DEH CHO - The reduction in residency requirements, protection for wildlife and possible treaty infringements are among the concerns in the Deh Cho over the proposed new Wildlife Act.

Over the last month staff with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources have been holding community meetings across the territory to explain the act which would replace the current act that dates back to 1979. The act has raised some concerns in the region.

Susan Fleck, right, the director of the wildlife division of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources talks about the proposed new Wildlife Act at a community meeting in Fort Simpson on Dec. 3 while Michelle Henderson, a species at risk co-ordinator, runs the Power Point presentation. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Jonas Antoine, a hunter and trapper from Fort Simpson, represented the Deh Cho on the Wildlife Aboriginal Advisory Group that provided input during the early stages of the act's revision.

Antoine said a number of the group's recommendations were not included in the proposed act. One example is the new residency requirements reducing the number of years a person has to live in the territory before they can hunt from two to one.

The group had wanted to increase the number to five years, Antoine said.

"This is giving any transient the right to hunt in the North," he said about the change.

The act should provide more protection for wildlife and increasing the number of years would have been one protective measure, Antoine said. The number was reduced to appease people in Yellowknife constituencies, he said.

The board also recommended doing away with big game trophy hunters.

"To them it's a sport. You don't treat animals like that. You don't shoot animals for sport," he said.

The act has failed to provide stricter rules to protect wildlife for the future. The proposed act is going backwards, not forwards, he said.

Antoine said aboriginal people don't feel the act applies to them.

"We have an inherent right to hunt and fish wherever, whenever," he said.

In Fort Providence Chief Joachim Bonnetrouge said potential infringement of treaty rights is also a concern with regards to the act.

Dehcho First Nations and Canada are in the midst of sorting out treaty rights related to hunting, fishing and trapping as part of the Deh Cho Process negotiations. The Wildlife Act has the possibility to infringe on rights related to traditional activities on the land, he said.

Bonnetrouge said the territorial government should wait until the issue is settled on the federal level before completing the act.

"Hopefully the Deh Cho Process activities will speed up," he said.

The process of updating the Wildlife Act began 11 years ago in 1999.

"This is a much needed revision," said Susan Fleck, the director of the wildlife division of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Since the 1979 Wildlife Act was established a number of land claims have been settled and treaty rights are more recognized, she said.

"There are many changes, hopefully for the better," she said.

The purpose of community meetings held across the territory was to give residents an opportunity to learn about the act and provide feedback, said Fleck. Residents have until Jan. 3 to comment on the act.

Changes will then be made based on the comments and the act is expected to be introduced in the legislative assembly in early March. If everything runs according to schedule the MLAs will vote on the act in late June.

If the act is passed it will still take approximately a year before it comes into effect, said Fleck.

"There's still a lot of work to do," she said.

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