Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in the Minister's opening remarks, I believe there is a mention there that money has been set aside to identify consultation and development of a new NWT Species at Risk Act and continue working towards a revised Wildlife Act.

My goodness, Mr. Chairman. References to the Wildlife Act over the last few months have been getting softer and softer and softer. There used to be a sense from the department and its predecessor that bringing into play of a bill for a new Wildlife Act was imminent, but it all we see now, Mr. Chair, is we are going to put yet more money towards it and continue working towards a revised Wildlife Act. Mr. Chairman, how much money is identified in the coming year for the development of these two pieces of legislation?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, just quickly before I give the figure, the commitment, since I have assumed this position as Minister, has been a two-step one where our initial and immediate focus is to accomplish, get a commitment and get a piece of legislation for a Species at Risk Act into this House in time for passage in the life of this Assembly. Once we have done that, we will have broken trail and we will be able to carry on then. The next step would be the Wildlife Act and that would be done over the life of the 16th Assembly coming up in 18 months. We have met with the involved co-management boards. We have worked out a process. We know that timelines are every tight, but there is a commitment by all parties to meet those goals, so we can have a piece of legislation. We have, I believe, $100,000 committed for '06-07 and another 50 for '07-08, so we can carry on with consultation and preparation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Braden.

Okay. There has been, from my understanding, a consultation program underway for the Wildlife Act for at least the last decade, Mr. Chairman. I might be off a couple of years, but we are taking about a multi-year program, which I remember allocating up to half a million dollars a year for consultation and consensus building. We are now already saying we are going to toss this one off to our successors in the 16th Assembly. I wish them luck. I guess the thing I am wondering about is why are we continuing to spend money on it at all. I just have not seen any evidence that there has been progress towards achieving agreement or shared strategies. In fact, if anything, it seems that the differences that are in place regarding wildlife, ownership, management, co-management, co-ownership, are becoming more diverse and I don't know what $100,000 is going to do to get us any closer. I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman, I'm kind of musing here, but this is on the basis of so little, I guess, ability to see real progress on this thing, that I'm questioning why we're even bothering to continue to spend money on it.

So if the Minister would care to engage on that basis, I'll stop now, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the issue of wildlife legislation is a critical one and, yes, it's taken a long time. In the 10 months or nine months I've been here, I believe we've moved the yard markers here, and I'm still confident we're going to have yet a critical first piece of a species at risk legislation ready for the House to be passed before we conclude our business as an Assembly. Once that's accomplished, then we can move on to the Wildlife Act.

The main stumbling block was, as far as I'm aware, was the issue of whose hand would be on the pen and how would the drafting be done. The work that was done on the Species at Risk Act has not been really debated excessively. There's been, pretty well, consensus on the actual work. It was process issues that tied us up. There's been lots of good work done on the Wildlife Act, as well. Consultation over the years, we resolved, we believe the process issues of how the act will be drafted, the Species at Risk Act, and now we're moving to get the work done. So I'm confident, as Minister, that we're going to be able to come forward with that piece of legislation during the life of this Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Braden.

Well, this is a business, Mr. Chairman, where if we don't maintain some kind of optimism, we'd all be in a lot of trouble. So let's go on that basis.

Mr. Chairman, this government, in effect, has a year left. One could argue even less than a year in which to do new things. If the Minister does not see that he's going to be able to bring something as big, and deep, and wide in scope as the Species at Risk Act into this Assembly by the May or June session, then I don't see how we're going to be able to clear it during the life of this Assembly. That's just the reality of the calendar. Does the Minister have any firm idea, or any more firm idea, of when that bill will be brought into this Assembly, Mr. Chair?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. When I met before Christmas with the co-management board chairs and officials, the drop-dead final date for us to be able to bring forward, have a bill in this House for third reading, is June 2007. We've worked back from that date, taking into account the holidays and all the other breaks in between. So the work plan that has been sketched out is worked back from that date. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Braden.

That will do for this page, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. To 12-13, activity summary, corporate management, operations expenditure summary, $9.952 million.

Page 12-15, activity summary, corporate management, grants and contributions, contributions, total grants and contributions, $40,000.

Page 12-16, 12-17, information item, corporate management, active positions, 35. Agreed?

Page 12-18, 12-19, activity summary, environmental protection, operations expenditure, $2.725 million. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On page 12-19 we are looking at some of the numbers here from various fiscal years -- last year, the current year and next year -- and there's quite a bulge, Mr. Chair, from the original prediction for expenditures. At the beginning of this current year we're about 2.3 million, they went up to about 4.4, and they're forecasted to go back down to 2.7 next year. I think the reason for this was the implementation of I believe it was the beverage container. I'm just looking for confirmation of that or an explanation, Mr. Chair, of these as I see these fairly considerable swings in estimates and revisions.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Member is correct; there was the Beverage Container Program as well as money put into the conservation programs that we help support both through our own department and, as well, through the Arctic Energy Alliance.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Braden.