Mr. Speaker, I think there is quite a long list of things that we are doing as a department to assist the oil and gas industry. First of all, we have done a lot of promotion of the oil and gas potential in the Northwest Territories. A lot has been accomplished in the past couple of years ensuring that that stays on the timetable. We have met with practically every company that is doing work or contemplating doing work in the Northwest Territories. We have talked to them about socio-economic benefits to the North. We have also cooperated in capacity building or training workshops throughout the North to ensure that our people have the benefits to it. We are currently reviewing our business programs to make sure that if our business community in the Northwest Territories wants to take advantage of opportunities in oil and gas, that they are able to. Hopefully we can streamline those programs.
We are working with the regulatory agencies and have been very instrumental in ensuring that all the various agencies get together and try to find a coordinated approach to doing environmental assessments and dealing with the whole regulatory environment.
We have also worked very closely with the federal government to try to keep this on their agenda. Part of our non-renewable resource strategy is on that. Common Ground, the economics strategy has a big emphasis on oil and gas.
So there are many, many things we are doing as a government and as a department, Mr. Speaker, to promote oil and gas. Thank you.