because they have had to shut their lodges down. When can the Minister of ENR expect to lift the ban so these folks can get back to business?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I tried to indicate in my Minister’s statement this afternoon, once the surveys are done and the information has been collated, we will share that information with the co-management boards. We will share it with the stakeholders and the public. At that time we will be able to see what the information tells us and if we, in fact, have room to move in terms of adjusting any of the restrictions. Thank you.
That still leaves the outstanding question as to when can we expect that type of result to be publicly delivered. These outfitters are sitting, waiting patiently. Their outfitting lodges are in mothballs. You know, they still have to pay the mortgages and they’re sitting there without any revenue. They’ve been sitting patiently a long time as partners to this problem. When can we expect that type of answer to be delivered?
In the fall of 2012, once the work has been done and the results are before us, we’ll make sure we collectively look at that information and make that determination. Thank you.
If we’re waiting until the fall into 2012, which is obviously still good. I mean, it’s good to hear that we’re going in the right direction, how are we supposed to work with the ITI counterparts about getting out there, from an outfitter point of view, of selling some of these packages? Is there any way to work early with these outfitters and draw some early indications so they can actually get out there, sell their packages and get back to business, which, by the way, brings a lot of money into our economy? Thank you.
It’s only with the most current information before us that we’ll be able to sit down in the fall and determine whether there is an ability to re-examine the current limitations and make any adjustments that may be appropriate, based on that information. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
