Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I want to thank our Minister of Justice for encouraging the federal Minister of Justice to come here and learn more about justice concerns in the Northwest Territories, specifically on the current issue of gun control. I am sure all Members agree that we must be committed to developing our renewable
resource economy, our fishery, the harvesting of muskox, caribou, seal and other country foods and furs.
Our renewable resource economy is valuable, cherished and, more than a long-standing tradition, it's also a reflection of aboriginal culture and values. Those values include teaching the young how to hunt and live on the land from an early age, the sharing of resources harvested and the sharing of equipment needed to harvest resources, including firearms and ammunition.
Our hunters and trappers choose to live on the land and work on the land. This is not an easy life. They are very skillful, self-reliant people. They don't have the benefit of many of the programs and facilities available to those who live in town and have jobs. They are often people who don't have extensive cash income, even though what they harvest and share is very valuable. They are often not amenable to paperwork, record-keeping and filing, and they can ill-afford fees and permits.
Madam Speaker, I sincerely hope that these values and the special circumstances of the majority of our aboriginal population can be considered by the Honourable Allan Rock when he looks at the issue of gun control in Canada. There must either be flexibility in the north or an exemption for subsistence hunters.