Mr. Chairman, I can provide a hand out in the next few minutes that can give the Members an update on the status of vacancies in the organization. Thank you.

Thank you. Could the Minister tell us how many vacancies there are in the department right now?

No, I cannot give him the number right now. I would have to find the document. It is somewhere

in this pile. Do not want to suffer the indignity of looking for it while you are asking me questions.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just like to make a comment and that is all. I do not need an answer to it. I wanted to thank the Minister for looking at the possibility of the way he responded to Mr. Henry's question of looking and having his people look at possibilities of offsetting the difficulties Yellowknife is suffering because of the many layoffs and the potential negative impact it has had on our community. I want to just let the Minister know that has not ended yet. We still have to face the potential of layoffs and impacts of the creation of two new territories that will affect our community in a very substantial way. I want to thank the Minister for the possibility of looking and revisiting allowing the request from the military and the RCMP to be exempted from some of the hunting regulations that require them to be a resident for two years. Because they are continually in transitory state throughout the country. I just wanted to pass that on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, my first question is in regard to Peary caribou on Banks Island and Holman Island. I am aware the Minister's department has a program whereby they are trying to transport Peary caribou from the High Arctic to somewhere in Calgary to protect the species. I would like to know if the Minister can give me some information as to the population figures in Holman and Banks? I know that the Banks Island herd is in danger right now, but I would like some updated information on that, if he has any available?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the people of Sachs Harbour, for many years, have identified the growing size of the muskox herd as one of the main factors in the reduction of Peary caribou numbers. They believe that both of these animals are competing for the same food. Therefore, they strongly believe that the reduction of the muskox herd is a prime factor in contributing towards the increase of the caribou herd. Therefore, they have taken on harvesting programs for the muskox. My question to the Minister is, what is the department doing to control the muskox herd?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The department works with the Inuvialuit Wildlife Game Council and the Nunavut Wildlife Management board in working in partnership to manage wildlife in those particular jurisdictions. In the case of the muskox, we have worked to do what we can to identify markets for muskox, for wild meat. We have worked recently with the new Minister of Agriculture to identify the issue regarding muskox meat, caribou meat, as not necessarily a health issue, but one of being a trade issue. Having said that, tred to find a commitment from the federal government, which I think we have, that would help us deal with the legislative requirements of federal legislation and federal requirements, that would allow us to sell wild meat, to transport wild meat, and to market wild meat in Canada and internationally. That is the work we have been doing recently. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, is the department contributing financially towards harvesting of muskox as a way of assisting to the control of the herd?

Mr. Chairman, as far as I know we are not involved in that harvest at this time. I am not aware that we are providing any financial information, but if we are then I would pass that on to the Member. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, the last information I received, the hunters and trappers in Sachs Harbour have a muskox quota of 20,000 animals. Many people would not say that is a quota, they would say that is a herd. But that is the quota for that herd. The last estimate of that herd is 80,000 animals or more. Therefore, it is obvious that without the assistance of this harvesting program, this explosion of the muskox population is going to get to the point where there will be just too many muskox for the size of the island. There definitely will be a main factor in the disappearance of the Peary caribou. I believe that this government has a responsibility to some degree to assure that this herd is kept down to size, which would in turn assist the return of the Peary caribou. I would think that I would again ask the Minister if he would consider contributing towards a harvesting program as a way of controlling the size of the muskox herd. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The department and the Northwest Territories Development Corporation are in support of the harvest out of Sachs Harbour this year and have worked to ensure that there is a buyer and a market for the muskox that are harvested. In fact, we know that there is a definite buyer for the muskox that is being harvested this year. One of the things that we worked on for the last year and a half with the Northwest Territories Development Corporation is the absolute need to have some marketing strategy. We produce products in many of our communities. We have canvas products in McPherson, we have handicrafts in virtually every community in the north. We buy fish. We buy a great many things but in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of products ended up being warehoused and stocked in different parts of the country because we did not have a plan on how to move these things on to the consumers.

Muskox is also the same thing. Part of the work that has to be done is the marketing, trying to establish a definite market and definite buyers to make sure the buyers would get assurance of quality from the products that they purchase, the supply will be reliable or at least available on a regular basis. The regulatory requirements, legislative requirements, set out in law by the federal government and ourselves can be met so they do not become an obstacle at the last minute. Of course, we do not want the Arctic to become overpopulated by muskox. We think it is a valuable resource. We would like to see the muskox harvested to the benefit of the communities. We would like to see our market developed in the south where Canadians, Americans, Belgians, French, especially the French, develop a great appetite for this excellent source of meat. We would like to find ways to use the hair and the hide and turn these into marketable products. It all requires some concerted effort. We are trying to do what we can. Thank you.