Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to speak today on the Bathurst caribou issue. Yellowknife has the largest aboriginal population in our Territory. It is home to over 8,000 aboriginal people. I, therefore, have many constituents that are of aboriginal descent and, given the proximity of the communities of Dettah and Ndilo to the City of Yellowknife, the decision to ban hunting in the North Slave region is having a tremendous impact on some of my constituents.
It is very clear the science on the freefall of the Bathurst herd is compelling, but how do over 100,000 caribou disappear in just over five years? One theory is that many have gone east and joined the Ahiak and
herds. For most of us,
what happened to the 100,000 caribou is certainly a mystery.
The fact is the Bathurst herd, as defined by ENR, is in serious decline. Decisions are required to conserve and protect the herd. However, the Minister of ENR has made a decision which directly impacts the Treaty rights of aboriginal people. My fear, Mr. Speaker, is that we are setting ourselves up for a protracted and costly court battle that will only benefit the lawyers that are involved. We need to stay out of court, Mr. Speaker. We need to have a meaningful consultation process with aboriginal governments and leaders. If the consultation
process was done the right way, a solution negotiated between the GNWT and aboriginal governments could have been found. My belief is that it’s not too late to do this.
The Minister has to absolutely take every possible step to ensure consultation contains proper representation from all potentially affected groups. Given the way that aboriginal leaders and people have reacted to the government’s decision, this would indicate, quite clearly, that we have not done the job necessary to both conserve the herd or respect treaty rights.
England’s Royal Proclamation of 1763 recognized the vast area of this continent as aboriginal hunting grounds. One enduring effect of that proclamation has been settler governments’ acceptance that harvesting fish and game is an integral feature of the aboriginal way of life. For aboriginal people, the implication is much stronger. For them the proclamation and treaties it inspired not only recognized but also protected their hunting and fishing privileges.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.