Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Despite the best efforts that have been made by the ministers of Justice and Renewable Resources, and despite the advice the Honourable Allan Rock received from northern leaders, the federal government has demonstrated its unwillingness to take our concerns over national registration systems, firearms storage and safety training seriously.

It is now clear that the so-called consultation process was merely a public relations exercise, and that the federal Minister of Justice has a serious credibility problem in dealing with northerners on this issue. I believe that we must act swiftly to express our opposition to these new and unfair regulations.

I agree that the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee that will be reviewing this new legislation should be invited to the Northwest Territories. But that will not be enough, we need to be heard on their turf as well. We need to appear before the committee when they meet on Capital Hill so that our voices cannot be simply dismissed as distant regional concerns.

We need to inform the Ottawa media and the southern public about the implications that this regulation carries for aboriginal people. I simply cannot believe that the rest of Canada is as nearsighted or incapable of understanding our aboriginal way of life as Mr. Rock and his bureaucrats.

If necessary, we need to fight in the courts to protect our aboriginal rights to pursue traditional hunting activities. Mr. Speaker, through all these efforts, northerners will need to work together, east and west, large communities and small communities. I find some room for hope in the observation that a few months ago, the federal government was pursuing another policy on cruise missile testing and that was offensive and wrong. Our opinion on that subject was finally heard and the federal policy was modified, only because we stood together and spoke out to confront the southern bureaucrats who wanted to disregard our beliefs. That same unity is needed now if we are to effectively oppose this inappropriate and damaging federal legislation. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause