Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as you all know, a dramatic climate change is taking place in the north. This climatic change is known as global warming. The most noticeable effect of global warming is earlier breakups and late freeze-ups. In most cases, people tend to welcome the shorter winter period and longer and hotter summers.
There are also some negative aspects to changing weather patterns. In general, both humans and wildlife have to adjust to these changes. Migrating wildlife such as caribou and water fowl, sea mammals and fish must contend with and adjust to these climatic changes in order to complete their migration to and from the breeding grounds. For example, spring migrating caribou may find their routes to the camping grounds cut off by early breakup of rivers. In the fall their routes to the staging areas will be blocked by large bodies of open water. Although caribou are excellent swimmers, they tend to avoid swimming when the temperature hovers around the freezing mark. In particular, in the fall. Another example is spring char runs out of the rivers. Char are known to take advantage of the high water levels during breakup in order to reach the sea. As break-up in the rivers arrives earlier, so do the whales arrive sooner than in previous years. Reduced sea ice coverage in the Beaufort will have it's affect on polar bear movements as well.
Mr. Speaker, I think biologists will be very busy in the next few years if they want to record all of the effects of global warming on northern wildlife. Since 99 percent of the people in my riding depend on wildlife for their livelihood, they too must adjust their hunting cycles and strategies to coincide with the changing weather patterns. For example, reductions in snow coverage on land both in spring and fall have served to limit the use of snowmobiles. Where conditions permit, people have adjusted by employing the use of ATVs for a longer period of time. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.