Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Environment. It is in regard to my Member’s statement. The land claim agreements that have been settled have established an instrument for implementing regulatory bodies, whether it is land and water boards or environmental assessment review boards or management boards such as the wildlife boards to deal with wildlife and forestry. These boards play a fundamental role in regard to ensuring that conservation measures and the management of wildlife is done in such a way that it’s managed through a system, regardless if it’s regional bodies or a joint arrangement of bodies, regardless if it’s dealing with different herds. I’d just like to ask the Minister, knowing that the Bluenose-West herd was an issue in which the Sahtu, the Gwich’in and the Inuvialuit formulated a system that they all got together, they had public meetings, they had workshops, they were able to come up with some sort of a conservation plan, and they made recommendations to the Minister to consider those recommendations, then basically, once the Minister received those recommendations, then it was acted upon by the government. That was the process that I thought was in place to deal with this, but in regard to the Wek’eezhii board, it seemed like they haven’t really started the consultation process and haven’t been able to come up with a conservation plan that’s workable for them. So I’d just like to ask the Minister exactly when are these boards going to be able to have the authority that was given to them and be able to act on that authority before the Minister makes the decisions, which basically, in most cases, it’s a decision after the board recommends something forward to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First, I’d like to thank the Member for his recitation of the history of the co-management process and the support for that process which we, in fact, share. The Wek’eezhii process is in its first stages of getting up and running. In March they’re going to start hearing from interveners. The plan is to have a process agreement in place by the next hunting season. We have to deal with the Wek’eezhii process. We also have to engage and work with the Akaitcho and the Northwest Territories Metis so that we have a Bathurst management plan at the end of the day, similar to what the Member has talked about that took place between the Inuvialuit, the Gwich’in and the Sahtu. The big challenge, of course, in the North Slave is that the Tlicho Government is set. They had their lawmaking authorities clear, the mandate is clear. With the Akaitcho and the Northwest Territories Metis, it’s unsettled claims area and we have to navigate our way through those waters. But the intent is to have a plan in place before the start of the next hunting season. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in regard to the Minister’s response, I believe the key word here is “conservation” and, more importantly, consultation and ensuring that the mechanisms that we use is a formal process, regardless to boards having some authorities, boards ensuring public input and boards ensuring that at the end of it all there will be some sort of a conservation measure recommended to the Minister. I think that’s the piece that we’re still waiting for. I know you mentioned that they’re hoping to have it by next fall. I’d like to ask the Minister exactly when will the conservation plan be, hopefully, on your desk so that you can formally either adapt it or suggest recommendations for change so that the process is not done independent by your department, it’s done unilaterally, the information being provided by those boards to yourself, as Minister and before it’s implemented it has to be agreed to by the parties. Thank you.
The intent, as I have indicated, is prior to the start of next hunting season, is to have an agreement that the Wek’eezhii process will hopefully be complete. As well, that we will have had a chance to have a broader discussion, both with the Tlicho, the Akaitcho and the Northwest Territories Metis as well as other stakeholders, about a Bathurst management plan that covers the whole range of the Bathurst and the North Slave. It’s going to be a challenging process, but that’s the date that we’re working towards. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, one of the main components of the agreement also talks about needs levels and conservation levels that is basically sustainable for community harvests so that it can sustain the herd on some means of harvesting. I know that they did that in regard to the Bluenose-West herd where they allowed communities tags, where the communities give out those tags to people that want to go harvest a certain species. I think it’s 25 tags per community, so the communities are able still able to sustain that. I’d like to ask the Minister in regard to the issue of needs levels for community sustainable harvests, where does that fit in regard to the decision of agreeing to a conservation plan?
As the Member indicated, that’s a key component of the decision-making process. We’re going to continue to do work on all the caribou herds, but we’re going to do work on the Ahiak, the Bluenose-East, we’re going to do some calf surveys on the Bathurst. That information will be part of the consideration that’s going to be looked at by the Wek’eezhii board, it will be looked at as we meet with the Akaitcho and the Metis, and it will be part of the deliberations that will result, hopefully, in the final recommendations for a broad Bathurst management plan. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister if there’s a possibility… I know there was a formal motion passed in this House to request some sort of a regional workshop or conference dealing with the boards in regard to the wildlife management boards so that they can come forward with their ideas on how to find a solution out of this problem that we’re all facing. Like I said, they’re the ones who are on the front-line, they’re the ones who are dealing with the harvesters, they’re dealing with the people in the communities. So I’d like to ask the Minister, has there been a decision made to come forward by some sort of territorial board to deal with this issue in light of the situation that we find ourselves in?
I will just point out for the people that the reality is the one area where there’s some difficulty is in the North Slave area because of the newness of the process in the Tlicho, with the Tlicho Government that’s getting up and mobilized, and the fact that we have unsettled claims adjacent that are part of the Bathurst herd range with the Akaitcho as well as the Northwest Territories Metis, and the need to come up with basically a tailor-made interim arrangement as these claims are settled. The Wek’eezhii process is underway. We’re committed to that process, as well as to a process that’s going to flow from that with the Akaitcho and the Metis. As well, we are in discussions with other co-management board executives and chairs to talk about the need to bring these folks together to look at some of the overlap issues that have come to light across the Northwest Territories as we deal with these caribou issues. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
