Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Ramsay.
Collaborative Processes With Aboriginal Organizations
Initial consultation on the Species at Risk legislation began in 1999 in conjunction with consultations on the proposed Wildlife Act. During this initial phase the land claims organizations advocated for a direct role in the drafting of the legislation to ensure that the rights, roles and responsibilities of the cooperative wildlife management processes established under the various land claims agreements were properly addressed.
The Government of the Northwest Territories agreed to an inclusive process for drafting the species at risk legislation that involved the four land claims organizations, the co-management boards and their legal counsel. In 2005 the Species at Risk Working Group was established. They collaborated with Environment and Natural Resources staff in the drafting of the legislation. The working group membership included the Joint Secretariat, the Wildlife Management Advisory Committee, the Gwich’in Tribal Council, the Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board, the Sahtu Secretariat, the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board, the Tlicho Government and the Wek’eezhii Renewable Resources Board. The aboriginal groups with unsettled lands claims -- the Akaitcho Territory Government, Deh Cho First Nation, Northwest Territory Metis Nation, and the North Slave Metis Alliance -- were invited to the working group as observers but declined to participate. They did not
want to have the process influence their land claim and self-government negotiations.
The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources tabled a draft Species at Risk (NWT) Act in the summer of 2008 for public review and comment. Revisions were made to the draft based on comments received from aboriginal organizations, wildlife organizations, industry representatives and the general public. The Minister then introduced Bill 6 in the Legislative Assembly in October 2008.
Support For This Bill From Many NWT Aboriginal Organizations
During the public review, standing committee members heard from the four members of the Species at Risk Working Group. The working group membership included the Joint Secretariat, the Wildlife Management Advisory Committee, the Gwich’in Tribal Council, the Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board, the Sahtu Secretariat, the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board, the Tlicho Government and the Wek’eezhii Renewable Resources Board. All endorsed the proposed legislation and spoke of its importance in strengthening the wildlife protection goals under the various land claims and self-government agreements.
Eddie Erasmus, director of the Tlicho Government’s Lands Protection Department and working group member, told committee members it was necessary to establish a unique system for protecting and managing species at risk in the NWT because land claims and self-government agreements have established new responsibilities, rights and obligations for managing all wildlife. Because of those constitutionally protected agreements, it is not possible for any one party acting in isolation to conserve species that may be at risk. Instead, aboriginal governments, co-management bodies and the governments of the NWT and Canada need to work together in a cooperative way to achieve those important objectives.
Mr. Baryluk, resource management coordinator for the Inuvialuit Game Council, told committee members, while it may have taken a while to get here, we believe that the additional time taken has resulted in a draft bill that gives consideration to all the necessary aspects of the various land claims provisions and co-management processes that currently exist in the Northwest Territories. The participation of the land claims organizations at the table while the bill was being drafted produced a stronger bill that the Inuvialuit Game Council can feel comfortable supporting.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to pass the report on to my colleague Mrs. Groenewegen.