Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Training of Northerners for meaningful employment in the Northwest Territories is a huge priority for our government and we’ve been working very closely with the diamond mines in this region in order to not only increase the number of trained Northerners that are employed, but also to fulfill the objective that people that work in the North should live in the North. So we’ve signed an MOU with the three diamond mines and we’re also working with the Mine Training Society and through Aurora College and the NWT school system through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it only makes sense to me that if there are any residents here in the Northwest Territories that require training, the requisite training to be employed at a producing diamond mine, that they get the training here in the Northwest Territories and are employed here in the Northwest Territories. There’s much more likelihood that they would continue to live in the Northwest Territories while working at the mine. I’m just wondering if the Minister could just elaborate a little bit on how exactly the government is going to work, his department and other government departments and agencies are going to work, again, to correct this and to provide opportunities for all residents of the Northwest Territories when it comes to mine training. Thank you.

Through the MOU on mining that the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and myself have signed with the three diamond mine companies, we’ve been focusing on three areas, one of them has been training. So through that process we are examining ways to train more people, more Northerners to go through programs that are designed specifically for

employment in the three mines and other mines as they become open and processing. One of the things that we’re doing is identifying barriers that prevent any sector from being able to access training. Thank you.

Thank you. I’m wondering if the Minister could let potential residents of the Northwest Territories, those that are P2 -- they’re not aboriginal -- long-term residents of the Northwest Territories that want to have access to mine training today, where do they go and who do they look to for the training that’s required to get a job at one of our mines. Thank you.

Thank you. Most of the training that is provided for mining is through the Mine Training Society, and the funding for that comes through the federal department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and the training money is for what we call P1s or aboriginal Northerners. For those that are classified as P2, we are working with Aurora College. There are training programs, but it becomes a question of access to funding. There are student financial assistance programs that are available for P2s to access. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From discussions I’ve had with constituents, there’s no training currently for P2s in the Northwest Territories when it comes to mine training. They have to leave the Territory and go to Ontario or other jurisdictions to receive the training. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister, would the government be looking at creating a mine training school or something to that effect here in the Northwest Territories in the near future? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.