Natural Resources committee  If we could identify under the ministerial instruction that individuals having mining backgrounds be allowed to come through faster into Canada, that would assist in the short term. It does talk about the drop-off, but we haven't even talked about the exploration that's going on in the Yukon.

Natural Resources committee  Thirty years old.

Natural Resources committee  If our organization didn't exist and we didn't have the funding to continue, I guarantee that the attachment to the labour force would drop. The average individual we're working with does not have a high school diploma. We're lucky if they have grade 10. From the data I've looked at for our trainees, I think four have had post-secondary education.

Natural Resources committee  The outcome of the October meeting was that the three mine training organizations of the north—the Yukon Mine Training Association, ours, and the Kivalliq—have been given a task to develop a pan-territorial strategy that will take us ten years down the road. We're not going to really hit our stride in mining until 2017, when we have 9,000 miners, and it's going to take time to train people—our aboriginal and northern workforce—to be able to take opportunity out of that.

Natural Resources committee  I really appreciate that question. We work in partnership with the industry. I've worked with every one of these mining companies in developing training. We have the skills partnership fund, and we're working with Canadian Zinc to help develop capacity, not only for the mining area but for the local community governments as well.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you. I would love to talk about that. We did look at long-term impact, and there was an impact on government. We did a test on the trainees we had during our first ASEP, and we were able to match 119 of them. As of December 2007, 11% of the original group were receiving income assistance, whereas in the first group we looked at, 70% were on income assistance.

Natural Resources committee  We've seen the average age of our trainees drop, and their qualifications coming from high school are higher.

Natural Resources committee  There is a future in mining.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Bevington. The federal government is a big partner in the development of training and delivery of training for aboriginal people in the north. They were a 50% partner in our last two ASEPs. We're an aboriginal skills and employment partnership program holder. During that last time, they invested $24 million.

Natural Resources committee  I don't think so.

Natural Resources committee  We can easily say that we can give you billions of reasons why mining is digging Canada out of debt. In order to do that, we have to invest in the north.

Natural Resources committee  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.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Benoit and members of the standing committee, for your kind invitation. Rather than reading a prepared brief, I provided a deck earlier and I will guide everyone through it. There are three major challenges to resource development in the north. One is lack of infrastructure, second is challenges presented by the regulatory process, and the third is labour force.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Our intake is strictly from the Northwest Territories. In the early days, we worked with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association on cementation, to teach underground mining. We have funded training for Baffinland Iron in their Mary River project. We helped to fund taking students down to Newfoundland for training with ten diamond drillers.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'd be happy to answer that. Since 2004 we have assessed 932 individuals, trained 632, and 500 of those got employment. The reason it is successful is, one, that it's a partnership approach between industry, aboriginal governments, and public government. It's one place were politics are dropped at the door and there's the focus and the mandate to get aboriginal people and northerners into long-term, sustainable employment.