Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Many of the trappers, as I was saying, have already pulled their traps over a month ago. It is very uneconomical to trap because of the lack of furs. Trapping does not pay for the fuel it costs to go out to their lines.

With the continuing pressure of the recession, there will be a need for many of the proud and independent harvesters in our communities to rely on social assistance, which seems to be their only alternatives at this point. I understand that social assistance payments in Fort Liard may have already increased by over 200 per cent. For Dene and Metis, Mr. Speaker, trapping has been the traditional backbone of our northern economy. It is one of the ways our culture continues to survive in this modern world. This government cannot stand by and allow people who have always relied on their own bush skills and natural wisdom to face the prospect of welfare dependency.

In this session, I will be calling on the government to do the following: stabilize annual trappers' income, perhaps through the development of an effective harvesters' assistance program; emphasize student funding for adult education programs in the communities, which will allow trappers to benefit from upgrading and career access programs so they will have occupational alternatives during lean years such as this one; embark on immediate studies of alternate economic development potentials including eco-tourism, which will employ harvesters during years when the fur yield is low; conduct an immediate and objective evaluation of the impact, which the trap exchange program has had on the yield for this year's fur harvest; and renew its efforts to campaign against the vicious and harmful lies being spread by animal rights organizations across North America and Europe.

This government must hold itself accountable for the continuing survival of the traditional fur industry in the Northwest Territories. We cannot afford to stand by and do nothing. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause