Mahsi, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We will certainly follow up to ensure that the communities the Member has referred to are consulted. It is our intention to have all communities, the leadership familiar with the fire response plans in their area and in their region. We cannot, and probably will not, fight all fires, but we have a priority list and response areas that we share with the communities and I certainly will share it with the communities in his riding.

As to involving elders when it comes to a fire close to communities, our practice has been to involve the emergency measures committee and usually that is the chief and council and if they want to expand it to include elders, I am sure we can allow for that. It's mostly to look at the different plans required or maybe needed and providing information. So we certainly will look at that.

Mahsi, Mr. Minister. Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Chair, just a final note. With respect to the decision-making, even though it comes down from Fort Smith, the essential headquarter location, I think the decision should lie with the community. Over and over I have been told that the community has requested to fight a fire or around that nature, but Fort Smith is saying no we are not going there. Again, they are the ones who know the community. I think the decision should lie with the community. We are the ones who are impacted, not Fort Smith. So I think that needs to be clear. We are the ones impacted. So we like to make the decisions at the community level. The sooner the better. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I certainly agree with the Member's comments. We agree that the community should have input and decision-making into the response areas. However, we can't afford to wait until there is a fire burning in a certain area before we start debating whether it should be fought or not. We need to have good advanced planning and that involves fire response planning. We will certainly commit to going to the Member's riding and sitting down with his communities and show him what has been utilized in terms of fire response plans and priorities up to now. If that needs to be changed or upgraded, we will commit to doing that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Next on the list I have Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have some quick questions which follow up on Jackson's questions. When were these response area lists updated in all these areas of firefighting? Do they get updated annually, biannually, five or 10 years? When? Thank you.

Thank you. Before I go to the Minister, I want to remind Members to address Members by their last name and witnesses by their last name, please, committee. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I had to check with the deputy minister to see how far back it was, but the policy came into place in 1988. Fire response plans were introduced at that time. They are upgraded on an annual basis. If there is desire from any communities to do that, we will certainly provide them. Our officers are expected to have good communication with communities and keep the communities up to date. At the same time, Mr. Chairman, sometimes there is high turnover within a community and it may be difficult, but we will commit to contacting communities and let them know that there is a process in place.

Mahsi, Mr. Minister. Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me rephrase my question. I didn't ask about when the plans are revisited. I want to know when these priority lists that the forest management retains on where they are going to actually go and fight a fire and where they fall in the priority list. How often do they go into these communities that are in and around these areas and sit down and talk

with the communities to try to redraw the priority areas in and around their communities? Is that done on an annual basis? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The priorities are in the forest management policy. The ability for a community can be done at any time; ability to update their priority response areas can be updated at any time at the request of the community. We don't necessarily go and review the plan every year. It could be done on an annual basis if things change that much. We don't expect the priorities to change once it's set. The number one priority for protection would be the community and then it starts going outwards. Those plans, we keep on monitoring them. We utilize them to respond to fires. So it's something that could happen as often as the community would like.

Mahsi, Mr. Minister. Mr. Villeneuve.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think the communities should be made aware that they have the option to revisit these priority areas that the government has slated as priority and non-priority or high priority versus low priority. I have gotten a lot of elders who have come to me and said they have seen fires burning in perfectly good caribou feeding grounds and the fires are just left to burn. To them, that's a high priority. There might not be any cabins in the area, but again it might be prime trapping area, prime migratory route area and yet the fire is just left to burn. I know there are pros and cons to say we could let it burn or we could fight the fire. We are letting it burn and refurbishing. When they are in migratory routes and feeding areas that a lot of the elders deem as always being like the way it is, I think that should be right up there on the priority list. Just let me get back to that priority list. Are there migratory routes, or calving areas, or calving grounds, or feeding areas, or wildlife habitat on that list besides cabins and communities? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, yes.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Anything further, Mr. Villeneuve?

No, that's fine, thanks.

Mahsi. Next on the list I have Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a couple more questions on this tanker contract. In previous contract awards, is 10 year a new length of time? How many years were previous contracts awarded for? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I guess the term that is laid out in the contract is for 10 years and the previous contract was for five years with an extension clause, I think. So this is, to answer the Member's question, yes, 10 years is a new time frame.