Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I will present the Standing Committee on Finance report.

Renewable Resource Development Strategy

The Minister informed the committee in our meetings that the department is currently developing a comprehensive renewable resource development strategy. This strategy has now been tabled in the House and we will be dealing with it very shortly. We were told that the strategy will be consistent with the government's 1990 economic development strategy and will add two important elements: subsistence harvest activities and resource management activities. The proposed renewable resource development strategy will describe the value, objectives and potential initiatives within six renewable resource sectors: fur, wildlife, forests, fisheries, marine mammals and agriculture. Committee Members look forward to the opportunity to review this strategy later today.

Departmental Objectives

In the department's budget, over 30 definitive objectives were identified. In keeping with our earlier recommendation that definitive objectives be specific, attainable, measurable, and should include milestone and target dates, we are concerned that this department's list of objectives might not be achievable. Committee Members encourage this department to thoughtfully consider their annual list of objectives and ensure they meet with the criteria recommended by the committee.

Forest Fire Management

costs of fire suppression since the job of fighting forest fires was taken over from the federal government. It may well be that the yearly ups and downs in forest fire expenditures are balancing out over time. However, if we are continually spending more than we budget over the long run, we should know that now. We expect the Minister to respond with that cost analysis immediately, in order that the issue can be considered when the department's budget is raised in the House.

Environmental Protection

Committee Members expressed concern about the way in which the department is moving towards taking over the responsibility for environmental protection in north, such as monitoring air quality. The department must be careful not to take over tasks which are clearly the federal government's responsibility. The department must also work closely with the federal government in order to ensure that there is no duplication of effort and that the federal government carries out its legislated responsibility in the Northwest Territories. There should be no "grey areas" where neither side is clear about where the responsibility lies.

Meat Inspection

The committee is glad to see the department taking steps to control the quality of northern meat. We do caution the department, however, to avoid the possibility of creating a large bureaucracy around this activity.

Support For The Fur Industry

Committee Members support the ongoing work being carried out by the department in the area of renewable resource development, and, in particular, the fur industry in the north. We agree with the Minister's comments about the bias and unfairness shown by animal rights activists towards this import element of northern culture.

The Minister's comments about high-quality northern furs having their value diluted by southern furs with which they're auctioned are supported by committee Members. We look forward to seeing initiatives from the department which would market NWT fur as a distinctive, high-quality product.

Committee Members are also glad to see the Minister making efforts to revive the market for seal fur. The destruction of the market by the activists has been a tremendous blow to residents of Nunavut, and restoration or replacement of that market would be a big step in the economic development of the new territory.

Environmental Studies

The committee is concerned that the department is devoting seven PYs to training positions for Renewable Resources officers in the eastern Arctic. Committee Members wonder why these cannot be trained in Arctic College as have been successfully done at Thebacha campus. We encourage the department to cooperate with Arctic College to ensure that the College's environmental technology program provides an adequately trained pool of environmental officers for both the western and eastern Arctic.

The Wildlife Act And Land Claims

Committee Members are concerned that the NWT's wildlife legislation has not been amended to take into account the changes brought about by recent land claims settlements. Further, there is concern about the incremental costs of wildlife provisions and other responsibilities resulting from land claims agreements being off-loaded onto the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Recommendation 30

Therefore, Mr. Chairman, the committee recommends that the Department of Renewable Resources act quickly to amend the Wildlife Act and other necessary legislation in order to properly reflect the status of wildlife management in the north following the successful implementation of recent land claims.

Mr. Chairman, that concludes the comments coming from the Standing Committee on Finance. I would now seek your permission to introduce the committee recommendation as a formal motion.