Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier and Minister responsible for Economic Development.
In my Member's statement, I made reference to the positive news that is coming out of the Beaufort Delta. There is a real interest being shown by the oil and gas industry to return to the Beaufort Delta to start developing the oil and gas potential we have.
Mr. Speaker, one of the strongest economic indicators we have is that it has been almost 20 years since the Beaufort oil and gas development really took place. With the good news we are hearing, it is critical this government takes the same initiative it did with the diamond industry, and put block dollars in place for training and secondary industries, to ensure this government get as much potential out of that development as we can.
With that Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister to ensure we get the best economic benefit out of these developments. This government should seriously consider improving the oil and gas development at the department secretariat by putting new human resources and dollars into the oil and gas sector so we can be on the same footing as the diamond industry. Will the Premier consider looking at that?