Mr. Chairman, I am aware of it. The government and the department have been working with communities to identify cabins and trapping areas, and areas that are considered of high value to communities over the past number of years. I think because there's a fixed budget, if there's money going to be spent then it's going to be of a limited amount. That is the reason I suggested perhaps some staff can meet with community representatives from the Member's constituency to discuss what they think should be done, and we can talk about the kind of money and programs that we have in place to support communities, Then the community and the department could decide what the best use is of the existing dollars. For instance, we could spend $500,000 fighting fires in a trapping area, but we may be better off to take some of that money and just directly compensate the trapper, rather than spending all that money fighting the fire. At the end of the day, we need to make sure that the community has a say in the allocation of resources. I think, for me, that would be a good start.
Stephen Kakfwi on Committee Report 3-13(3): Standing Committee On Resource Management And Development Report On The Review Of The 1996-97 Main Estimates
In the Legislative Assembly on May 16th, 1996. See this statement in context.
Committee Report 3-13(3): Standing Committee On Resource Management And Development Report On The Review Of The 1996-97 Main Estimates
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
May 16th, 1996
Page 443
See context to find out what was said next.