Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The reason I ask the question is because we are talking about regional capacity. I believe there are a lot of conflicts out there, especially between First Nations communities and the way the consultation has taken place with forest management.

This is a responsibility that was devolved from the federal government. There are certain obligations under different agreements, either regions with agreements or without agreements, there has to be more done to improve the consultation and the community concerns as to how this resource is going to be developed, and exactly how the impacts can be dispelled or brought to a minimum. I feel this department should be doing more to expand itself, like we are doing in the human resources sector, where we have officers in most of our communities. We have a regional human resource base that deals with the renewable resource sector, but with non-renewable, you talk about putting people in the different regions dealing with oil and gas. Can we expand that regarding the decentralization and the regional capacity, so we can see the forestry industry being developed in all the regions, not just one or two?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, yes, we could do that within the resources available to us, and we will take the Member's advice. As we work on our next business plan, we will look to see if we have the flexibility to be able to increase our abilities in forest management. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. The Chair recognizes Mr. McLeod.

I have a question regarding forest inventories, especially in the Deh Cho. The Deh Cho has a huge potential in the area of timber and we have a number of sawmills in the region. There are plans for some of the communities to set up a log re-manufacturing plant on the reserve. A lot of the chiefs have voiced the concern that there is a lack of inventory in the region. It has been a problem that has caused concerns about the permits that have been issued up until now. It is a problem trying to measure some of the economics for the future.

Some of the chiefs are reluctant to give approval until we know what our timber inventory is in the region. I know some work has been done in the Deh Cho, Cameron Hills and Red Knife areas. I would like to ask the Minister if there are any plans to complete the timbering inventory in the Deh Cho area.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, we are a number of years behind in our inventory work. We complete about one a year. They are very time consuming and very expensive to do. I agree that we need to do more. It is a stumbling block. At the same time, we are also being very cautious as we issue permits to make sure we are not over harvesting. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. McLeod.

The possible solution that was discussed at a meeting on the Hay River reserve about a month ago was the idea of contracting out some of the timber inventory or analysis. I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider that in order to fast track some of this work.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Handley.

We did have some expert advice, Mr. Chairman, that we used to do some inventory in the Cameron Hills area. We do as much of that as we can. It all costs money and we have to be careful how much we are spending in some of these areas. We are working at it as best as we can. I think the long term solution is that it has to come back to getting some sort of economic development agreement that will enable us to get some cost sharing from the federal government on these issues. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, I will have Mr. McLeod respond to Mr. McLeod's question, since he has the detail on inventories.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. McLeod.

I was hoping the Minister would be able to tell me in terms of the number of years we can expect the inventory to be completed in the Deh Cho. Can I rephrase that question to offer that kind of answer?

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, I would estimate that it will take us three to five years to get caught up in the Deh Cho. If you look at the whole Mackenzie Valley, we are probably in the neighbourhood of ten years behind. As Mr. McLeod has mentioned, given the interest in the harvesting activity, we will give this a priority.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. McLeod.

One final question, I touched on it a little the other day, I would like to ask for a more specific answer. It is in the area of consultation process for permits. I would like to ask the Minister to explain to me what that process consists of.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Handley.