Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I think we have been promoting all the opportunities that are there already when it comes to trying to create new employment. I think the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment has initiated an employment strategy as a government strategy. The different opportunities are there, the whole area of mining, the whole area of the diamond mines. I think this government really put a lot of effort into trying to secure the whole process of as much employment for the north as they possibly can. I think the First Nations, too, are very aggressive in that manner and in diamond mines and they are able to secure some concessions so that maybe there will be as much employment in the north and in the local communities as possible.

There is a lot of potential elsewhere, like in the gas and oil field in the Inuvik area. There is an initiative on the part of the Inuvialuit, I believe, and we certainly encourage that. In the Sahtu there is going to be some work this year that is going to create employment in that area. Oil and gas in the Deh Cho area is very big and there is a lot of opportunity for training initiatives going on in that area. We encourage wherever it is acceptable by the communities to pursue these type of new areas. Again, in our own programs and services, through contracts we are able to have work being done in most of the communities. In the area of housing and in areas of construction, in the areas of maybe highway maintenance and so forth. In this way we continue to do that.

As for new strategy, certainly we are going to have to pursue that. There is the economic strategy that is underway and the transportation strategy is part of it and through the transportation strategy, if we are successful in obtaining some funding, I think that it will create a lot of employment. If we strategize, especially on the Mackenzie Valley Highway route, even the route right into Tuktoyaktuk, strategies come out and if we are able to find funding for them, I think that certainly is going to create some employment.

As for the overall economic strategy, I am not very familiar with it, however, that is also one we are supposed to address like there are different Ministers that are associated with, myself, Mr. Kakfwi, Mr. Dent, Mr. Ng, along with Mr. Todd. These are different portfolios that have some kind of attachments to the economic strategy because we are looking at trying to find some money through the Minister of Finance, through RWED, it generates employment and so forth.

Through Mr. Dent there is the training element. The educational element, through Mr. Ng is the social aspect of the whole thing and is right in line of what Mr. Roland is talking about is, once you create employment it alleviates the social problems. I think that we have to, as legislators, keep that in mind and I think once this economic strategy is further developed, I think we are going to look at it closer to see where it is at and where it is going. Perhaps, we may have to revitalize it and put more effort into it. Perhaps, I think there is work being done on it. However, I think there should be more input by stakeholders on the whole process. I think we need to, not only the Ministers get involved from departments, but the people as well in the communities who may have good ideas on how to deal with us in the economic strategy here for the west and as well as the strategy for Nunavut. Thank you.