Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me first say, Mr. Speaker, that it was a very unfortunate incident that happened recently at the Colomac mine site, and very unfortunate that two people were injured. Although it's not the first time this has ever happened, I would say injuries of this nature and these encounters are
still relatively rare. Not to say that they don't happen, and many times when they do happen it's a very bad outcome.
The Member, in his statement, pointed out that we are involved and responsible for the protection of wildlife, but I would say that the department is very active in making sure we discuss with people in communities around the North, bear safety issues. We want to make sure that when people are out on the land that they are safe, whether they are working or hunting.
Unfortunately, in this incident the Member is correct; the people working did not have a gun at their disposal. A gun is not always assurance that the outcome will be successful either, certainly not for the bear, but it is no guarantee for the people out on the land. We have all heard of incidents where somebody is attacked by a bear and they are carrying a gun and unable to down the bear. So we work with communities, we have a web site that disseminates information about bear safety. The regional offices all have this information and meet with community members, and there are occasions when they are in schools talking about bear safety. I think that this is the kind of thing that we can do to ensure that when people are out in bear territory, they are aware of it and understand the steps that they need to take to be safe. Thank you.