260 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 
new act was drafted. This was passed by Parliament 
in 1917. 
The most important feature of the new act and regula- 
tions passed thereunder is the licensing of the fur trade. 
Prior to the enactment of this legislation the fur resources 
of the Northwest Territories were open to the unrestricted 
exploitation of all comers, with the result that excessive 
destruction was taking place, especially by certain types of 
foreign trappers, who have no interest, such as that pos- 
sessed by the well-known fur companies, in the future of 
the country. The extensive use of poison and the com- 
plete ‘‘cleaning up” of territory were methods that should 
be immediately checked. The only means of controlling 
the fur industry was by the institution of a license system, 
and the regulations under the Northwest Game Act provide 
that no person may hunt, trap, trade, or traffic in the North- 
west Territories without first securing a license to do so. 
Native-born Indians, Eskimos, or half-breeds who are bona 
fide residents are not required, however, to obtain licenses. 
The new policy will also enable us to obtain reliable statis- 
tics of the fur trade in the Northwest Territories; hitherto 
it has been impossible to obtain such necessary informa- 
tion. The possession and use of poison are prohibited. The 
killing of female hoofed animals, such as caribou, moose, 
mountain sheep, and mountain goat, or the young at foot, 
is prohibited. 
A PROPOSAL FOR THE NATIONAL OWNERSHIP OF THE 
Fur Resources OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES 
In an address before the Commission of Conservation in 
1917 on the conservation of the fur resources of northern 
Canada,* I emphasized the fact that the fur trade of the 
Northwest Territories is not only the chief occupation of 
that immense area, but that it is the only means of liveli- 
hood and existence of the population, and that, unless the 
* Eighth Annual Report, Commission of Conservation, 1917, pp. 119-122. 
