Mr. Speaker, at the aboriginal leaders meeting, which was held in Fort Simpson with the oil and gas industry, they came up with an understanding to look at ownership of 51 percent of the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline. This is good news. Also, realizing the importance of the oil and gas industry to the Northwest Territories, ensuring that we do not lose sight that we have to continue to lobby industry, making sure that the political environment of the North is stable, and also ensuring that we have a skilled labour workforce. And that we develop a mechanism in infrastructure in the Northwest Territories to be able to take on these developments.
Just a couple of days ago, the Premier of the Yukon was in Calgary to host a luncheon with the oil and gas industry, to meet the industry and promote oil and gas in the Yukon. In light of what the Yukon is doing to lobby the oil industry in Calgary, I would like to ask this government to ensure that we, as a government, continue the lobbying efforts, working along with the aboriginal First Nations and the people of the North to ensure that we do not lose sight of the opportunities we have in front of us.
I, for one, know what it is like to see the boom bust era of the oil and gas industries. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Beaufort Sea area was full of excitement and it looked like there was going to be an industry there forever and a day, but it came and went. It has been a long wait, almost 20 years, to see the industry come back.
I think as a government, we have to do more to ensure that we take advantage of this industry and we do not take for granted that we are the only place in Canada, or in the Northwest Territories. The Yukon is also competing for the same competitors, in regards to the oil and gas industry. Trying to promote their lands, trying to entice a pipeline through the Yukon, through the Dempster corridor, and also down the Alaska Highway.
So I would like to encourage this government to ensure that they do everything they can to continue the lobbying efforts that we have done to date, and that we make more attempts to sit down with industry, answer the questions that are out there, especially regarding the regulatory process, ensuring we have a skilled workforce....