Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Regarding the lapse in the funding on the apprenticeship program, late in the year, we received an agreement from Human Resource Development Canada that we could charge some expenses to the Labour Market Development Agreement, which gave us $200,000, that went into the apprenticeship area.
So that is part of the reason why there is $400,000. We really came into $200,000 extra. We realize that there needs to be work on this. We are looking at having the CUR centre here in Yellowknife, free up some staff to do a more effective job of addressing the issue of allowing employers to access this funding.
With regard to the oil and gas strategy details, I apologize that information was not provided to the Members. It is an oversight on our part. We will provide that to the Members, Mr. Chairman. I agree that short-term jobs should not be our only focus, or should not be the large focus. Short-term jobs also sometimes play a part in development of people because it is a step process. People get a job for a short period of time, get training and then are able to access a more permanent position.
There is a need, naturally, for people to move up the ladder into more skilled positions. That is our ultimate aim and we do that through apprenticeship programs and career development programs.
Individuals that have no experience whatsoever sometimes need the short term jobs in order to get the skill and some of the training. I believe that addressed the Member's concerns. Thank you.