Mr. Speaker, I wish to speak today about an initiative that is very important to all northerners, the protection and management of our wildlife, particularly species at risk. Over the years initiatives to improve conservation of endangered species have been undertaken on a cooperative basis involving all provincial and territorial jurisdictions and the federal government. This commitment of all jurisdictions is demonstrated by the National Accord for the Conservation of Species at Risk, which was agreed to by all wildlife Ministers from all jurisdictions at Charlottetown last October.

We all are committed to a national approach for the protection of species at risk to prevent these species from becoming extinct as a consequence of human activity. We agreed to participate in the Canadian Species Conservation Council to co-ordinate our activities. And we agreed to establish complimentary legislation and programs that provide effective protection of species at risk.

The federal government has placed before the House of Commons the Canada Endangered Species Protection Act. We are supportive of the principles underlying this Act, but the Act itself does not reflect the approach that we agreed to as Ministers in Charlottetown.

Section 3 of the proposed legislation states that the federal government will assume management responsibility for those species in the Northwest Territories and Yukon, as designated by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, as extirpated, endangered, threatened, or vulnerable.

This means that in the Northwest Territories, the federal government will take back the authority for management programs for polar bears, wood bison, three populations of Peary caribou, grizzly bears, and wolverine.

Over the years and through extensive consultation and cooperation, this government and the people of the Northwest Territories have developed and implemented wildlife management and protection programs for these species, and these programs have achieved great success and have earned international acclaim.

Management and recovery programs for species at risk are an integral part of a multimillion dollar wildlife management program here in the north.

Between one and two million dollars annually is spent on research directly related to the species under discussion. The Government of the Northwest Territories also supports these programs through extensive physical and administrative infrastructure that has taken over 30 years to establish. In addition to government resources in Yellowknife, buildings, vehicles, equipment and staff, all are dedicated to protecting and managing wildlife, and these are found in all communities across the Northwest Territories.

Aboriginal northerners have always had a special relationship with wildlife. Wildlife has meant our survival. The value we place on traditional knowledge and local involvement has resulted in a system of community and regional Wildlife Management Boards. The boards are composed of people whose future depends on adequate resources. We have developed trust and respect for one another and that has contributed substantially to the success of the programs that we have implemented and developed together. People have the local knowledge and are supported by some of the most capable scientists in the world.

I will be leaving for Edmonton to make a presentation to the Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development. It is my intention to place before them our record of achievement in the protection of endangered species. I will tell them that we are supportive of the principles upon which the bill is based but that amendments are required for the best interest of our species at risk. I will recommend that the legislation be amended in the spirit of the accord that was agreed to by wildlife Ministers in Charlottetown. The federal government should be involved with the provinces and territories in setting national standards. I welcome federal expertise and especially their money to the table. But, I will recommend that the people of the Northwest Territories remain foremost the primary managers of endangered, threatened and vulnerable species. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to join my honourable colleague, the Member for Hay River, in condemning the government's failure to restore full funding for the Seniors' Fuel Subsidy Program. As my colleague pointed out yesterday, Cabinet has received a clear statement of support for this program. The public wants it back. The Members of our Social Services Committee have shown us how to pay for it. What more needs to be said?

Mr. Speaker, last fall I attended a meeting sponsored by the City of Yellowknife that dealt with the problems seniors face in my community. About 30 people showed up. They talked about safety, housing, recreation, and shrinking government programs. I left the meeting with a troublesome thought. The seniors said politicians have been playing a game of bluff. At all levels of government, elected representatives make motherhood statements acknowledging the contribution seniors make to our communities. The seniors feel that the same leaders cut or clawback support programs when budget time rolls around. This is a double standard. In my community, it will eventually drive seniors to places where the cost of living is less of a burden. I am glad that the government is launching a review of services offered to seniors. This project should be completed as quickly as possible. We need a clear cut policy on the support that we will give to our elders. Our current piecemeal approach is confusing and frustrating. I fear that it will push away the people we are trying to help.

Mr. Speaker, the seniors in my community acknowledge the governments fiscal problems. They are prepared to contribute to balancing the budget, but we cannot expect them to accept an uncoordinated, rejigging of support programs. We owe it to seniors to develop a clear cut policy that will be applied fairly and in consultation with them and communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is with regret that I bring bad news in regards to the loss to the community of Old Crow in the Yukon, where a fire destroyed their education centre yesterday. Mr. Speaker, the following letter was sent to Chief Randall Tetlichi of the Vuntut Gwich'in First Nation in Old Crow yesterday by Chief William Coe of Fort McPherson after the news came that the Old Crow school was being destroyed by fire.

"It is with regret that we bear news from over the mountains that the education centre in the Vinti Gwich'in is burning. We understand the sense of loss in their community having gone through a similar experience, less than a year ago in Fort McPherson. The only advice we can offer, turn to do things and work together to resolve your differences, it can limit the effect that it will have and continue education for your children. If there is anything that we can do, let us know without hesitation. If there is one thing that the Gwich'in are known for, it is their ability to lend a helping hand in times of need."

That is from the Chief in Fort McPherson. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to briefly address an issue that is of fundamental concern to all the people in the Northwest Territories. That is the issue of our exploding birthrate.

As we start this budget process, those that look at the documentation will see that the total percentage of the overall budget that is consumed by the social envelope of health, social services, justice, housing and education, continues to expand. It is very clear, to those who look at the information, that one of the big drivers to those exploding costs, which we anticipate or project as an annual $40 million in terms of extra forced growth, is our exploding birthrate.

Mr. Speaker, we have been consumed with the budget and deficit reduction and we are soon to turn our attention, with equal focus and intensity, to division. However, we cannot forget the obligations we have on the social side. Unless we attempt to start to deal with some of the underlying issues that are driving the cost of this government, we are doomed, in this territory, and the two new territories, to endless rounds of repeated cuts, as we attempt to deal with social costs that we cannot control, with increasingly limited revenues.

Mr. Speaker, this is not just the responsibility of this Assembly. This is the responsibility of every person, every community in the Northwest Territories. No one individual has an answer to this, but it is a situation that cannot be ignored and, maybe by starting to work together to address some of these sensitive but critical issues, we can come up with a way to try to deal with this particular issue. To not do that is folly, and is something that we cannot afford. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, colleagues. The community of Inuvik is continuing to be impacted by this government's decisions in the area of budget reductions. We in Inuvik and the Inuvik Region, are also impacted by other governments in the decisions that they make. For example, Mr. Speaker, last winter in Inuvik, we first heard the news of the Yukon government's discussions on the Dempster Highway in trying to control their costs. It raised a lot of concern in Inuvik and the surrounding area and communities, because the cost of goods in Inuvik rise dramatically when the Dempster Highway is closed, for whatever conditions. We have two seasons right now when the Dempster Highway closes on an annual basis, when the ferries are pulled out and freeze-up starts to occur and when they are put back in.

Mr. Speaker, as a community, we have raised this issue with our Minister of Transportation, and he was good enough to visit us in Inuvik and meet with the people and hear their concerns on the Dempster Highway issue, as well as other highways that we were hoping to see in our lifetime.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to say that the Minister has gone a long way since our discussion, and has discussed and had a meeting with the government representatives from the Yukon. I think the people of Inuvik would be happy to hear that we are not looking at the very serious impacts that were first discussed, as a total closure of the Dempster Highway for long periods. I think that as the news is let out on the meeting, the people of Inuvik will be somewhat relieved at what is being discussed today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause