Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last fall, the NWT Chamber of Mines, the NWT Construction Association and the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, along with a number of organizations in the mining industry, sponsored a mining symposium. One of the recommendations from the symposium was to look into the feasibility of providing a one-stop access approach to job and contract opportunities in the mining industry. A committee was formed to create a workplan and a strategy. Members of that committee included the YK Chamber of Commerce, the NWT Mobilization Group, Construction Association, mining industries, the NWT Chamber of Mines, and the federal and territorial governments.

The progress to date, Mr. Chairman, is as follows: the Human Resources Development Canada resume employee skills identification program, better known by the acronym as Connector, is being evaluated by the N.W.T. Construction Association. This is a program that could be used as a universal resume for potential employees in the communities and serve as a bank for employers to select potential workers.

The NWT Construction Association is also delivering a job placement, employer subsidy program directed at construction related industry jobs, including those at Koala Camp site. Office Compliments, here in Yellowknife, is also delivering a similar program for clerical administrative employees. Both programs are placing workers with a broad range of employers.