Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the continuing debate on caribou in this Assembly, we're starting to get some answers but so far not a lot of accountability. Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, in exchange between myself and the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, we learned that a decision was undertaken, from my understanding, on an emergency basis to restrict the number of tags potentially available to outfitters as the Wekeezhii Resources Board was not able to, in the department's view, reply in time.
So this was fine. There was an emergency provision and the Minister chose to act on it. However, Mr. Speaker, I'm really curious as to just where the emergency was on this one. If we're talking about the difference from what was originally on the commitment to make some 1,200 tags available and we're now down to 700, a difference of 500 tags out of the one herd that was counted which is about 120,000 animals. Mr. Speaker, where was the emergency, especially when no other identified harvester group had its targets or quotas changed at this time? It does not constitute, Mr. Speaker, what I would say is bold and decisive action. As a matter of fact, I see it as unfair, lopsided action and a betrayal toward these people for the investment and the trust that they have made in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, the role of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment has also yet to be explored. There are 20 years of public investment and promotion behind the sports hunting industry. Yet, based on a lot of what really is perceived as incomplete information, does this really warrant the elimination of the industry, which is what is before us with the recommendations that this government has made, Mr. Speaker?
---Applause