Thank you, Madam Speaker. On May 26, 1993, a constituent in Coppermine saw and shot a wolverine at his spring camp as he was aware that a reward was offered for its carcass by Renewable Resources. His awareness was a result of the public notices displayed on bulletin boards in the community by the department. The notices, which I will ask the Pages to distribute now, picture a wolverine with a caption "Attention wolverine hunters, Renewable Resources would like to buy the carcasses from all wolverines you take. The renewable resource officer in Coppermine will pay you $25 for each one."

The next day my constituent's son took the carcass into the local Renewable Resource's office and was given the $25 as shown in the notice. However, later on my constituent was given a ticket for shooting a wolverine out of season. Madam Speaker, upon receiving the ticket my constituent was upset as he thought he had been unjustly charged by the department. He disputed the ticket by hiring legal counsel to defend his case in court. My constituent spent thousands of dollars at personal expense to defend a $115 fine, due to his feeling that he was entrapped as the request for wolverine carcasses was posted in the off season, with no mention of the hunting season in the notice or, for that matter, posted anywhere else in town. There was evidence presented in court that confirmed that hunting seasons were not posted in any public place in Coppermine.

My constituent lost his case as the judge recognized the complexities of the wildlife regulations. And while sympathetic to my constituent's situation, the judge held that the notice for wolverine carcasses did not meet the technical requirements to prove entrapment. The judge further ruled that there was a duty upon the hunter to seek out the hunting regulations.

Madam Speaker, what bothers me in this situation is that although the Department of Renewable Resources did not entrap my constituent as was ruled by the judge in court, the department certainly created a misrepresentation by leaving the notice up even after the wolverine hunting season had closed. At the very least, the department should have posted notices to advise local resident hunters of the hunting seasons in which animals can be taken.

There are many wildlife regulations in the NWT which cover different species of animals, different areas and different seasons for the same animals.

Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude by statement.