Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for generations, caribou have taken care of the aboriginal people of the Northwest Territories. They fed us, clothed us, and provided tools for us. Mr. Speaker, we have been told lately that the numbers are declining and now it is our turn to look after the future of the caribou. Aboriginal governments and the co-management boards recognize that there may be a problem and want to do what they can to ensure the survival of the caribou for future generations.
Mr. Speaker, caribou are a way of life for the aboriginal people. They always have been. We have to do now what is best for the survival of the caribou. Let us not wait until the herds are depleted to the point of where they cannot recover.
Mr. Speaker, there is a story I always like to tell. I ran into an elder while I was driving on the Dempster Highway. This is a guy who has been around for years. He has hunted caribou for years. He is driving up and down the highway picking up piles of guts from the side of the road. I asked him why he was doing that. He said we tell people that we can govern ourselves, but yet we leave garbage on the side of the road. That wasn't sending a very good message to people. So he took it upon himself to pick up these piles of guts and go throw them away, because that is how much he didn't want people to think badly of his people.
Mr. Speaker, sadly, this elder is now gone but I think a lot of us here are getting close to being elders; some closer than others. It is now our turn to carry his message forward and do what we can to teach the future generations to respect the caribou. My grandson is nine months old, Mr. Speaker, and I want to come to a point as he gets older to be able to enjoy the benefits of the caribou like we all have and not just have it a story in history that his grandpa tells him when the caribou were plentiful and roaming the Northwest Territories and we didn't do what we could to manage these caribou and sadly, grandson, there are no caribou left for you. We have to go to Northern and buy pork chops or beef from Alberta. We don't want that day to come, Mr. Speaker. We are in a position, along with the rest of the leadership of the Northwest Territories, that we can do something about it and leave something for the future generations and not deplete it today. Thank you.
---Applause