Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don't know if I'll be able to respond to all of the concerns that were raised by the honourable Member; however, I will make an attempt. The first concern was in the area of fire suppression, which my department has been concentrating heavily on over this past winter, with consultations directly by departmental staff in, I believe, most of the communities within the treeline. There have been some very good suggestions by people in the communities. It's an area that not only this department, but a number of the other GNWT departments are also very concerned with. We have discussed it at length at all levels of the department. The department, as Mr. Antoine says, is a major contributor to the fiscal situation that we're in.
Mr. Chairman, we have been consulting and I believe that our consultations have resulted in some very good suggestions and we are taking those recommendations and will be turning them around. There is a report that is being written by departmental staff. Hopefully, this report will be completed by the end of March. The general question that has been raised is how we could reduce the costs of fire suppression. I believe there are a number of ways and we'll be able to give more detail once the report has been completed and has gone through Cabinet. I know that the Standing Committee on Finance Members have raised this concern that the holding figure of $7 million is way too small in a bad fire season. One of the ideas that is being considered is to change that from a holding figure to a target figure, where we could look at a target which will be looked at throughout the fire season, something that could be looked at half-way through the fire season to consider various ways of being able to meet that target.
There are also other areas where I believe that we could do more in terms of pre-suppression, in terms of the various developments that have taken place out in the bush; so that whenever there are cabins being built in the bush, there are plans that are going to be laid out for those cabins that are built. Any type of commercial development within the treeline would require a fire plan. I think those are the general types of considerations that are being made which have also been recommended by community groups.
This, I believe, is a major area in which the department has heard from the communities. Another measure that has been suggested and will be considered is the compensation program that we have is also very limited. We are looking at the compensation program, how it is that we could improve on the compensation program. Those recommendations or suggestions that have been made as well as the preparation work, pre-suppression work that would be required, I believe, would be able to reduce the expenditures that we have in fighting fires. I believe that addresses two concerns: one, that whenever the fire season is upon us, there is an open chequebook. That is the impression that Members seem to be concerned about, and people of the Northwest Territories. So that changes the appearance of an open-chequebook concept to a closed-chequebook one because there would be a target that the fire crew and everybody in the Northwest Territories would be able to see. There would be a limit to the number of dollars that would be spent for the summer. Also, it would enable more of the dollars to end up in the communities, which I think has been another concern that has been raised by Members of the House.
I've indicated that this report, from the consultation that has been made in the communities, should be ready by the end of March. It will have to be brought into Cabinet and, eventually, a submission would be made for the Financial Management Board to consider.
In terms of the concerns raised by Mr. Antoine on the stumpage fees, the stumpage fees will be increased. Firewood fees have not increased. Reforestation fees have been increased to $5. The stumpage fees are also being considered, but there will be consultation on the increase to those fees.
The costs of managing the trees is something that has to be considered, much the same way as big game hunters are charged a fee for the management of wildlife we have in the Northwest Territories. The fees raised by the government are put directly back into the forests in the Northwest Territories. The increase of the reforestation fees, I believe, is very small,
as the amounts received by the person doing the work is approximately $190. Of that, they pay a $5 fee.
In terms of the identification of timber that is to be cut in any area, I believe the department is making more of an effort to consult with and work with the various communities, and bands in the communities, to decide where any forestry work will be done in their particular area. I've encouraged that consultation has to take place, that the communities, the bands and the organizations in the communities have to know where forests are being considered for cutting because it is their resource and they should be involved in how their area is developed.
I believe that the concerns raised in Mr. Antoine's constituency, in particular, have been and will continue to be consulted, and hopefully, will have direct involvement in the planning of where trees will be cut.
In terms of the furs, which is another major concern to people at the community level all across the Northwest Territories, it is an area that we really do not have a lot of control over, but we have been making a great deal of effort to inform people who are in the market to buy furs and those who have the power to control the market; namely, the European Parliament and European commission.
Mr. Antoine has a very good understanding of what has been done. He has been very involved in what has gone on, and we appreciate the assistance he's given us.
I think we are continuing to lobby the European commission. We are hoping we will be able to make another trip in the not-too-distant future. I believe that the European commission or the Parliament will be gathering in the spring. Before this gathering takes place, we should make another trip to try to convince those in the market, the buyers, that the wild fur we sell is very good quality fur.
With respect to the specific committees Mr. Antoine has raised and the concerns he has about the amount of dollars that have been spent in the Northwest Territories, I believe even though we have not yet been given the standards of what types of traps should be used in the Northwest Territories, we should be proactive and continue to try to show that we are making every effort that we possibly can to improve on the type of standards the market is looking for. That is where we have been spending our dollars: in the research and in the training of the users of the quick kill traps. I believe we should continue to work to try to improve on the traps we use.
The International Standards Organization, which is the group that will create standards for the type of trap that should be used, I believe it has been difficult for them to come up with a definition of what humane is. Until that definition has been cleared up, it is very difficult to try to come up with any kind of quick kill trap that meets a certain standard because there really isn't a standard at this point. But we are working on it, and I believe the traps that have been produced are strong enough and powerful enough that they will be able to meet the standards that are set.
I believe we have a standard of trap that could be considered humane. The kind of trap that is being used, from the indications we've received from the market, is that the fur that is coming out of the Northwest Territories is very good quality fur when they use the quick kill traps.
In terms of the auction houses and the work the department was starting to do for the grading house we had talked about at one point in time in this Assembly, it is still a target that we, as a department, are trying to meet. But with the situation we have in the Northwest Territories, it makes it very difficult to try to meet what was recommended.
We had started by hiring a person to work in the department on furs and to train someone on how to grade furs properly. To say that there will be a facility that will be used to grade furs and will route all furs from the Northwest Territories would be difficult to do at this point. But, it is goal we are still working towards.
In terms of the garments, during my opening remarks, I handed out samples of work that is currently being done. I believe this is an area that the department started working on, using seals, which was probably the hardest hit in terms of wild fur. It is an area the department thought best to start on. I think we will continue to work, not only with sealskin, but other types of fur as well. So, it will not be limited to one area of the Northwest Territories. I hope, in conjunction with the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, we will be able to work with other areas of the Northwest Territories over the next few years.
In terms of the lynx being caught live, I asked my deputy Minister and staff here with me about that and, because this happened a number of years ago, we weren't able to determine exactly what the reason for catching live lynx was. What we know at this point is that they weren't going to be sent to farms because we don't know of any lynx farms anywhere in Canada. That's as much as we know at this point, but I'd be willing to find out exactly what took place. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.