Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of Education, Culture, and Employment. Yesterday, I raised the issue of taking advantage of the training requirements and the possible employment coming down the pipe with all this resource development. There are some factors that will influence the type of development and the magnitude of requirements. I was wondering if the Minister could indicate what some of those factors would be. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I assume that the Member is referring to the difficulty that we have in projecting exactly how many jobs may be available in the resource sector in the foreseeable future. Part of that is tied to not knowing how many of the existing operations may close while we are looking at new ones opening up. That is why one of the tasks that I have set for the Mine Training Committee is to take a look at training that is aimed not just at the mines that we know are on the horizon right now, or mines that are operating, but to try to do some crystal ball gazing and provide me with advice for training that will be useful no matter what.

As Members are probably aware, with the existing mines, we have a turnover of about 150 jobs a year. Considering that a new mine, like the BHP one, is looking at approximately 600 jobs for northerners, it is easy to see that if we go after some of those 150 jobs a year, we can have a significant impact on getting more northerners into mining.

Going back to the Member's initial question, it is difficult for us to predict exactly how many jobs will be there long term. A lot can happen in terms of prices of gold, prices of oil, which will effect how many mines and how many exploration operations and oil wells are drilled in the north. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister elaborate a bit further on the issue such as the drop in the price of gold in terms of its possible impact and its effect on the possible training requirements. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am sure that Members in this House will be aware that a local gold mine has approached its suppliers to suggest that they need some relief in their costs in order for them to maintain economic viability. I understand that there is at least one more mine that is probably experiencing difficulty with the current price of gold. All of this will have some effect on future exploration and therefore, the development of further mines. Mining and exploration companies take a look at the whole package, and make a determination as to whether or not they wish to proceed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister then, when he puts all these different factors on the scales that he uses to judge the effectiveness of current initiatives, is the Minister optimistic that at the end of the day, that there is still a good potential in the area of mine training and the need for jobs? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would think that in the least optimistic scenario we would looking at, in the course of the next 10 years, the same number of jobs that we have right now. I would say that we do not have a representative number of northerners in those jobs and there is still potential for us to get more jobs for more northerners if we embark on significant training programs. If we are more successful in seeing mines open up in the north, we may see more jobs. The same is true in the oil and gas field and I think what we have to do is be prepared with good training programs. Watch for where the opportunities are, and make sure that we are providing the training when it is needed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that one member of the staff from Education, Culture, and Employment has been given a transfer assignment to work with the Minister's committee. Could the Minister indicate as we try to do this and planning in a comprehensive way, is there going to be a requirement for greater assets and resources devoted to this particular very important initiative? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to wait for advice from the Mine Training Committee. The individual, Mr. Dan O'Neill, to whom the Member refers was actually selected by members of that Committee. I had no input to their selection. It was a posted competition. During the review and interview process, he was chosen by members of the committee. If it looks like we can gain more jobs by investing more, I will certainly look for the funds in order to make that commitment. I need to wait for advice from the Mine Training Committee to make sure that they agree there is a reasonable chance for success. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been brought to my attention that Mr. Dave Talbot reported the possibility and suspicion of a spill on Small Lake by Vee Lake. I had a question for the Premier. To see his question, it was reported to Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, and I guess, I understand that he has made a request of the territorial government to also investigate this. I wonder if the Premier could confirm that for me.

I wonder if the Premier could tell us if he has any further information yet on that or is it still under investigation and he is awaiting a report.