Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given the concern I think Members will have about the transition of the 15th Assembly and whether or not the will will still be there to go forward with this, why, in this case, does the government not consider piecemealing it? Why not bring forward pieces of legislation that are acceptable and have been done and let's get that done and leave the balance for the 15th Assembly? Why does the government not take that approach in June?

The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that the political direction from previous Assemblies as well as this Assembly was such that we cannot take a piecemeal approach to the Wildlife Act. We could not advance certain sections without giving comfort to all stakeholders, interest groups as well as the aboriginal governments, what the entire proposed legislation would look like. So we had some years ago discarded that particular consideration. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister provide to this House some indication in Hansard where the Assembly said this should not be approached on a piecemeal basis, in this Assembly?

The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the suggestion was to proceed only when the agreement was with the Inuvialuit, as well as with the Gwich'in and Sahtu. Those claims have been settled. As to how they wanted the legislation to reflect the agreements that they have, specifically, Mr. Speaker, there was the suggestion some time ago that we look at proceeding with amendments to the Wildlife Act to address demands by some of our residents, particularly the armed forces, to reflect their desire to have the right to hunt in the NWT. I think politically that was a specific issue that addressed one segment without waiting for the entire legislation to be considered. As I recall, it was rejected by Members in this Legislature.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Premier's recollection and mine are somewhat different. I await him tabling that information.

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the Minister could advise us how much has been spent in the 14th Assembly on consultation so far on a new Wildlife Act, just in this Assembly?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister will consider that and, if it does not entail a significant amount of work, we would be prepared to provide that and table it in the House.

Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you. The honourable Minister of MACA, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will take that question as notice.

The question has been taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker I, too, have concerns similar to my colleague, Mr. Dent, about the Wildlife Act amendments. I find it ironic sitting here how time moves, but doesn't seem to change. Mr. Speaker, in 1994, when the Wildlife Act was amended to allow for the Inuvialuit Final Agreement to be enacted, at that time there was a question made by the committee that oversaw the amendment to the Wildlife Act. Why is it that the Gwich'in claim, that was settled in 1992 and the Sahtu claim, which was settled in 1994, was not considered in this review? Mr. Speaker, at the time the comment was, because they were going to do them in the previous years, not do them collectively, altogether at one time. Based on the comments from the Premier I'd like to ask, is that opportunity still available to the Gwich'in or Sahtu groups who have land claims obligations to enact their wildlife provisions to bring them into law?

Thank you. The Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, more than ever, this legislation is probably more crucial at this time period in the development of the NWT. We are talking about diamond potential in the Mackenzie Valley. We are talking about a pipeline development down the Mackenzie Valley. The animals and the wildlife species in the NWT threatened by the impacts of major developments. That's why it's crucial we have this type of legislation. I have heard from my constituency that harvesters are being impacted by development already. There is nothing in place for the wildlife boards to protect the harvesters. What is this government doing to ensure that our harvesters are protected from the development that's taking place knowing there is no legislation there to protect them?

The Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.