Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are not enough pilots in Canada to meet the demand, and this gap is widening. The effects are being felt across Canada, but, in the NWT, we are disproportionately affected, I would say, because our territory is so large, would have a lack of road infrastructure, and the new rules around pilot fatigue mean more pilots are required to maintain the current flights that we have. Many residents rely heavily on small regional airlines, and those are the type of airlines that have difficulty retaining pilots because they are being poached by the bigger companies who can offer more. The NWT has become sort of a training ground for pilots where young pilots might come in and then leave, so the pilots are also more inexperienced. I have heard that the big companies are hiring entire classes of pilots and instructors. You know, it does not look well for the future.

In Hay River, we would like to see more flights in and out of there so we can get some competition and lower the prices, but this pilot shortage is making that even more difficult. So, because the Minister of Education is responsible for labour and training, I have some questions for him. First, I would like to ask: has the department identified this as an issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.