The honourable Member for Nahendeh is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Antoine, you can complete your statement.

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

Hear, hear.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Item 4, Members' statements. Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was reading, Mr. Speaker, a newspaper entitled "Native Journal" and I know that many Members of this House have spoken quite articulately about the whole issue of youth and the support that we, as the Members of the Assembly, should try to provide to our youth.

Last year, as most Members know, there was the establishment of a national aboriginal achievement awards; our Premier was a recipient of one of those awards. But this year in 1995, the national aboriginal achievement awards will include a new category and that is the youth award. The intention is to choose one individual who would be entitled to receive a $5,000 scholarship that will be bestowed upon an aboriginal youth of Inuit, Metis or First Nations ancestry between the ages of 15 and 21.

I think that it is important for all of us, to at least make some effort -- particularly those who have made comments in this Assembly and for those who are in the communities that wish to support their young people -- that we make every effort to provide a submission to this particular award because I think that it is incumbent upon all of us to at least try to provide additional financial support wherever it is possible. Nominations for the awards include such categories as arts and culture, academics, education, business, community development and public service, environmental and land management, indigenous harvesting, health and medicine, heritage and spirituality, law, media, communication, science and technology and last, but just as important, sports.

Mr. Speaker, we recognized, a few minutes ago, the distinguished contribution of a young team of which one of those individuals could possibly be a recipient of this particular award if we took the time to make a presentation to the group that is going to make the final decisions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Nerysoo. Item 4, Members' statements. Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With regard to the issue of gun control, we have been discussing this issue and we talked about it further last week. With regard to the bill, the federal Minister met with us and it seemed like he had understood fully our concerns. Has he done anything to solve these problems, these issues and concerns that we have? With that, Mr. Speaker, we already have a law in place and we are happy with the law. People are not misusing it and abusing it.

But, Mr. Speaker, our constituents will not be able to understand fully, right away, if the bill is put into place. The current law that we have right now, people understand it fully and they try and comply with it to the best of their ability. And we try and keep up with registration whenever it expires. So, with that, Mr. Speaker, we have grave concerns for this new bill. Especially for northerners who are subsistence harvesting.

It will be difficult for our people to try and comply with this law, especially when there are animals and other things that come into our communities that endanger the public. So, we try and keep our guns under control and we try to store them properly, according to the law. If there are any other provisions in the new law that we have to comply with, it will be very difficult for us because we are unique. We have to think about this further and try to solve some of the problems, the issues and the concerns that we have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 4, Members' statements. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Minister of Renewable Resources, Mr. Arngna'naaq.

First, asked by Mrs. Marie-Jewell on February 17, 1995 with regard to a woodcutting permit in Fort Smith. A copy of the free timber cutting permit has been provided to the honourable Member as requested, as well as information on the investigation that was conducted.

The second return, if I may, Mr. Speaker, is a return to an oral question asked by Mrs. Marie-Jewell on February 17, 1995 regarding a shortage of muskox hides for constituents. Both the departments of Renewable Resources and Economic Development and Tourism have advised Mrs. Dube of sources for muskox hides. These hides are available from the organizations that conduct commercial harvests. Because the hides belong to the organizations and not the government, Mrs. Dube will have to negotiate terms for purchase of the hides with them. The Department of Renewable Resources will provide Mrs. Dube with a list of organizations that will be conducting commercial harvests of muskox this spring. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 7, oral questions. I'm sorry, back to item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Whitford.

Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 7, oral questions. Mr. Antoine and then Mr. Zoe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Justice. I would like to commend the Minister, Mr. Speaker, for the lead role that he has been taking in responding to the new federal firearms legislation that I believe is inappropriate and damaging to aboriginal people of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister has indicated that this offensive draft legislation will be reviewed by the House of Commons Justice and Legal Affairs Committee which is chaired by the Honourable Warren Allmand, I believe. He has also indicated that he will be inviting this parliamentary committee to hold hearings in the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister advise the House whether he also plans to make funding and technical assistance available for northern organizations and individuals who wish to make presentations to the federal committee? Mahsi.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to hear that the Minister of Justice will be taking a proactive role in trying to get the committee to hear the views of northerners first hand. However, it is true that comments made to a federal committee in Yellowknife may not attract the attention of southern Canadians in Toronto or Montreal or Vancouver or any other cities down south. Has the Minister given consideration to making a formal representation, either to the Minister or to the federal Justice and Legal Affairs Committee in Ottawa itself, so that southern Canadians can fully understand the implications that these new firearms regulations have for our culture and our traditional lifestyles? Mahsi.

Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Last Friday, the Minister indicated in his statement to the House that there may be grounds for regarding the new legislation as an infringement on section 35 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is the section of the Canadian Constitution that protects aboriginal rights. Can the Minister indicate what work has been carried out in the Department of Justice to explore the

constitutional implications of Mr. Rock's new firearms proposal? Mahsi.

Mr. Kakfwi.