Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have indications that the Peary caribou on the western High Arctic Islands have taken the first step towards recovery, as our surveys have recorded, calves in both Melville and Bathurst Islands in July of this year. However, wolves remain on Bathurst Island and muskox show no recovery. There are no calves seen in the muskox herd. We have a sense, as I said last week, that wolf predation may become a factor with the Peary caribou. Our studies indicate that range conditions on Bathurst Island are more than adequate for recovery of the Peary caribou. We are planning to have a survey done of the Peary caribou in the eastern High Arctic Islands in March/April of the coming year.

As a government, we will continue to work with the future government of Nunavut, the Wildlife Management Advisory Council of the Northwest Territories, as well as the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board to consider options for the recovery and management of Peary and Arctic Island caribou. We will look at these options only after the surveys are completed in March and April of this year. I do not know that those options of looking at capturing caribou and taking them to the Calgary Zoo is still on that list of options. Thank you.