Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on the questions about the outfitters, I think one of the integrated regulatory boards that we seemed to have missed here or, basically, I just noted, is the green resource boards in the Gwich’in Settlement Area and the Sahtu. We have a regulatory system that’s changed the management of wildlife and the regulatory boards that we established under the land claim agreements. I’d just like to ask the Minister exactly what is the role of the boards when it comes to outfitter licence? Because under the land claim agreements it specifically states that they would be an instrument for wildlife management in the settlement areas where the boards shall have the following powers: to establish the policies and report regulations in respect to harvesting of wildlife by any person, and it also lists under three commercial activities relating to wildlife, including commercial establishment of facilities, commercial harvesting, and then it also goes on to B, which is guiding and outfitting services. So under the land claim agreements, the boards have responsibilities in that general area.
So in light of the situation that happened between the Gwich’in and the Sahtu regions where you have two regions where an outfitter licence overlaps, you have two boards which overlap, I’d like to ask the Minister what role do the renewable resource councils play in the decision of acquiring a licence and also overseeing those licences?
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re talking a situation that involves dual jurisdictions, it involves conflicting rights of first refusal. I’ve indicated in this House that we’ve initiated a process within the Government of the Northwest Territories, with the aboriginal governments, with the management boards and stakeholders over the coming months to look at this whole issue in relation to how we do business, our obligations under the land claims and the roles of the boards that are creatures of those land claims, and we expect to have, hopefully, a resolution to that in the coming months. Thank you.
If the Minister is serious about resolving this issue and where the dispute is between authorities and jurisdictions and, more importantly, an outfitter, I’d like to ask the Minister if he’s willing to facilitate a meeting between the different regions, the renewable resource councils, the aboriginal organizations, to talk about this particular matter and try to find ways to resolve this issue from happening in the future by having a meeting sooner than waiting a couple months down the road and coordinate a meeting within the next couple of weeks.
Work is underway to get this process going, recognizing the complexity of the situation and the circumstances, the two land claims, different jurisdictions, a number of questions to be resolved in relation to aboriginal governments, management boards, the full role of the GNWT. We started this process, we just anticipate that the discussions may take some time, but we are on this one already.
Not even close to giving me an answer. Again, the question is: will the Minister intervene and try to coordinate a meeting between the parties with regard to the renewable resource councils and the aboriginal organizations to discuss this issue with regard to the outfitters between the Sahtu, the Gwich’in and to find resolutions to this problem going forward?
I have been involved in this issue since we first became aware of it. We’ve had discussions with the deputy and we’ve agreed on a course of action. The deputy, the most senior official in the Department of Natural Resources, is on this issue. We are getting the folks to the table and we are going to have this resolved hopefully through the process I have been talking about in this House today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister have a date for this particular meeting and can he keep myself and the Member for the Sahtu in the process going forward? Does he have a time for the prescribed meeting? Thank you.
Yes, we will keep the Member for Mackenzie Delta and the Member for Sahtu fully informed. As well, I will get to them a timeline and a work plan of what is being planned in terms of the meetings required to resolve this issue. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
