Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions as well today are addressed to the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources and I want to follow up on my statement.
I mentioned a number of concerns that I’ve heard from constituents with regard to the draft Wildlife Act. I’d like to ask the Minister first off, he mentioned, I believe it was last week, that he was on draft number 54 of the act. I’d like to know what draft number we’re on now, and as a result of that, what changes have been made to the draft act as a direct result of concerns expressed during the consultation process. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we’re about draft 56, and I have a list here, Mr. Speaker, it’s a request for technical detail. The committee was fully briefed; the Member was fully briefed last week. We gave a good overview of the changes that have been made and there are numerous, and in an attempt to be as responsive as possible and still maintain the integrity of the bill. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate that at least we’ve made some changes since last week. That’s a good thing, but I am concerned that the people that made submissions, the people that have concerns... For instance, I heard concerns from air carriers, I heard concerns from individuals, I heard concerns from organizations. How will those people and their questions be advised of the changes that have occurred to date? How will their questions which they posed during the consultation process be answered, and how will that information and the answers to all these questions and concerns also be made available to the public? Thank you.
Thank you. As I’ve indicated in this House previously, the proof will be in the pudding, as it were, as we come forward with a draft or the bill for first and second reading that will lay out the result of all that work, all the many iterations, the improvements, amendments and adjustments that have been made and are currently being finalized so that that fact can happen. Thank you.
To the Minister, I appreciate that the changes will be made in the act and that the act will come forward, but at the consultations that I attended there were specific questions from individuals and organizations and there were assurances to those people and those organizations that their questions would be answered, that they would be advised of answers to their questions. So again I ask the Minister, will people be answered? Will the questions that people asked be answered not in the act but in a letter, in an e-mail? We owe it to the people that made presentations and asked questions to give them an answer. So will that be done in a concrete manner apart from the act? Thank you.
Thank you. I’ll talk to the department about a concrete response outside of the act.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that the Minister is willing to talk to his department. That’s always a good thing. I would like to know from the Minister if he expects that this will be a public document or will it be an individual response to the people who asked the questions. I think, in my mind, the public is also owed these answers, not just individuals. When can we see this?
If there were public meetings, we’ll have to see the best forum to respond. There were public meetings held in every community. As well, there have been e-mails and representations by individual groups and individuals themselves. We’ll have to see what the most effective way is to publicize this. Unless the Member is suggesting somehow that we do a blanket response to everybody and maybe publish in the paper or some such thing, I’m not sure what the Member has in mind.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
