Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We recognize the severity of the declining caribou herd. We heard it throughout our tour of the Tlicho, and we heard it from the Yellowknives, as well. I have instructed the department, as I was responding. I have directed the department to come up with a plan to address a lot of the issues that we have heard about. I think in response to an oral question before, I said that we are looking at trying to have this work done as quickly as possible and have it come forward in the form of a supplemental if need be. On top of the ongoing work that we do as part of our regular budgeting process on the caribou, I have directed the department to look for additional funding, have put in a request for additional funding, to expand on the work of the caribou, so we would like to see that come forward here in the form of a supplemental sometime during the life of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I really look forward to seeing what this supplemental looks like, but the plan doesn't actually require new money to do some of the things that are already set out in there. Offsetting, mobile caribou conservation measures, I don't think that that actually requires a lot of money to do, so when is the department going to start doing some work on protection of habitat instead of just concentrating on wolves and harvesters? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are doing a lot of work in this particular area. Wolves and harvesters are just part of the work that we are doing. Those seem to be the ones that are highlighted all the time, so those are the ones that would get the most attention, but there is a lot of work that goes on as part of our regular work within the management of caribou. I am going to, through you, Mr. Chair, go to Dr. Dragon to give us an explanation of some of the work that we have ongoing. Thank you.

Thank you. Dr. Dragon.

Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the description of that, but I guess I am worried that, by the time we get through all of those steps, there may not be any caribou left. $150,000 was cut from boreal caribou monitoring in last year's budget. The Minister said that there was going to be additional funding on the way to make up for that. Our requirements for boreal caribou continue to increase. We have to have a recovery strategy. There is going to be more monitoring required as a result of the Tlicho all-season road. Where is the money for boreal caribou work? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We want to do a thorough job on the work that we do, and we don't have much choice. We can't make a unilateral decision. We have committed to working with our Aboriginal partners on trying to move this forward. Again, credit to our Aboriginal partners; they recognize that this is a serious issue, and they want to move forward as well. I think it is going to carry a lot more weight, and it is going to go a lot further in partnership with the Aboriginal governments.

As far as the boreal caribou, in responding to questions from the Member for Yellowknife North during oral questions earlier this afternoon, I did mention that we are looking at possibly making some type of an announcement here shortly.

I take the Member's point. I remember distinctly last year saying that the $150,000 was going to be eliminated, but we are working with Canada to try to secure some funding. My understanding is that within the next few days year, or during the life of this session, we should be able to make an announcement to address the concerns that the Member is raising. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Next, I have Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In regard to this section here, bison management control and developing plans there, can the Minister advise: have they been looking at the herd around Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In the Member's riding, a draft Nahanni bison management plan has been revised following an internal ENR review, and it will go out for a broader GNWT review. In the Nahanni population, currently, there are seven male tags only available, and once the population has reached 1,000 animals, a male-only harvest of between 1 to 2 percent could be implemented, as per the management plan. I think that the short answer to the Member's question is yes, we are looking at three different herds of bison in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. He said three herds. The three herds are by Fort Providence, Fort Smith, and the Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte area? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have the Mackenzie Population. I guess that would be by Fort Providence. The Nahanni Population would be in Fort Smith, and then we have the Slave River Lowlands Population. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you. Minister.

Yes, I think that they all decided to move to a safer location. No, I don't think that the Member was going to give up until I gave him the actual information. The Nahanni Population is the Nahanni Butte population, and the Slave River Lowlands is Fort Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chair.