Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to be able to introduce a constituent and friend from Fort Smith, Mr. Keith Hartery, visiting and contemplating becoming a nursing student to add further to his service in the North. Welcome. Thank you.

If we look at the Bluenose-East, the numbers went from 60 to roughly, our best estimate based on the information we do have in terms of cow/calf recruitment and such, to we think up to 100,000 in a relatively short period of time. The Bathurst, one of the biggest impacts was, of course, the harvest. It’s one of the most heavily populated areas of the Northwest Territories. It was a herd that was used by all the folks around Yellowknife, all the folks in the South Slave, some from Deh Cho. In addition to that, there were clearly some issues with warming temperatures and such that were affecting...

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to update the people of the Northwest Territories on the status of the barren ground caribou and the condition of the various herds.

During this past summer we were able to complete full surveys on the Cape Bathurst, Tuk Peninsula and Bathurst herds. A partial survey of the Bluenose-West herd was also done. Surveys of the Bluenose-East and Porcupine caribou herds could not be done due to weather conditions. Surveys are planned for both these herds next summer.

Preliminary results indicate the Cape Bathurst herd has increased to about 2,400, from 1,900 in...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents, entitled NWT Power Corporation 2012 Annual Report, NWT Hydro Corporation 2012 Annual Report, and List of Interactivity Transfers Exceeding $250,000 for the Period of April 1, 2012, to September 30, 2012. Thank you.

We’re working on this initiative with the communities, the territorial government. We have a lot of interest by a number of very committed NGOs, as well, that are very interested in this whole idea of community-based water monitoring to establish the baseline of information to be able to make the determination in the area that the Member, once again, has raised as a concern that have been brought to him by his constituents.

I’ll commit that we look at all levels of government: municipal, Aboriginal, as well as territorial.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a process based on volume, large organizations, governments, corporations, traditionally go to airlines, in some cases they go to hotels, and they negotiate these types of rates that are accessible and a benefit to folks when they are travelling and in some cases with government, even when you’re just travelling on your own, if you’re an employee you can also use the fact that you’re a government employee. So that’s a negotiated arrangement with the different hotel chains and motel chains in some cases.

In the Northwest Territories we have a process in terms of how we prioritize access to wildlife and caribou in this case that has its basis in the Constitution where we talk about the Aboriginal rights to harvest for Metis, Indian and Inuit people. We have a list. When there are restrictions, Aboriginal subsistence harvest gets protected and we work our way down from commercial harvest to resident harvest, and then the last to be protected at all costs is the Aboriginal subsistence harvest. That is the basis that we have made all our decisions on, and that is what guides us in our decision...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have, in the Northwest Territories, an agreed-to process for the management of wildlife in settled claims. That process is going to be involved with the Bluenose-East and involves the Tlicho, Sahtu and Inuvialuit, which are all public boards. They are going to be working with the department and we’re going to be reviewing those numbers. We’re going to be looking at pressures and going through that process. They will come back to myself as Minister and to the department with their recommendations.

The Member raises a good point. If I could point to the work done by the Porcupine Caribou Management Board where they, over a number of years, came to an agreement on the very issue and process that the Member has so astutely suggested as a way forward, which is to agree on numbers that are triggers to certain kinds of action. If they get low enough it triggers a ban. Once there’s an improvement to a certain number, it triggers certain specific conditions. If it gets healthy enough, then there are no specific harvest restrictions. What has precluded us from doing that is being able to work...