Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Next on my list is Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In regards to activity description, one of the issues we seem to be running into is the whole area of monitoring and also the counting of the different population species. I think that a good example is

the caribou. I know the different caribou numbers that we’ve been getting. It has been some time. I will just use the Porcupine Caribou Management Board. The last count they did was back in 2001. I think it is important that we are basing policy decisions on numbers. Those numbers aren’t accurate. I think it does give public concern. I think we have heard that from the outfitters in regards to other species, especially the Barren Ground caribou. I think that we, as government, have to do a better job of compiling that information, but, more importantly, continue to put more emphasis in regards to that research that has been done and ensure that our counts are as accurate or as close to being as accurate as possible. I would just like to ask the Minister exactly what we are going to be doing differently in light of the situation to deal with the different wildlife populations; more importantly, the caribou populations and making sure that before we make any regulatory decisions, that we do have accurate information and invest those dollars for those studies.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr Miltenberger.

That is a capital question for sure. We are going to continue to invest in keeping our baseline information up. We have spent a lot of time over the last four or five years now developing that information. The problem with the Porcupine or the challenge with the Porcupine is that they have tried mobilizing almost every year now for the last, since the last time or the last five years or so. They have been either the caribou haven’t congregated or the weather has not allowed them to do the work. It is a challenge with the Porcupine herd, but with the Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West, East, Bathurst, Beverly, we do some work on the Ahiak. We work with the Nunavut on the Qamanirjuaq and the Ahiak. We are going to continue to invest. I wouldn’t make the observation when you look at the work from the 1980s down to 2009. The margin for error has been decreasing as the technology improves and the science improves in terms of the accuracy of the counts. This is a very critical issue and we are going to continue to identify resources. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Just a reminder to Members that we are on page 11-7. We are doing capital infrastructure. The actual project listings for this amount of $1.060 million are on page 11-8. So if we can keep the questions focussed on wildlife and capital infrastructure, that would be great. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In regards to the capital investment this government makes, I think that we have to put more investment in regards to that type of infrastructure regardless of

how we do the counts, what type of remote sensing we are doing by way of more flights. I think it is important that we have to be as close to or bang on to the numbers when we talk about having to restrict harvesting because of the decline in numbers or the assumption of decline of numbers. I think we heard the argument from the outfitters. I think we are hearing the same arguments when you start restricting harvest of a specific species. You have to ensure those numbers are as close as we can get. I think over the years this government has put a lot of money into technology in regards to finding ways of doing that. I think that we have to ensure that those capital investments that we are making are actually giving us a return on those investments before we go out and start realizing that we are in the responsibility of maintaining and ensuring that the population of wildlife species are healthy. Again, we have to have the capital investment in those areas to do our job. I would like to make reference that this government has made capital investments in those areas in the past. More importantly, we have to do a better job ensuring that we have an ongoing tracking of these numbers. More importantly, ensure those numbers are close to or exact as we can. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Minister Miltenberger, to infrastructure related to ensuring numbers are accurate.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We share the concern of the Member that we want to make sure we maintain our investments so that we keep our information current and as up to date as possible. No other jurisdiction, I believe, has the type, quality or quantity of information that we have or spend as much time. As we come forward with our business planning for the O and M budget, that is where we would be capturing a lot of the work to be done on caribou. I definitely share, as does the department, the concern about making sure we have the best information, keeping in mind that we are combining our scientific efforts with the traditional knowledge and involving the co-management boards and the aboriginal governments and the folks on the ground to complement each other. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. We are on page 11-7, Environment and Natural Resources, activity summary, wildlife, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $1.060 million.

We will move on to page 11-10. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am noting one of the projects here is the replacement of radio communications and technology. Apparently this technology has a lifespan of about 10 to 15 years. I am wondering if the Minister

knows the age of the current system and if it is, in fact, approaching 15 years. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Miltenberger.

Mr. Chairman, this is a lifecycle request so I don’t have the specific year of the age of the system, but I would venture to say it is getting close to its lifecycle. Thank you.

I will accept that. Perhaps the Minister could provide that information when he gets the opportunity. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister, could you provide that information?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The information we have indicates it is at the end of its useful life, but I will quantify that and see if I can get a year and the age of the current system. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. We look forward to that information. Mr. Krutko.

I didn’t have my hand up.

Okay. We are on page 11-10, Environment and Natural Resources, activity summary, forest management, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $890,000.

Alright, committee. That finishes our review of the activity. We will return back to page 11-2, Environment and Natural Resources, department summary, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $2.160 million.

Does committee agree that we have concluded the review of capital for…Mr. Ramsay.