Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As soon as I found out that the European parliamentarians were coming to Canada, I contacted the regions to see if they were going to hold regional conferences. I am referring to HTA's regional representatives. There was one being held in Iqaluit for the Baffin region. I have asked them to discuss the possibility of sending a member from that group to assist me in explaining our position of renewable resources use by the people of the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, I have been dealing with this issue since I became a Minister in 1987. I had a chance to go to Europe with the former Minister of Economic Development to state our position on the use of wildlife resources by our people for the purposes of economic venture. I have also been keeping contact with the Fur Institute of Canada, ISI, and the Dene Nation, TFN and Metis Association since 1987. I feel I know the subject, plus I have a staff who are dealing with fur issues extensively. They are working on the document we will be putting forward.
Our position, as a government, is we believe that sustainable development could be reached by using natural resources. Our basic principle as Dene, Inuit and Metis is that the best resources which would allow us to live comfortably and feed ourselves are renewable resources, which we have in the Northwest Territories. I feel qualified, so do Dene people and Metis people, to speak to the issue. They have been touched by the animal rights movement to the core of their hearts. I know my family was effected and Mr. Arvaluk's family was also effected when the seal hunting was being attacked by the animal rights people. As a result, through the initiative of ITC, this government, the Dene Nation and Metis Association, Greenpeace of Canada backed off from their fight to allow aboriginal people to harvest. They recognized that the aboriginal people need to harvest natural resources in the Northwest Territories. They are supportive of us. Thank you.