Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my Member's statement today is with regard to training initiatives that this government is offering residents to prepare them for jobs in careers in the oil and gas sector. Mr. Speaker, it seems that training opportunities are not being offered on a universal basis to all NWT residents. There appear to be regional differences in the availability of training. I understand there is suddenly a great deal of exploration activity in the Beaufort Delta that Aurora College is now scrambling to respond to with appropriate programming. Aurora College is finally implementing oil and gas training programs in the Beaufort Delta, which is, Mr. Speaker, better late than never, as they say.

However, there is essentially nothing being offered in the Deh Cho, where it appears the Government of the Northwest Territories is simply ignoring residents' training requirements. I suggest that a better-planned approach to training requirements up and down the Mackenzie Valley would be a far better way than expanding the ad hoc approach we have now. The present attitude by the Government of the Northwest Territories through Aurora College is a reactive, putting out fires approach that requires the allocation of resources to wherever the latest training emergency is.

This leaves the riding of the Deh Cho without any of the training that is required to prepare for the development period that lies ahead. Why is this, Mr. Speaker? It is not as if we need a crystal ball to foresee the development needs ahead. Every resident of the NWT knows that there is oil and gas potential in the Mackenzie Valley. Surely this government should therefore extend its planning horizon and adopt a longer term, valley-wide approach to oil and gas training initiatives as opposed to its present ad hoc reactive approach.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT is currently trying to promote pipeline development as well as oil and gas exploration throughout the Mackenzie Valley, not just in certain regions. We saw last week in Hay River that support from all sections of the Mackenzie Valley is necessary for development to happen. We are all interdependent to a certain degree in the North, Mr. Speaker, and it is my opinion that the residents of my riding would be more inclined to support development initiatives if there was a greater display of commitment by this government to ensure well-paying opportunities for them when development occurs, not just vague promises...