Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, my question to the Minister is that under the development scenarios we have in the North, we have the potential of quite a few jobs in the area of the Beaufort Sea gas project. We are looking at some 1,500 job opportunities. In the Sahtu area, we are looking at about 1,200 and in the area of the diamond industry, with Diavik coming on, you are looking at 450 jobs. These are just some of the key areas. We are talking about the possibility of a pipeline, you are looking at 1,000 jobs.
What is the Minister doing to ensure we have the ability to generate expertise in the different sectors, so we are able to take advantage of the oil and gas industry?
We know you put quite a bit of money into the diamond industry in regard to the training dollars that were put into it and also infrastructure money to assist in the secondary industry. However, in the area of the oil and gas, it has been quite some time since we have really seen a surge of opportunities, especially training opportunities for people to get into so that they can take advantage of the opportunities and the jobs that will come from the oil and gas industry.
You talk about the opportunities working in the seismic drilling operation, camp attendants, equipment operators, maintainers of facilities and also contractors who will be providing services to these different industries, regardless if it is drilling or seismic.
I am just wondering if the Minister could tell us exactly what has been done to date. What is he doing to ensure we are ready to take on these major projects and that we are trying to find ways to have people trained in the different areas? Thank you.