Thank you. The concern that the Member is raising is one that I share and see as a very serious problem that will arise between ourselves and the federal government. There's probably some reason for it, but I'm certain probably other jurisdictions across this country will be raising the same types of concerns. What appears to have happened is the federal government has decided to design a national course which will require a test in order for people to acquire new firearms acquisition certificates. It is very likely that, at this time, most people in the territories who have used rifles all their lives for hunting and harvesting will not be able to pass this test.

The test is quite complex. It would take over two days for a hunter to take this course and even after taking the course, after one trial test, the department informs me that eight out of ten people failed the test. These were all formally educated people who could read a handbook and memorize it within a relatively short time. The test requires extensive knowledge of handguns, the types of firearms prohibited, the different types of rifles, including semi-automatics, the different types of shotguns, the types of barrels, the trajectory of bullets and how you can tell calibre. It talks about muskets from the 17th century and before that.

It talks about many things that, really, have nothing to do with the day to day life of most people up here in the Northwest Territories who just need to use rifles for the purpose of hunting. I know for instance that in some communities, like Colville Lake, there isn't a truck for well over a hundred miles of that place, and yet they would be required to answer questions about how they can safely store firearms in a truck. There is probably not one soul in that community who is interested or who has even thought about acquiring a handgun, and yet they would be required, for the most part, to be very familiar with the operation, handling and storage of handguns and how to transport them.

We have a problem on our hands. I think I mentioned in an earlier response that, because of all the political goings on across this country during the last year -- with the Prime Minister from two terms ago announcing his resignation, with the Conservative election campaign, the convention, the crowning, the summer honeymoon, the disastrous fall election for the PCs and the new Liberal Government -- that political attention has not been on this issue and it was left largely to officials to try to negotiate a suitable arrangement.

As we see, the officials have not been able to negotiate an arrangement with the federal government. So we are faced with the federal government going ahead and requiring this massive course and test to be imposed on people here in the north in a month, unless we can come up with a political arrangement that is more acceptable within a week or so. I'm expecting to meet with the Minister next week in Ottawa to try to come up with some arrangements so that we can go ahead with some sort of course, and perhaps even have his course taken by those people in the Northwest Territories who want to belong to shooting clubs and who want to shoot largely in shooting ranges.

We will see if we can come up with some sort of a compromise for those people who hunt every day, every week, every month, who have been handling rifles all their lives and who just want to have the right to buy new rifles as they need them, on a regular basis, without having to learn about muskets, handguns and other paraphernalia that, I think, is quite properly required for urban users. Thank you.