Okay.
Earlier this year HRSDC advised that funding for all aboriginal skills and employment partnerships will cease on March 31, 2012. Organizations such as mine training organizations in each territory will have to prepare to wind up activities and, if necessary, their organizations.
There is a compelling business case for continued human resource investment by the federal government in northern people, not the least of which is the healthy and growing return on investments for resource royalties. Mining growth, however, will be curtailed if successful MTOs are not funded. They have been the lifelines for northern mines over the past eight years, and in the last three years we have placed 1,400 aboriginal people in well-paying jobs.
We're also looking at developing a pan-territorial northern natural resource work development strategy. The purpose of the strategy is to develop a pan-territorial strategic framework that would outline the need for and the benefits of a multi-year workforce development strategy. This strategy will be used to align territorial and partner visioning and goal setting; develop broad strategic and costed initiatives; and attempt to leverage ongoing funding for training and skills development from provincial, federal, and territorial governments and other strategic partners.
We will be looking at all aspects of resource development, from community engagement to remediation, and we want to build on the successes and experience of the past eight years. We want to continue measuring success one person at a time, especially for the Katrinas and the Mikes of the north.
Thank you very much, sir.