Natural Resources committee  One knows that if you're trying to entice business to come to your community, one of the first things they look for is skilled labour, and the opportunities that are being provided by both natural gas development and by the pipeline project have certainly caused government specif

Natural Resources committee  It's planning by business, government—at both provincial and municipal levels—and economic development agencies, like ourselves, to really make sure that there are proper education programs offered at our community college level for the skills that are needed to make sure these p

Natural Resources committee  That's a good question for Ms. Pike.

Natural Resources committee  I have just a quick one on the natural gas. More and more we're hearing from our industrial partners that we need cheap natural gas to be competitive. The bottlenecks that exist today in the distribution system in the States have driven costs to astronomical levels this year. Hav

Natural Resources committee  No, I have not been involved in that study. Certainly the Government of New Brunswick has done extensive work on the regulating of the industry, and has recently released what they believe to be some of the toughest regulatory rules in place to govern the development of the shale

Natural Resources committee  Obviously, there is still an educational process to take place, but again the comfort level, I would suggest, of the general population has increased immensely throughout New Brunswick. The fear of the unknown is sometimes hard to overcome, and the information that is now being d

Natural Resources committee  I'm fine.

Natural Resources committee  Quickly from my perspective, I think the timetable change that was made under which the National Energy Board has to operate was a huge factor in making the process react much more quickly in getting a response. From the industry all we're hearing are good things with respect to

Natural Resources committee  I did briefly see that article you're referring to. There's no doubt about it. Part of the oil that's coming from western Canada to eastern Canada will be shipped offshore. However, we do have Canada's largest oil refinery, and we can be darn sure that the owners of that refinery

Natural Resources committee  Well, in the sense of the supply.

Natural Resources committee  Exactly.

Natural Resources committee  Yes. I think it's the fact that the source is a very stable source. It's Alberta, Canada. It's not the other foreign countries where we've seen a lot of political turmoil happen over the years. Stability obviously has to be a key factor in determining investment for the future.

Natural Resources committee  We would love to have had you here.

Natural Resources committee  Let's put it this way. You've heard some comments on the number of people who travel to western Canada to have a job in the energy sector. When you get on a plane, no matter where you go you can tell that there are so many people on that plane who are going to work for one week,

Natural Resources committee  Those are the statistics that were given to us through a study that was carried out by UNB. Yes, the natural gas development project has huge potential for job creation, there's no doubt about it, both direct and indirect.