Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Spring will soon arrive in Fort Liard. Spring, as Liard residents know, brings the bison into their town. Some communities in the Northwest Territories may have dogs roaming around in town. Other communities may have unsupervised youth or children looking for trouble. In Fort Liard there are bison. They can ruin the trees, dig up gardens, damage properties, and are a significant hazard to the residents.

The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources committed to the development of a Bison Management Plan. A draft Bison Management Strategy is now out for public comment; a plan that suggests that it will take another two years to prepare a plan specifically for the Nahanni herd. The unwelcome visitors in Fort Liard belong to the Nahanni herd.

The Bison Management Strategy also states that ENR will immediately increase its efforts to keep bison out of the communities, including the increasing availability of public education materials.

Last spring the Minister advised me that the department was considering increasing the quota for the community from one to six animals and was working with the Department of Transportation on fencing options, including testing electrified fencing.

I recognize the Minister is getting started on the task. I suggest to the Minister that, to the best of my knowledge, new public education materials are not going to keep the bison out of Fort Liard. Nahendeh residents continue to expect more substantial action from the Minister to help us with this serious problem.

I’ll be asking the Minister questions during question period.