Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think some of what I want to say will reinforce what Dr. MacDonald has mentioned.
Because we have gone from a situation where we only have one mine operating to a whole number coming into production and going through the regulatory process at this point, we're looking at how best to put our people to work.
The first issue obviously is literacy and numeracy, which we're attacking on two different fronts. We want more kids to graduate from high school. The mining companies are beginning to become involved with the school system. We're encouraging teachers to identify mining as a real opportunity for the future. When I say “mining”, I mean that in the broadest sense. Obviously there are people operating machinery. There are also people cooking and making beds and repairing equipment and all that sort of thing.
The school system is beginning to address this. Literacy and numeracy is a major initiative that we're undertaking. With some thanks to CanNor, the northern agency, our college system will be enhancing their literacy and numeracy programs in every community in Nunavut. We have our central campuses, but we also have a learning centre in each community for the college.
The second point is the technical skills. The minister mentioned the idea of hands-on learning as opposed to academic learning for that process. They're now through the door because they have the grade 12 to get there, and we're working enthusiastically through our mine training strategy to make that part happen.
We also recognized early on with our first new operating mine that retention is a big problem. That opens up the whole spectrum of the transition from a low income to a higher income, and the 14 days in and 14 days out, all of the issues around not being at home. We are trying within our mining strategy to identify the job orientation and training issues around that, so it becomes a significant part of the training.
It really has to happen in all three areas in order for us to succeed.