Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In reviewing the department, one of the things that came to light, and one of the main concerns that this committee had was the fact that so much money, I think it was $400,000 last year, was lapsed in apprenticeship training. There are various reasons for this.

Certainly the low levels of literacy and adult basic education contribute to this to some degree and in some factor. Simply, people do not have the basic reading and writing skills to be able to get into apprenticeship programs much of the time. So it is important for us to develop skills and trades and apprenticeship programs. We know this. We know we are sorely lacking qualified trades, yet we cannot get people up to that level or over that hurdle, so they can get into these programs we offer. For that reason, and various other reasons, some of this money was lapsed last year and was not accessed.

In this year, to the department's credit, they have come up with half a million dollars for oil and gas training. That is good to see, and I think everybody on our committee was waiting to see the details of how this money was going to be spent.

When it was brought up to the committee, we were given a cursory glance at it, but did not get any time to analyze the detail, and the clock is ticking. We are waiting to see this information. I am not sure if the government had reviewed the information or has now, but our committee would certainly like to get a hold of it.

I think we are concerned that there may be, or has been in the past, a focus on short term types of jobs, especially in something that will see a boom, like oil and gas, and possibly the construction of a pipeline. We want to make sure that this government has people who are in a position to take advantage of jobs in the industry, not just catering, Mr. Chairman, and not just some of the labour jobs required, but some of the skilled positions as well, because that is where we see we can really make a difference.

It seems that in the past, the government has focused too closely on short term benefits and has not looked at the bigger picture. We would like to get a look at the oil and gas training they are proposing, the $500,000, and see how that fits in with what we would like to see.

Especially, Mr. Chairman, given the comments that Mr. Handley made the other day about the fact that setting up socio-economic agreements with oil and gas companies is going to be altogether a different game than it was with the diamond companies. We simply do not, maybe, have the same ability or pull to insist that these companies hire North, or use Northern businesses.

I think we are all concerned that if we cannot hold them to this, what is the sense of training people for some of these things that the companies may or may not be required to hire?

If Mr. Ootes could respond to some of those comments, that would be appreciated. Thank you.

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.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think I heard the Minister say that he would provide us with a copy of the oil and gas training plan that the department embarked on. I just want to ask him, has that been completed now? Is that final? We are out of the draft stage? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, it has been completed, but we are redrafting as we discuss matters with industry. We keep it fluid so we can adjust the program accordingly.

Thank you. Certainly I would agree that it needs to be done in conjunction with industry. I do not think it makes any sense for us to go out and have a strategy that industry does not buy into or train people for positions they do not require.

Certainly, I think Mr. McLeod and Mr. Krutko and Mr. Roland and some of the people who will be more directly affected because they are close in proximity to pipelines, would be very interested in seeing this before we complete the department. I know I would, as would anybody who thinks their constituents might be able to get in on manufacturing and other types of development and projects in this industry.

We are all very concerned that this is going to be a one-time thing and it is going to come on us so quickly that if we are not ready to react and they are waiting with trained people, we will miss the boat.

If the Minister would provide that to us, we would like to look at it before we conclude the department, so we can see exactly how the department is proposing to spend these dollars to make sure that Northerners are best ready to take advantage of the oil and gas boom when it does come. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We will get copies to the Members, hopefully this afternoon. Certainly tomorrow morning at the latest. Thank you.

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.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Department has developed an oil and gas human resource plan, and there is an opportunity there for many people to hold long-term jobs. The plan is a systematic plan that will help ensure maximum employment and training opportunities are there for Northerners.

The Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development is leading an inter-departmental approach to the oil and gas development here in the Northwest Territories. The work of the project team is focused in eight areas; research, analysis, communication, project infrastructure and so forth.

Our particular department is involved in the human resource development area. The task there was to project the types and volumes of jobs expected, that could be there during exploration, what the process of construction and operation of the pipeline and processing plants would be.

It identified the types of careers that would be available for Northerners. So, like the diamond development area, which Mr. Krutko is very familiar in, there are value-added areas from time to time, and spin off businesses created.

In the case of the value-added, we were able to develop a training program for individuals through Aurora College for pre-employment training for mine work. As well, some assistance for career training for people in the cutting industry.

Similar activities will present themselves as opportunities in the oil and gas area. Our proposal identifies a three-year schedule of activities to promote human resource development. The department is working with the federal government industry and aboriginal organizations, and we are looking at establishing an oil and gas training committee.

The first meeting of this is planned to be later this year, possibly in August, and it will involve the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the Gwich'in Tribal Council, who are hosting this particular meeting.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as I mentioned, the majority of the jobs that are going to be developed are going to be in the Beaufort Delta region and the Inuvik region.

I am just wondering if the Minister has thought about this? There is the expansion that was supposed to take place with the Arctic College facility that has been put off. Because of these changing conditions, it is important that you reconsider that decision and that you reinstate the resources that were allocated for that College.

Most importantly, the Aurora College in Inuvik has to play an important role and be able to be involved in a deliberation and discussion with the Minister's office, along with the aboriginal groups involved in the developments and activities that are going to take place.

I would like to ask the Minister what role has the campus in Inuvik played with the developments that are taking place? They want to have a say in how they feel they will be able to administer different programs and services. What is the possibility of developing the college so it is more catered to the oil and gas industry?

Can the Minister tell me what has been done on that front?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There is an opportunity here to provide training through the college system. The Aurora campus has been working with our regional superintendent, as well as other organizations.

There is also the availability of the PIPs program, which is run out of Alberta, NAIT and SAIT. We need to take a look at what they are offering and see if some of those programs are applicable to be delivered here, to see what we can do in terms of building our capacity here in the North.

Our interest is to ensure we build our capacity through the college system through other methodologies, if possible. I am meeting with the board of directors of Aurora College tomorrow morning. This is an area I had planned to discuss with the board to see what can be done to address this issue of the potential that is out there, to enhance the delivery of programs through the college. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The other question I have is in the area of teacher retention and making sure we have the teachers to be able to fill the number of vacancies and ensuring we have northern teachers in the classrooms who are there for the long term. They live in a lot of our communities.

I would like to ask how much money does the department have to allow teachers to go to university and obtain their degree in education?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will ask Mr. Cleveland to answer that question.