Certainly, I support what’s happening in the Sahtu. We’re not just sitting back and watching it happen. I’ve been working with the Member. The Member knows I’m a big supporter of the Sahtu and the activity that’s happening there, as is the government. We want to see us maximize those opportunities, and I think we have been doing that. I look forward to getting in front of committee here during this, I’m not sure exactly which day it is, but I know we’re planning on coming and updating committee, and I’ll be updating Cabinet, as well, on the developments in the Sahtu and what’s happening there. I look forward to doing that because, the Member’s right, it’s exciting. There’s a lot of money that’s going to be spent there and a lot of jobs created and business opportunities as well.

We’ve answered the bell, too, when it comes to trying to help Members understand what’s going on there. I’ve offered to help coordinate an industry day in Calgary later this summer where the EDI committee and, I believe, Mr. Yakeleya will be joining them as well. We’ll go down, we’ll have a tour of a hydraulic fracturing operation, we’ll meet with industry, we’ll meet with the NEB and some academia, as well as environmental reps while we’re in Calgary for a few days. I believe it will be held in August. We’re looking forward to doing that. I think educating folks on the possibilities and what’s there is paramount. I mean, that foundation has to be laid about what the opportunities are in the Sahtu.

As we go forward, I mentioned this earlier, I believe, in questions, but there is so much opportunity there. I think, as a government, not just our department but, I believe, it’s going to have a big impact on government’s various departments when you look at projected population spur in communities like Norman Wells and Tulita, if there are the two to three billion barrels of oil that experts predict is in the shale formations across the river from Norman Wells. It’s exciting opportunities for our government. There are going to be pressures put upon us, but I believe the government can answer that call if we work in a coordinated way. There’s going to be

more pressure put on health, there’s going to be pressure put on the education system. So it’s not just in our department. I think a lot of people are watching what’s happening there and it’s not out of the realm of possibilities, Mr. Chairman, that 10 years from now Norman Wells could be the second largest community in the Northwest Territories, so we really need to watch what’s happening there and are excited about all the prospects that exist in the Sahtu. Thank you.