Thank you, Madam Chair. The Northwest Territories geoscience to date has operated as a partnership between the territorial government and the federal government to provide the best in terms of science associated with the geology, mineral petroleum and other type resources of the North. It’s also an educational centre in terms of providing outreach to communities, to schools, to the industry overall, and to the public with regard to the science of the overall geology and geoscience attributes of this North.
The funding that’s reflected in the current proposed budget reflects a consolidation, so the federal portion of the geoscience office is being transferred as part of the Devolution Agreement. It will come to the territorial government. There has been no adjustment beyond that. That is the funds that are being transferred. It establishes all the personnel under the territorial responsibility and the funding continues with regard to their geoscience activities.
The overall benefit that’s enjoyed by the North is really just the best understanding of how our North is framed from a geological and geoscience perspective. It is a centre of excellence, is well respected, and as the Member has indicated, geological services exist across this country in providing that service.
There’s no doubt that the industry gains a great deal of benefit from the information, but all of that information is made public. There is no restricted information. It goes to all of those that have an interest in that information.
We continue to work with other federal agencies like CanNor to supplement, where possible, further funding, so it is an ongoing effort and we continue
to believe that it’s an important part of our overall scientific basis for the North. Thank you, Madam Chair.