Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In Coral Harbour on the north side of Southampton Island, we have a quota of 35,000 Arctic char, and a quota of ten narwhals. We have no access from the east side of the island. There is old ice which comes through Fury and Hecla Strait and settles there. The water is so shallow on the right side, there is no shelter for approximately 200 miles of the coastline. There is also great potential for tourism in this area. I would be very happy to show the Minister this area if he would like to visit. There is an airstrip there. Will the Minister work with the Departments of Transportation and Economic Development and Tourism to develop an access road from Coral Harbour to the Duke of York Bay in order for the community to enjoy access to traditional hunting and fishing areas to utilize the quotas and potential tourism? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would be happy to.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a couple of questions with regard to the hunters' and trappers' associations in the communities. How are they funded and what are their mandates as associations?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. They are funded using a formula. Their basic funding is $5,000. If they are over 400 members they are given a certain amount, and if they are over that, they are given another amount. Their mandate is to help the department use traditional knowledge in the area of renewable resource harvesting. Also, they are to be the contact point for myself and headquarters in dealing with renewable resources in their particular area. Thank you.

I would like to find out if there is any developmental work being done with the associations. Is there any kind of work being done with the associations to try to encourage them to be more like boards? At this point, I am not sure exactly how they operate.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Basically our officers help them to develop in this area, especially the secretary managers. In the Keewatin, we have the Keewatin wildlife federation which our department funds to hold annual meetings. They also have a regional person who works for them. It is those regional organizations, such as the Baffin hunters' and trappers' regional organizations, and the Keewatin wildlife federation, which indemnifies the requirement for each community. If they focus on one community which needs to be assisted in any way, we look at the proposals to see if we have enough money to deal with their requests. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With the discussions of transferring responsibility from various departments, does the Department of Renewable Resources have a plan, at some future date, to transfer programs or other initiatives to the community level, such as the HTA?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, we are open to that. As our Premier has said in her opening statements regarding the community development programs, anything which the government does in each community is open for devolution to the community governments.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That is good to know. I have a question with regard to the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation in Winnipeg? At this point, I understand any fish being sold commercially has to be inspected through FFMC, is this still the case?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The freshwater fisheries deal with freshwater. They still have to be inspected if they are from freshwater. We have a different arrangement at the present time for the Arctic char with the Pangnirtung fishery in the delivery of Arctic char to southern markets. Inspections are done through Fisheries and Oceans. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Are there any plans for a similar type of arrangement for freshwater fish?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Not to my knowledge at the present time, even though there is a great deal of discussions between the freshwater fishermen and the DFO. The freshwater fishermen are always trying to find a better way to deliver their fish and also for a better price. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is conducting a study to see how they can better manage the freshwater fisheries in Canada. I do not know if there are going to be significant changes at this point. Thank you.