Environment committee  I see you've accorded me some extra time.

Environment committee  I thank the committee for having invited the Grand Council to participate here today. We were rather unsure about the goal of this meeting, but in any case we can give a characterization of the situation in northern Quebec. Eeyou Istchee covers 339,698 square kilometres in James

Environment committee  Actually, most of the problem with the George River herd and the decline of the herds in northern Quebec, the barren ground caribou, are due to a 100-year cycle of those caribou. There is on the record another collapse that was noted approximately 100 years ago. Just before the

Environment committee  Well, they are genetically distinct, yes, but they're very close genetically. The barren ground herds and the woodland herds in Quebec are closer than, for example, the herds out west.

Environment committee  You must realize that aboriginal people have a hunting tradition, and it's very important to have them at the table and involved. No, you can't have a debate on preserving the wildlife unless the hunters, trappers and fishermen are at the table.

Environment committee  We have to consider the warming climate. It affects the whole territory in northern Quebec. There have been many deaths caused by it, because the traditional knowledge of where it is safe to travel on the ice has meant that you have to rewrite the book. That's why the Cree Trappe

Environment committee  When the EM-1-A hydroelectric project was approved by the federal review and the provincial review, there was a recommendation in there for the federal government, the Quebec government, the Manitoba government, and the Ontario government to get together and create some kind of a

Environment committee  I was involved with the EM-1-A hydroelectric project. Hydro-Québec and the Crees together have maintained the habitat along the diversion. There was a partial diversion of the Rupert River into the La Grande system, but by virtue of maintaining the habitat in the lower stream, th

Environment committee  Well, it's a little different because, I believe, there are about three outfitters right now in the north, and they're all in trouble because of the collapse in the caribou herd. There's not much more that can be said. There's not much revenue being made in those outfitting cam

Environment committee  The herd did not collapse as a result of some kind of external cause. It collapsed because of nature.

Environment committee  Carrying capacity was exceeded and they basically ate themselves out of browse.

Environment committee  It may take 25 years.

Environment committee  I personally haven't been involved with that a lot, but I know there has been more dialogue between the aboriginal people and the federal government, and I think it's appreciated.

Environment committee  What I can say is that there is a continuous dialogue with Quebec and with the federal government and among the aboriginal groups through the Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Coordinating Committee. That type of issue is dealt with, if it becomes serious, through that committee.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and Madam Vice-Chair. My name is Brian Craik and I'm the representative for federal issues for the Crees. I'm here in place of Mandy Gull, who I was supposed to be accompanied by, but she's ill and couldn't come. The Cree of Eeyou Istchee do not suggest that