Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment with regard to the oil and gas training activities in the Sahtu region. Mr. Speaker, I have some great concerns about the message about the number of opportunities available to our people in the Sahtu with regard to the oil and gas training activities. I understand that they are most concerned about the low enrolment of some of these courses, and I want to relay that this government is doing nothing to help the people in the Sahtu to take advantage of the training opportunities out there. I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if his department has a strategy for oil and gas training in the Sahtu, and how does the government know that it is offering the right kinds of courses within the Sahtu in time for the preparation of oil and gas activities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we certainly want to make sure that we can take advantage of the opportunities that may present themselves with the development of a pipeline in the Mackenzie Valley. So there have been ongoing courses for a number of years now that this government has offered to residents to make sure that we are starting the process for them to be ready. On top of that, this government has worked with the college. The college has worked with stakeholders in the oil and gas field, as well as aboriginal governments along the Mackenzie to develop a proposal to the federal government for a training program, and we're confident that we will see significant monies flowing for that program, which will make sure that we have training that is extremely well targeted to make sure that residents in the region can be ready for pipeline activity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment how he advertises courses available in the Sahtu. Prior to coming here, I had a member of Tulita ask that question. There seems to be a lot of confusion in our region. What advertising does his department put forward particularly for the Sahtu?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure exactly what methods are used to publicize the availability of courses. They are typically developed in cooperation with community and regional governments and industry. We do have a commitment, even in advance of the ASEP funding being approved, for $350,000 in training and short-term programs. I will have to get back to the Member as to how we promote it in each of the communities that it is being offered because I don't have that information.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to the Minister's answer with regard to advertising in the Sahtu region. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment tell me why the enrolment in the Sahtu is so low with only one or two students in some of the courses like electrician, truck driver or any other courses that have poor enrolment in the Sahtu region?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately I can't answer the question as to why the enrolment is so low. We will have to see if we can do a better job of attracting people to do the training in the future. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister please tell me how and when these training courses for the oil and gas industries will be evaluated? What are the performance measures going to be and how will these results be made public? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the most part, what we look for is an indication for potential employers that the training that is being offered is acceptable to them. We want to know from them that they will take people who successfully pass the course, and that's really the evaluation process. If the people who need to hire the folks who take the training say the training isn't any good, then we would have to change it. If they say yes, we will make sure people are ready to take jobs with this, then we are satisfied. It's done in cooperation with employers. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier of the Northwest Territories. I will be calling upon his former educational skills to my first question.

Mr. Speaker, earlier today I talked about a northern agenda and the importance of making sure that that is educated to a potential Member of Parliament and to all candidates who are running in the Western Arctic riding. Therefore, my direct question to the Premier is would the Premier be willing to bring forward the strategic plan that he laid out in last week's sessional statement and be willing to take forward that plan and address it to those potential candidates? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, that is a document that is available to the public and I am sure most of the candidates, if not all of them, would have picked up a copy of the document. If it gives the Member comfort, I certainly have no problem in sending it to each of the candidates. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's a well-known fact to we Members in the Northwest Territories, but the Northwest Territories seems to be left out in the federal election system. Would the Premier be able to initiate a letter to the leadership in the federal parties and send them a copy of the document, as well as invite them to the Northwest Territories and possibly speak to the citizens of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, I will certainly respond to requests for information from the candidates and from the political parties. Mr. Speaker, we want to be very careful as a government that we don't get ourselves involved in the federal election anymore than we would want to see the federal government becoming involved in making statements on our election. So there's a line between providing information and then becoming involved in the campaign. So as a government, we want to have a good working relationship with whoever the next government is and we must maintain our impartiality. Thank you.