Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week I travelled to Vancouver to attend the spring meeting of the Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment. Although the council has existed for 10 years, this is the first time that Yukon and the Northwest Territories have had full status. I believe this is an important step to assist our government to work with other jurisdictions to keep the Arctic environment healthy.
While at the meeting, I was able to gain the co-operation of several other Ministers on transboundary issues. The Ministers of Environment for Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta all agreed to get back to work on developing the bilateral transboundary water agreements. These are important to protect the Liard, Mackenzie and Peace-Athabasca-Slave Rivers. I also met with the Saskatchewan Minister of Environment. We both agreed that the draft bilateral agreement between Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories is now complete. Saskatchewan will also share its monitoring information on the abandoned uranium mines on Lake Athabasca.
The British Columbia Minister of Forestry travelled to Vancouver to discuss with me the effects of logging on Fort Liard trappers. Unfortunately, trappers cannot be compensated because British Columbia has no compensation program. We did agree on a process to ensure that, in the future, trappers will have an opportunity to comment on proposed logging plans. As well, BC Forestry will advise the Department of Renewable Resources about logging plans near the territorial border.
I was pleased with the co-operation that was offered by all the Ministers that I met. I would like to thank the previous Minister of Renewable Resources, Titus Allooloo, who helped to set up many of the initiatives that I am now completing.
--- Applause