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. 



