Jason Unrau
Northern News Services
Friday, April 30, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - An amendment to the Wildlife Act affecting barren-ground caribou hunting regulations has angered the Tlicho government and eroded its faith in the territorial government, said Grand Chief George Mackenzie.

"At this time we have no confidence in the territorial government and how they deal with our land claim," said Mackenzie after a meeting with Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael McLeod to discuss changes in legislation that reduced outfitters' annual tag allotment from 1,163 to 750.

During a March 2007 We'keezhii Renewable Resources Board (WRRB) hearing on caribou management recommendations that included reducing outfitters to 350 tags, Mackenzie testified the minister had no business making any changes affecting wildlife on Tlicho territory without first consulting Tlicho chiefs. Mackenzie said that since the hearing, the territorial government has only consulted with the Tlicho "after the fact."

"We've agreed we'll get lawyers from both sides, give them a week or so to work out the consultation process so this doesn't happen in the future, but that is no excuse for them to ignore our agreement," he said.

The WRRB was created under the Tlicho Agreement to manage wildlife in a "co-ordinated" fashion with "any other authority whose responsibilities include the (same)." The agreement also stipulates the territorial government must consult with the Tlicho prior to legislative changes affecting the region's land, water or wildlife, something that Mackenzie said has yet to take place.

Both ENR Minister Michael McLeod and Premier Joe Handley were on holidays and unavailable for comment. Public Affairs Manager for ENR Judy McLinton told Yellowknifer that because caribou management recommendations were under judicial review initiated by two outfitters, the minister would not speak to the matter.

When asked why changes to wildlife legislation could occur despite the review and with the matter still before the WRRB, McLinton said such a decision remained at the minister's discretion. McLinton added McLeod's actions followed a section of the Tlicho Agreement, which stipulates "in an emergency" ENR could proceed in spite of the WRRB process.

The emergency is ENR's assertion Bathurst caribou are in a population nose-dive, something both the outfitters and the Tlicho question.

American outfitter John Andre, along with Yellowknife outfitter Boyd Warner, launched the judicial review in March challenging ENR caribou numbers and its recommendations outfitters have said will wipe out their businesses. Andre called the territorial government's recent move "incredibly arrogant."

"Any sort of emergency has been created by the (territorial government) and not the caribou," he said. "I can't believe the GNWT would make a decision like this while it's under judicial review and under the WRRB process, it's just terrible. Everybody wants to play by the rules but the damned government, and I don't understand it. It makes no sense to me."

If the Tlicho cannot reach a compromise with the territorial government, Mackenzie said further action would be taken but declined to elaborate. However, Andre has promised to sue for any financial losses he suffers as a result of caribou tag reductions that he maintains are based on incomplete and erroneous caribou survey and census data.