Mr. Speaker, this is in response to a question asked by Mr. Nerysoo on June 29, 1992. Mr. Speaker, I have looked into the matter of the hiring of southern students, raised by Mr. Nerysoo.

As a result of the question, I have conducted a review of the hiring of southern summer students to determine whether qualified northerners were disadvantaged as a result of their employment.

A total of 416 students were hired this summer. Of these, 40 percent were long time northerners, 41 percent were aboriginal people, and 14 percent were northern residents. A total of 17 southern students were hired this year, making up approximately five percent of the total number of students hired.

I reviewed the list of southern students who were appointed to jobs, which we believed required technical qualifications not possessed by any available northern students.

Summer jobs, to which they were appointed, required qualifications such as advanced course work in geology, engineering technology, and mechanical engineering. In overall terms, Mr. Speaker, the summer student employment program was, I believe, extremely successful this year.

While restraint did place some limitations on departmental budgets, the government succeeded in employing nine percent more students than in 1991. This generated 416 jobs, which allowed students with supplementary incomes to go back to school. Departments and agencies conform to the rules for summer student employment, and I am satisfied that this program was a solid success in spite of the impact of restraint. Thank you.