Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to send my congratulations out to the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Inuvialuit Development Corporation, Akita Drilling and Petro Canada for the official opening of the first gas field drilling rig in the Mackenzie Delta since the early 1980s.
Mr. Speaker, it is a point in history for the Mackenzie Delta to be back in the oil and gas industry, which is now thriving in the Mackenzie Delta region. It has been quite some time since the residents of the Mackenzie Delta have waited for this day to happen. They look forward to the economic benefits and opportunities that will flow from the oil and gas sector in the Mackenzie Delta region along with the possible future pipeline down the Mackenzie Valley.
Mr. Speaker, we in the Mackenzie Delta and the Beaufort Sea region want to maximize the benefits, the economic opportunities and the jobs that can come from this development in our region, similar to other regions in the Northwest Territories, such as the ones for the diamond industry, where you can see that through planning, partnerships and development of economic sectors and looking at the secondary spin-offs that come from these developments, we have to look long term.
In order to look long term, we need to ensure we have the training capabilities in our regions and are taking advantage of the opportunities that come, ensuring we have adequate facilities in our region to take on this development, and also looking forward to the challenges ahead.
We as a government have to start doing more in regard to our responsibilities in the areas of the social and economic side. I am talking, Mr. Speaker, about training, ensuring the health and well-being of the people and residents of the Mackenzie Delta and the Beaufort Sea are met, and also to ensure that we have the resources to partake in the developments that are happening, and to maximize the benefits and the resources to stay in the regions and stay within the communities to assist us in improving our economies.
Mr. Speaker, I think it is also important to understand that there is also another development happening in our region in regard to the community of Tsiigehtchic, where Devlin Resources has concluded drilling one well and are now into the second phase of drilling the second well.