Thank you, Mr. Nitah. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We can certainly have a look at it, but as I say, this is a program specifically designed with a purpose. If we are going to change any thrust here, I would have to do that with some background information on it before I can make a commitment to change this particular program, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My question is with regard to the oil and gas industrial training. I have been checking into exactly where we can probably get the most benefit from organizations or institutions that have done a lot of work in this area. Probably one of the best resource centres is out of Calgary with regard to the Canadian Petroleum Association.

There are also aboriginal institutions in southern Calgary who specialize in training and curriculum development around the oil and gas industry. Right now, there is a major study going on in Fort Nelson in northern B.C. by CPA to look at exactly how industry, the aboriginal communities and the people in the private sector could try to maximize the benefits from the oil and gas industry.

As a government, I know we are taking some steps, but I believe we have to start delivering curriculum at the regional colleges. The Fort Smith college used to have the heavy duty programs, mechanics, and we started to look at different apprenticeship programs. I think we have to start formulating our college system to take advantage of the economy that is around us. We have done a lot of work around the diamond industry, especially training people in the different fields when it comes to apprenticeships.

I would like to ask the Minister exactly what is the department doing to look at the oil and gas industry and start formulating different types of apprenticeship programs and certification programs, so that we could deliver these programs through Arctic College, say in Inuvik, and have them work alongside industry and work with people within the private sector to take on some of these training initiatives?

With some 1,600 job opportunities in the Mackenzie Delta, I feel that we do not have anything close to having that many people trained in the different areas that is going to be needed. We definitely have to take advantage of it. We have to have those people with those skills trained to be able to take that on. So I would like to ask the Minister exactly what are you are doing to look at the possibility of developing curriculum around the oil and gas industry?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The college has signed a memorandum of understanding with Petroleum Industry Training Services, which is the group out of Calgary. They provide a lot of oil and gas training programs. We are also working with a number of other areas, looking to develop from them our own ability to deliver programs. Because of the fact that the revitalization of the oil and gas activity has come upon us fairly swiftly, it has meant that we have had to move fairly fast on addressing some areas of support. That is one of the reasons we looked at programs like PITS to support our systems.

It is certainly our desire and our intent to, down the road, try and deliver as many programs by Northerners through northern systems and through the college system as we can, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Minister touched on a touchy base with a company out of Calgary who specializes in that area. I would like to ask the Minister, will the department be delivering actual courses that can be delivered out of the college in Inuvik by delivering particular curriculum or, for all I know, are we going to adopt Alberta curriculum in the different areas? You have SAIT, you have NAIT, you have institutions that are out there. Is there a possibility that we can adopt these courses and have it certified under Alberta education standards, so people can receive the recognition? So when they complete those courses, they will be recognized within the Canadian education standard, so that they will be certified by taking these courses? Right now, I believe a lot of our programs and courses are delivered under the Alberta standards. Will we be delivering courses in the oil and gas area and also having them certified, so they will meet the standard?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Minister.

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

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Cleveland.

Thank you, Mr. Cleveland. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have certainly had discussion with oil and gas companies with respect to employment areas and their interest in those particular areas, and our interest. The situation is somewhat different with oil and gas versus the mining companies. Perhaps Mr. Cleveland can expand upon that.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Cleveland.

Thank you, Mr. Cleveland. Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Chairman, I think the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has to take this seriously. I have a presentation that I received from Chevron Canada and the BP Amoco Burlington Resources, and these are just some statistics that they presented. This is the presentation they made to the Minister of Indian Affairs in Ottawa.

Just on the benefit to the North in regard to this activity, there is 31,190, up to 72,000 person-years of employment. That is a lot of people that need to be hired and a lot of opportunities that are there.

They estimate that it will go from $6.2 billion to $9 billion dollars of financial benefit to Canada with a total of $2.1 to $5.1 billion dollars of the gross domestic product to Canada and an estimated production revenue of $2 billion per year. We are talking about a major project here. I think that in order for us to take advantage of it, we have to start the training now. We have to start developing the curriculum to take on this major project.

We are looking at the possibility of another Tar Sands Project in regard to Fort McMurray. This is big.

I think in order for us, as a government, to look at it, it is just like the diamond industry. You might be looking at the diamond industry, where you are looking at 600 to 700 jobs. We are talking some 1,600 jobs.

I think just the massive requirement of having to try to fill that many positions with well-trained people so that they can have some people making those big wages in the North, we have to have the skills and the quality of people to fill those jobs. I think that is where we need to come in as a government since we are responsible for ensuring that the employment and the career training aspects because we are funded to do that.

I think that we have to take it very seriously. I would like to ask the Minister exactly how soon will you be coming forward with some sort of a strategy or a scenario on exactly the talks that you are having today? How are we going to look at developing curriculum and also look at how we can try to find ways to expand our program and service delivery, especially in the oil and gas area?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Some areas have been put in place already. As I say, in the Beaufort Delta, it is a successful approach through the training group that is established there. From our side, we are looking at the maximizing northern employment approach to address employment in all areas, but more specifically in the non-renewable resource sector. We have developed our Human Resource Development Plan, which is before the federal government, Mr. Chairman. We are using parts of that to do the best we can to implement it according to the resources we have available. We have our planning fairly well in place, Mr. Chairman. It is a case of resourcing it and from there, to institute it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. We are on page 9-11, advanced education and careers, operations expense, total operations expense, $66,603,000.