Michael Miltenberger

Mr. Speaker, We have a number of… You can look at departmental strategic plans. You can look at the business plan. You can look at the Energy Plan that is in place along with the Greenhouse Gas Strategy, both of which are in the process of being updated to reflect the changes over the last number of years. We have, of course, the work that we’ve pulled together and offered to committee in terms of briefings on the ongoing work of the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee. Thank you.

I’ll restate my answer a little more clearly. The Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee plays that function. It’s comprised of the chair, Minister McLeod, the Premier sits on that, Minister Michael McLeod sits on it, I sit on it, and I believe Minister Robert C. McLeod sits on it as well, and we have some of the senior staff of government as we look at how do we best put into play all the resources we’ve dedicated, as well as making sure we have the appropriate planning processes to best marshal all our forces going forward. Thank you.

I would submit to the Member and to this House that, in fact, this government has a very aggressive, very positive, forward-thinking Traditional Knowledge Strategy. It’s formalized. It applies to all government. ENR has a lead role to play, but it’s involved in all the critical work we do with water, with caribou, with legislation, with education, with health. We have made, and we’re going to continue to make, a strong commitment. We’ve invested money. It’s part of our corporate mentality going forward, and it’s recognized as a very fundamental need. Our science agenda makes very, very clear...

I can point to the two workshops that were held I believe in October, here at the ski chalet, where we brought in representatives from all the stakeholders from around the lake and from some southern jurisdictions. Many of them were elder status, if we use 50 or 60 as the gauge for elder status. The information, insight, exhortation that we got was very similar to what we hear up and down the valley about the value and importance of the caribou, the need to respect the animals, the need to make sure we do the right thing so that our grandchildren and future generations are in fact able to...

The Member makes a good point. There is a wide range of numbers in terms of the harvest in the North Slave on the Bathurst; anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 a year, depending on who you talk to. The issue is, and part of the harvest management plan is going to have to deal with the issue, the requirement for mandatory reporting from all harvesters. Right now we can tell how many outfitters there are, how many resident tags there are, but we have no clear idea except on a voluntary basis on the aboriginal harvest. So part of the ability to have a good harvest management plan is to set up a process...

Each of the diamond mines was reviewed and I’ve given approval. The issue of cumulative impact is one that has come more and more into the forefront as we look at resource development. What we’re dealing with, with the band, is a short-term period of three to four months that will get us through the hunting season and allow the longer-term process for a harvest management plan to be put into effect. It’s during that longer-term process that the work done to look at what the effects are, what are the variables that are driving the caribou numbers down have to be taken into consideration so that...

There are a number of factors here. The Wekeezhii board is part of the Tlicho Government and it’s new. It’s getting up and running. This is going to be its first full test. The other co-management boards have been successfully in place now, in many cases, for decades and have worked out the bugs. They have a good working relationship. As well, the North Slave circumstance is very politically complex where you have not only the Tlicho but the Akaitcho, Northwest Territories Metis, two unsettled claim areas and requires that extra work. So there are all these factors that have been playing...

We are very aware of our priorities and what is important. It’s the caribou. We know very clearly what the numbers tell us. The Member knows that. We have done a full documentation. We’ve laid out all the work we have. We’ve worked collaboratively with all the co-management boards across the land including in this part of the country. We’ve involved communities and hunters when we’ve done our counts and census. The issues tell us that the caribou here are in trouble. This Bathurst herd is rocketing its way to extinction unless we take some interim emergency measures to get us through this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. They say at night when it’s dark and cold outside and the stars are glittering like diamonds in the sky and you’re away from the communities, if you listen closely to the wind and the whispers of the wind you’ll hear the caribou asking us for our help, reminding us for centuries that they have helped provide life and subsistence to the people of the North. Now they are in a time of need and they’re asking us not to forget all that they have done for us over those very many centuries. Our job is to now come to the aid of the caribou in this, their time of need, to avoid...

The issue is, when the Member speaks of destruction, making sure that we avoid the destruction of the Bathurst herd, we have, I believe, a very strong working relationship with the aboriginal governments and co-management boards across the land. We’ve successfully done a Water Strategy, we’ve collaboratively drafted and put in legislation the Species at Risk Act, and we’re doing the same with the Wildlife Act; very progressive and unique processes fully engaging the aboriginal governments. The Premier is engaged in a process with the regional leaders on a regular basis to bring them to the...