Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for Minister Miltenberger and it’s about caribou. Recent ENR surveys indicate that most caribou populations in the Northwest

Territories continue to plummet. One vivid comparison states that if the population of the Bathurst herd was compared to the population of Yellowknife, the Yellowknife population would now be smaller than Deline or Fort Resolution. This is disastrous with human and ecological impacts. We know what the numbers are, but what are the causes? We’ve had severe restrictions on harvesting caribou for several years now, with the last two years in almost complete moratorium on Bathurst and Bluenose-East herds.

What has the Minister learned about the effect of hunting on the caribou populations and whether he feels that the hunting restrictions have had a measurable and positive effect? Mahsi.