Mahsi, Mr. Villeneuve. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a band called the Bare Naked Ladies sings a song called If I Had a Million Dollars. Mr. Speaker, I always liked the song. Again, I have my own version to share with the House. I performed a version of this song during last year's budget session. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the rules of this House still do not allow guitars or keyboards or even backup singers to be with me, so you have to bear with me as I read my Sahtu version.

Mr. Speaker, if I had a billion dollars, I will establish a territorial one-stop shop elders' secretariat. Listen to the elders' concerns. You are born to do that.

If I had a billion dollars, I will build a road to connect the Sahtu. Then we connect to the south and show them a thing or two. Would the Tuk people help, too?

If I had a billion dollars on the winter road, I would build a Tim's just to drive through. It's such a smooth trip. We won't even have to stop in or spill my double double, too.

If I had a billion dollars, I will enhance and develop the wilderness camp because you just can't separate the people from the land. That's cruel.

If I had a billion dollars, I will hire the elders to count the caribou, female and male, too. They know what's going on, so much more than me and you, and that's no bull.

If I had a million dollars, the regional superintendent will take a Sahtu regional forum. Finally as a region, the Sahtu will stand alone.

If I had a million dollars, more resources towards the housing core needs. I will have all the Sahtu houses with the utmost speed. It will leave some for the other communities, too.

If I had a billion dollars to support the traditional economies, hunters and trappers would fall under the most sought after choice of our snow activities.

If I had a million dollars, I wouldn't forget the forgotten people. I will fund the Metis Nation too from the university or college entry program and to end their frustration.

If I had a billion dollars, I will hold the Stanley Cup in a little town called Deline. It is the birthplace of the game. Then playoffs will happen there someday, too.

If I had a billion dollars, my colleagues will certainly get a day's funding plus per capita. We will be on equal footing to access health care.

If I had a billion dollars, Mr. Speaker, we would all be rich. Thank you.

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Yakeleya. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member's statement today is about Caribou Forever. The report tells us that 40 to 86 percent of the caribou have disappeared over the past five years. Are the caribou restrictions addressing the real problem? Or, Mr. Speaker, do we just react rashly to an emergency situation that should have never started? Resident hunters are being singled out, Mr. Speaker. With the lack of numbers on how many caribou are really being taken, are we really solving the problem? We don't have solid numbers on the wolf population. We don't know for sure what the real reason is why the caribou are disappearing, or is it really just a cyclical cycle that we have come into a low phase with the caribou numbers?

If the GNWT had been monitoring this problem all along, we might not be in this reacting position we are in today. We have invested millions of dollars into the commercial harvesting industry, Mr. Speaker, but now it is in jeopardy because we have to pull it right back in a fast reaction.

A number of hunters that I am aware of are outdoorsmen who like to get their five tags, but, Mr. Speaker, many of them say that they only take about two caribou anyway. So the problem I see is we have numbers in the sense of we know we are selling five tags, but we don't know how many we are really allowing to be shot.

I would like to suggest maybe a creative incentive, Mr. Speaker, in a better way of handling this by getting the hunters to return unused tags. I have a constituent who told me the other day that he has a little ring of caribou tags of about 50 of them that have accumulated well over a decade, Mr. Speaker. That a family has gone out, purchased the tags and there is proof in the pudding, Mr. Speaker, that the residents aren't necessarily shooting them all, so we don't know what the facts are.

In the situation that I see this, we could come up with smart solutions, Mr. Speaker. We could set a different rate for the third tag. We could set a different rate even higher for the fourth tag. This would be a fair and reasonable response for those hunters who go out there and use caribou to put food on their table.

I think we need to get buy-in on reduce and consumption in a voluntary way from GHL holders and resident hunters. If aboriginal organizations are in agreement, we could establish hunting corridors, Mr. Speaker. We could look at ways to make it less easy to get these caribou. There are things like the ice roads where people can pull up on Gordon Lake and just shoot caribou, unlike in the old days when they used to have to skidoo out for them. Now they pull up a truck and shoot them at will.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, may I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Hawkins, please conclude your statement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. If we had been more proactive than reactive, we could have started earlier to find gentler solutions to this problem. Maybe we could be reducing five tags down

to four. Mr. Speaker, just because two tags may be adequate for some hunters; it may not be adequate for all families, Mr. Speaker. So it seems clear to me we found a solution but yet we still don't know what the real problem is, so we are reacting.

We need to know what is happening before we put unfair and unreasonable restrictions on people. I have questions about the magic bullet theory, Mr. Speaker. What happens if a resident hunter is down to one tag, he shoots a caribou and it happens to shoot two caribou? Mr. Speaker, then we are creating a situation that is maybe not fair. The fact is that it keeps going back down to we don't know what the numbers are.

Mr. Speaker, we need to start opening the door to positive solutions to get down to the real facts, which is encouraging tags to come back instead of singling out some group to say, sorry, you can't shoot. I don't think we have solved anything by putting seven restrictions forward.

Mr. Speaker, in closing here, we maybe could start looking at using some of that $8.7 million that we are going to use to continually study this issue and maybe we could put it into the cost of food in some of these communities and help come out with positive solutions. Nobody really knows the facts here. No one wants to see the caribou go the way the buffalo went. The fact is, nobody wants to see wasted meat out there. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. I will have questions for the Minister of ENR later today. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last night, I received word a constituent had a massive heart attack and was medevaced to Edmonton. Later on, I spoke with the wife and she was very upset she could not travel with her loved one on a medevac plane. Mr. Speaker, this decision was made by the medevac doctor. However, she did indicate that she would be travelling to Edmonton today to be with her loved one.

Mr. Speaker, incidents like this are always hard on family and friends. I would like to say that my thoughts are with them. In closing, Mr. Speaker, my prayers are with the family and friends, but, more importantly, I wish the individual a speedy recovery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last day of session today, I wanted to take this opportunity to recognize all of the athletes, coaches and chaperones from my constituency but not only my constituency, right across the North who will be attending the Arctic Winter Games in Alaska this year. There are a number of AWG participants. I think that is great that they have been chosen. I know they are going to do us proud. We are very proud of them, but we should extend congratulations. We are very proud of those who participated in all the regionals and territorials. Not everybody was successful and is going to have the chance to go this time, but they may the next time around. I am sure they had a wonderful time and a great experience.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important for us to recognize that sports is the focus and is the focal point of the these games, but there is a very valuable cultural component and cultural exchange that is a lot of fun, Mr. Speaker, and I think is a great learning experience for many of the participants who are able to go. I was fortunate enough to participate in a couple of Arctic Winter Games, in Alaska and in the Northwest Territories, in 1988, 1990. Of course, my staff took pleasure in finding some old photos of my participation in those games. It wasn't pretty, Mr. Speaker. I can tell you that I was mostly hair in those days.

---Laughter

Obviously, that is not the case anymore. A lot of fun. A great time. Great memories. I still have many friends from across the North from those days. The other thing I would like to say, Mr. Speaker, is that there are a number of people involved who work with MACA and Sport North. For many of these people, it is not just a job, it is truly a pleasure. I think many of these folks would do the job for free. They've put in a lot of hard work and effort.

---Applause

Many of them volunteer. I want to send our thanks to those folks, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Reports of standing and special committees. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize a very special person in my life and a big supporter. She is awesome. She is my spouse, Cheryl Bonnetrouge here.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, I also want to recognize a huge delegation from Deline on this MACA training. I can see Christine and Jane Modeste. I think I see Greg Bayha. I can't see further. I am not as tall as I used to be.

---Laughter

I would like to recognize some good people from MACA who are also in this program here and the instructor Judith Knapp who is doing a wonderful job. I think Mrs. Beck is up there, too. I am just going to leave it at that. There are other people I recognize, but I am short. Mr. Michael Neyelle also from Deline. He just popped his head out there. I want to say I love you, babe.

---Laughter

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Yakeleya. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also would like to welcome everybody in the gallery, especially one of my constituents, Wilfred Simon who is one of our community wellness workers. He is also a very active volunteer in our community. He volunteers a lot of his time to making a lot of organizations successful in holding a lot of community events. I am really appreciative for that, and I am sure the community thanks him a lot, too. Thank you.

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Villeneuve. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize Cecile Desjardins, chief of Behchoko's wife.

---Applause

I am glad to see the students here, Carol, and Judith Knapp. Welcome.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am honoured today to recognize my wife, Judy, up in the gallery...

---Applause

...and my sister-in-law, Debbie. Welcome.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize Judith Knapp. She is a wonderful friend and a constituent. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for the Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.