Thank you, Mr. Chair. ENR recognizes the challenges for those that are trying to harvest, and it's not just the Tlicho government. And our Minister met with each and every one of those Indigenous governments this year and has met with them previously, actually every year, multiple times a year, to talk about this, to provide extra assistance where we have the ability to do so for harvesting alternate species and also for healthy caribou herds.

The Bathurst herd is not the only herd that's available. There are opportunities to legally harvest from the Beverly herd as well as from the Bluenose-East herd, and there are opportunities and there's been additional funding provided for alternate species. The Bathurst herd is at a critically low level and allowing any harvest of that herd, and this is agreed to by Tlicho government and other Indigenous governments, would affect the conservation measures that we've had in place for all of these years, and it is not advisable from ENR's perspective and the Tlicho government and other Indigenous governments, as well as the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board at this time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.