Madam Chair, I would very much like to speak tonight about some of the important issues relating to Canada's north, in particular an issue that is dear to my heart, having previously worked in the NWT, Nunavut and Yukon as an exploration mining geophysicist.
We have tremendous potential in our natural resources in the north, but one of the first steps is to understand and assess the extent of these resources. The Government of Canada has a northern strategy that recognizes this untapped potential of the north. In particular, I am speaking of the geo-mapping for energy and minerals, which all provide public geological and scientific information to help the private exploration that already takes place there. This initiative is a lot more than the natural resource projects. We are looking for outcomes that will benefit northerners and Canadians in all fields of economic development, community well-being and sustainable development.
Canada is a global leader in natural resources. The sector accounts for 12% of our GDP and employs close to a million people. However, to fully realize the immense economic opportunities in the north, we need to expand our ability to tap into the largely underutilized deposits of natural resources. Currently there is a lot of room to expand mineral and energy productivity in the north and one of the roadblocks to increasing our activity is that two-thirds of the sprawling land covering three territories lacks modern geological maps.
Unless one has been a geological professional, it may be hard to grasp. As my sedimentology professor who taught me mapping at the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Brian Pratt, told me once, even the good maps need to be redone, or as Mel Stauffer, another one of my professors said, even maps he himself had done contained errors, not because they were problematic but that is the nature of the mapping.
In fact, one of the last projects I worked on before being elected here was the Salluit in northern Quebec. We worked on a particular site that had been explored by the Geological Survey of Canada, by Falconbridge and by a team of geologists for a couple of weeks before we got there. Yet it was a non-professionally trained geologist, one of the old-fashioned types who just sort of learned by doing, who went out there and found a nickel showing, which we nicknamed blind man's showing because everyone had been so blind in looking for it.
Therefore, even with very good geological mapping information, we need to look over and over again. The average layman may not understand just how important a comprehensive geological mapping is.
The geo-mapping for energy and minerals program is actually the first step in the exploration of natural resources in the north. This program is an extensive series of research projects designed to document the geological structure and potential of the north. These studies involve experts from leading research institutes who are involved in conducting the field work and in subsequent laboratory analysis and data integration.
This work is accomplished through air land surveys, with airplane and helicopters doing airborne geophysics, which are also used to develop preliminary geological and geophysical snapshots of the area. Land surveys are then conducted, some of which I have done myself, observing and analyzing from a variety of sources, such as mountains, glaciers and bedrock, using geological and geophysical data.
Our government's priority is to build a vibrant economy in the north, while protecting its environment. We are currently reviewing and approving regulations so we can create an attractive investment climate for the sustainable development of natural resources. The goal is to make the project review more effective and efficient and to strengthen environmental safeguards at the same time. A number of improvements to the regulatory system have been made and work continues, in consultation with people in communities from all northern regions, on the northern regulatory improvement initiative, an important component of the northern strategy.
Geo-mapping for energy and mineral programs will deepen our understanding of the north and will provide opportunities for economic development for northerners.
While it is clear this program will contribute to the north's future, it also raises some questions about the involvement of northern communities. I would therefore like to ask the minister what is being done as part of this initiative to engage the peoples of northern Canada.