Natural Resources committee  With the ASEP program coming to a halt, we need the federal government to stay as a partner and help us in skills training, so that's a definite recommendation and ask. The north needs help with its basic education system. ITK has laid out a great road map on how to move forward to improve education in the north.

Natural Resources committee  Yes. Typically in southern Canada it will vary. In a lot of the provinces, like Quebec and Ontario, a two-year-long environmental assessment process does work. There have been some extensive ones in B.C., and we all know where they've gone into court cases, which don't fit that average.

Natural Resources committee  We work for the same company. For example, we're trying to fill 14 mechanical apprenticeship positions right now at Meadowbank. We have four. The reason the other 14 aren't filled is that although we have good candidates who have aptitude, we cannot get them through the trades training entry examination.

Natural Resources committee  I'll follow up on that. With respect to the Meadowbank operation, our in-house training programs take skills from entry level and improve those skills so that a guy who comes in at an entry-level position is moving up the skill ladder. On top of that, we participate in the Kivalliq Mine Training Society.

Natural Resources committee  We're trying to do both. We're trying to do it right from the entry-level people who have no prospect of getting of a job. We're also working on trying to get people into upgrading their skills. We're working on those as two separate levels.

Natural Resources committee  It's a lack of investment in the system. The reasons are very complex. It's not just a matter of throwing money at it; it's also making the appropriate investment of that money. There are a lot of complex reasons for it.

Natural Resources committee  I don't think industry is asking for any change in the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement, or the process, or the regulation of the law that applies. What we're looking for is a streamlining of administrative processes within that. There's an awful lot of duplication going on within the process right now, where we go through this review of the projects.