Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is true that, until recently, there was no substantive interest in oil and gas development in the Northwest Territories. The industry has returned very quickly. There has been substantive interest shown in the Liard area in the last two years and, more recently, in the Beaufort Delta as well as the Sahtu.
In recent years, we have put some resources towards ensuring the interest in diamonds could be enhanced through work we want to do, to make sure there were substantive benefits returning to us through our limited means. We have done that. We need to try to be able to sustain that.
It is also true the returns in oil and gas development would be more substantive for the Territories, due to the nature and size of the oil and gas industry and its impact on our economy.
We also have signalled the aboriginal leaders and communities that we will work in tandem with them. It is not for us to go out unilaterally, advocating oil and gas development in the Sahtu, for instance, on Gwich'in lands or Inuvialuit lands. Where there is interest, and the industry is prepared for the aboriginal groups, we are prepared to work in partnership with them. We are prepared to look at ways in which we could allocate more resources to oil and gas development.