The park is a long way from actually coming under the territorial jurisdiction. I think there’s a 10-step process before we can actually see something. I think we’re on step three on having jurisdiction over the park. I appreciate having the signs up there; however, some people can’t read signs and so they just drive right past the signs and they continue to tear up the area with their ATVs. It’s a real shame that something like this continues and I’m asking if this department can look at some interim protection to restrict the use of the ATVs. The road is good. If they can stay sensibly on the road, but it’s when they go off the road into the mountains and trails that causes a lot of damage. That’s what I was asking. I know it’s difficult. I was hoping that the Minister can be a little more persuasive or forceful to the powers that be and even looking at our own park and see what we can do to put some interim protection in the meantime, because we’re not doing any good at all. Our government, the federal government, they’re not doing anything to restrict the ATVs from being in that area. Where’s the government, the Conservative government, the government in power right now to help us? It doesn’t leave me much faith in our government to protect our land, especially when an ATV is used in this area here.
This is the home of my grandparents, my grandmother. I was hoping that we could have some interim protection with the transportation or something that would stop the ATV users from coming into this area here. Common sense if they stay on the road, it’s okay, but they’re not using common sense. They’re going off the trail and you can see it just like scratch marks on a...(inaudible)... It’s not good there, so I’m hoping that we can do something more than just putting some signs up. I mean, it’s good. We put pressure on the land rovers and I was very happy that they wrote back saying that they’re not going to come and we’ve seen the damage on the trail. We’ve seen the way they went through swamps and Beaver Lake areas. So I think that’s what we’re asking.
Like I said, in the Sahtu we only have one park. This one here is being proposed a world-class park and it’s just a real shame when we fly over the trail and when you get closer to the trail and where you can actually see the ATV tire tracks. It’s a crying shame that this is happening. Why can’t the ATV owners stay on the road or leave it and walk the trail? I don’t understand. That’s a little bit of my frustration, is as to seeing if we can put some interim protection there. This won’t make too many ATV owners happy because they certainly go up there to hunt and they use that area. I wonder what else we can do to protect our area and protect the Do et’q CANOL Trail proposed territorial park. I’m
going to make a plea to the Minister again. Thank you.