I appreciate this opportunity to talk to the committee about what I believe represents an exciting opportunity. The announcement and subsequent opening of the major projects management office west in Vancouver is a clear signal of what the federal government intends to do in terms of engaging with British Columbia first nations. This is intended, colleagues, to be a single window to coordinate extensive engagement with first nations and, actually, with industry. I want to emphasize that this will be focused on enabling first nations communities to take advantage of the business opportunities, increasing employment opportunities through training and skills development, and working to enhance environmental safety.
The government's supplementary estimates include funding to support this engagement with first nations in British Columbia specifically in order to understand the key issues and opportunities to support their participation in resource projects, and more specifically, energy-related projects.