Natural Resources committee  Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today about the northern regulatory environment. Diavik is a diamond mine that produces six to eight million carats of gem quality diamonds per year. Diavik is owned 60% by Rio Tinto, a div

Natural Resources committee  Our target is aboriginal people in the north for employment. Our greatest success has probably come through mine training societies and apprenticeship programs, but first and foremost is just a stay-in-school program to help kids stay in school and get at least a grade 10, and pr

Natural Resources committee  We are actively involved in that, yes.

Natural Resources committee  A lot of it is mentoring. We go to high schools, elementary schools, teaching them what a career in mining can be about. It's role modelling through people in the community who already work at the mine and who go back and tell people what working in mining is about. It seems to

Natural Resources committee  I think so, but I actually think more young people are looking to leave than to stay.

Natural Resources committee  That's correct.

Natural Resources committee  Absolutely. The same thing's happening there. We also face a challenge with professionals, with getting professionals to live in the north where they're really looking for something more urban. In comparison with where a lot of the mine sites could be, Yellowknife's not a bad c

Natural Resources committee  Yes, I do. First, on the fish habitat, we have two different compensation programs. The one you're talking about is for in-lake loss of habitat within the large lake itself, within Lac de Gras. The one I was referring to is for the small lakes that are actually on the island. O

Natural Resources committee  I absolutely agree. In our case, we actually looked at wind and hydro energy at the environmental assessment stage, and they weren't economically viable. In fact, if we—

Natural Resources committee  Sir, we looked at hydro.

Natural Resources committee  I'd have to check to confirm that. We did look at it. On the wind side, we have looked backwards. We only have 10 years of mining left, and we're putting in wind power now. If we'd done it earlier, it might not have been the right technology. There has been a technology change i

Natural Resources committee  Rio Tinto is one of our owners.

Natural Resources committee  That's correct.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, we had numerous reviews from Rio Tinto to try to ensure that the standards we were implementing into the design and planning for the mine met Rio Tinto's standards. We were all on the same page on that one. They were very much looking for a world-class operation. New mines a

Natural Resources committee  I can start. There are two avenues for engagement. One is through direct employment, which we have been quite successful with. The other one, which I think is even more successful, is through aboriginal businesses. We spend a lot of time trying to break up our procurement and