Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Each and every Member of this Legislature knows the importance of hunting for a subsistence way of life in the north. Just about every aboriginal person in this Legislature grew up living in a camp; where every member of a community, every member of a household in an aboriginal family, uses hunting as an occupation. Mr. Speaker, when I was growing up, my sister was a hunter; my stepfather was a hunter; my stepbrother was a hunter; my uncles, my nieces, even my grandparents were hunters.
When we hunted, one of the most important parts of the equipment or tools was a firearm. When we travelled from one campsite to the other, one of the most fragile pieces of equipment on the dogsled or in the boat was a firearm. We were told over and over again by the elders that you handled a firearm as though it were loaded. You handled the firearm as though your life depended upon the firearm.
Mr. Speaker, our lives did depend on firearms at that time, and most aboriginal people in the communities across the board here still depend highly on the use of firearms; therefore -- I take it my seconder will speak on the technical nature of the firearm -- I would urge my colleagues to support the motion. Thank you.