I would like to thank you first, Mr. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to speak on Petition 3-12(2), as it was your error yesterday for not giving me the time. Mr. Speaker, I would like to use this time to make a few points on the petition. Presently the Wildlife Act does not permit the feeding of caribou or big game to dogs within the community. The community of Baker Lake is the only inland Inuit community in the Northwest Territories, with a population of approximately 1200 people, the majority of which are natives of the area.
There are three main uses of dogs in Baker Lake. Pet dogs are kept by some families, indoors and outdoors for various reasons. Racing dogs are bred for recreational purposes. Working dogs, which is the third use of dogs, are also bred for hunting and fishing. Some hunters are using dog teams to hunt and to fish, as it is very expensive to hunt by snowmobile. It costs approximately $32.20 to purchase 10 gallons of gas, plus $8.45 for one quart of oil. A snowmobile drive belt can be as high as $66.32 each. Therefore, a hunter going out for a day on a snowmobile will pay approximately $111. This does not include the price of food for the trip, which could be in the neighbourhood of $40 per person.
We, in Baker Lake, have no marine mammals to feed our dogs. The coastal communities have seals, walruses and whales to feed their dogs, but we have none of these in Baker Lake. All we have is caribou, musk-oxen and fish. Most dog team owners cannot afford to buy fishing nets or other gear needed to fish for their dogs; therefore the people of Baker Lake need to feed their dogs caribou meat. The Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Association, on behalf of the community of Baker Lake, have therefore sent me a petition, asking me to have the present Wildlife Act, subsection 57(2), changed to be able to feed their dogs caribou meat and not break the law. I thereby submitted a petition yesterday signed by 103 residents of Baker Lake. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause