Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say Happy Valentines to my lovely wife who is somewhere here in Yellowknife. I certainly love her.

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about the importance of caribou, and caribou that's from our region in the Sahtu. As the Minister of ITI has expressed in his Minister's statement, as the mighty Sahtu, I say that with great pride and honour. Some of the other Members will talk about their own region and give their own praise to their own region. I want to say something about the caribou in terms of the importance of the caribou here.

We are talking about caribou that's been here for thousands and thousands of years. It has its own way of life. It has its own laws...self-manages themselves over years and years until we started to get into the human management of it. We really haven't taken into consideration...If the caribou was right in front of us, what would they say to us on how we're taking care of them? How we're having arguments with them, and different views of how we see them? The outfitters, how they see them for the economic benefits of their industry? For the aboriginal hunters. Talk about the little guy? How about the four-foot guy in Colville Lake? Taking care of the people in Colville Lake who really understand that caribou? Or the people in Deline and the profits they talk about our caribou? The aboriginal hunters? You know, we really need to look at this very carefully. That is our

life that you're talking about. As it's been expressed by other Members, that's the life of the industry, the outfitters. But our life is a little deeper and it goes a little further. Here we're arguing about a very important commodity, different views from different people.

The caribou, Mr. Speaker, is very sensitive to our people. That is our life. As Mr. Bell talked about, the Canol Trail, we saw one caribou on that trail and we looked at it and appreciated it by the people. Mr. Speaker, the youth learned a lot on that trail.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.