The committee heard that the department should help residents understand significant changes under the new Wildlife Act and avoid inadvertent violations of the new act by promoting awareness of the roles, responsibilities and authorizations it contains. Recognizing the complexity of the Northwest Territories’ wildlife and habitat management system, the committee recommends that the department conduct an extensive communications campaign to ensure all residents are aware of the new act and its provisions. The committee highlights the importance of ensuring clarity surrounding the process for obtaining licences, permits and any other authorizations.

Enforcement

In order to be effective, the Wildlife Act must be implemented and enforced. As a resident harvester in Inuvik pointed out, the act and regulations “are only as good as their enforcement.” Throughout the Northwest Territories, the committee heard concerns about enforcement issues including the need to ensure adequate resources are available for officers to carry out their duties, and to monitor non-resident harvesters particularly along Northwest Territories borders.

Residency

Unless special permission is granted, current legislation requires a person to reside in the Northwest Territories for two years before he or she can apply for a hunting licence. Bill 3 proposes a 12-month residency period before an individual is eligible for a resident hunting licence. This change was a significant source of concern for many individuals and organizations. The committee reached consensus that the bill may proceed with a one-year residency requirement, but asks that the department retain well-defined and stringent requirements for proof of residency.

Over the last 10 years, the department has issued, on average, close to 1,200 resident hunting licences per year. The Northwest Territories Bureau of Statistics currently predicts a net increase of 204 non-Aboriginal residents in the next eight years. That would result in an increase of 12 new resident harvesters, at the current rate of participation in resident harvesting activities, and 56 new resident hunters by 2031.

The department has publicly stated that effective measures are available to control the level of resident harvest. In areas with settled land claims, Aboriginal governments also have authority to control harvest.

The change would also allow RCMP and military service personnel, who are typically in the Northwest Territories for a short term, to participate in harvesting activities with a resident hunting

licence. On a further note, a one-year residency requirement is consistent with other Canadian jurisdictions.

Conservation Areas

A significant number of comments and concerns were expressed with respect to the establishment of conservation areas. The committee recognizes that some of the public may feel a great deal of uncertainty in this area. The committee’s view is that the act sets out a reasonable procedure to designate conservation zones based on concrete data and in the interest of sustaining wildlife population and habitat. The committee strongly recommends that the department work with stakeholders, and the public, as appropriate, when establishing any form of conservation area. Members reinforce that conservation areas should address critical wildlife issues and thus should only be required on rare occasions.

With that, I’ll turn the conclusion over to our chair, Mr. Robert Hawkins.