Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for ENR and are a follow-up to my Member’s statement.
On December 18, 2008, senior representatives of ENR met with some barren-ground caribou outfitters. At that time they told the barren-ground outfitters that for the 2009 hunting season and the 2010 hunting season their tags would not be affected and that 750 tags would be available. As a result, the outfitters went ahead and started booking hunts and collected deposits and whatnot. Then, obviously, the numbers were cut back and there were no tags.
These individuals are in a real financial position having to return the money they have already spent as part of their normal business. I’m curious if the Minister would consider working with these individuals and possibly showing some common sense and respect in this area and work with these individuals to recoup or return some of the money that they’re losing so that they don’t go bankrupt.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a complex issue. ITI looks after the business side of the caribou issue. There are funds available in ITI. I’d be happy to sit down with the Minister of ITI to make sure that we’re putting the funds to the best use possible and to see if there are any avenues that haven’t yet been explored.
I know ITI is doing an awful lot. They’re trying. I have some questions that I’ll ask the Minister on that later. What I’m talking about is the fact that ENR gave bad information, bad advice to residents who relied on that information to their detriment and are now in a negative financial position which might drive them into bankruptcy. They relied on what the government said and they are hurting as a result, because the government changed their mind. I want ENR, who is the department who gave the advice, to work with these individuals and find some common ground, possibly reimbursing them some of the money they’ve lost because of what ENR said, not what ITI said.
We are departments of the same government. We sit at the same Cabinet table. I will follow up on the commitment that I have made to make sure that... I’ll talk to the Minister of ITI, we’ll bring in our staff to make sure that we are doing all the appropriate things possible and if there are any avenues left to explore.
Once again, going to ITI, I’m talking to ENR. I’d like to see ENR live up to the same high standard that the Minister of MACA set when he responded to poor information given out by his department. They turned around and they made it right. I need ENR to make it right in this situation. There is not even an attempt here. I would like the ENR Minister to meet with the outfitters and work with them to come up with a resolution so that these individuals can get some money back as a result of the bad information that the Minister’s staff gave. They are his employees and they were speaking on his behalf.
The Member has made a lot of assertions here, which is his prerogative. I have responded to his request that ENR will take a course of action. I will follow through on that.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
