Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Polakoff.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the last seven years the Mine Training Society, which is a partnership between industry, Aboriginal and public governments, has been training Aboriginal Northerners so that they can obtain long-term, meaningful and well-paying jobs in the mine and mine services sector. The Mine Training Society was originally an initiative of the Government of the Northwest Territories. It started 15 years ago as an adhoc committee put together by the Minister of Education of the day, Charles Dent, along with the Chamber of Mines, Diavik Diamond Mines, Yellowknives Dene First...

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister McLeod.

That’s great and I think that’s going to help a lot, but what about programs like PATH that are encouraging people to outright buy their own homes? I had a constituent who had a concern about the fact that there was only one intake and she didn’t know what the market looked like so she didn’t apply, and I think I’ve shared that information with the Minister. In scenarios like that where markets do fluctuate in some of the larger centres, alternate intake dates or even two intake dates a year would have significant value in assisting some of these people just because the timing doesn’t always...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank all of my colleagues who spoke in support of this motion. It’s great to see Members on both sides of the House in support of such an important motion.

The ASEP program is a nationally managed, opportunity-driven and project-based program that promotes increased participation of Aboriginal people in major economic developments. It achieves this through a collaborative approach of Aboriginal, private sector, and provincial and territorial partnerships. The program supports multi-year training strategies developed by Aboriginal organizations and industry employers...

WHEREAS the Government of Canada created the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnerships (ASEP) program in 2003 to increase Aboriginal participation in the Canadian workforce;

AND WHEREAS the ASEP program has been a major success in the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Nunavut in moving Aboriginal Northerners from social assistance, unemployment and underemployment to full-time, well-paying jobs;

AND WHEREAS the Mine Training Society, Building Inuvialuit Potential Society and the Dehcho First Nations have used $21.5 million in contributions from the ASEP program to assess, train and...

To the Minister, thank you so much for that response. I think it’s important that people know that this program is going to continue to exist. I know there are a lot of people who are accessing this program who are very pleased with the supports they’re getting. Could the Minister tell me how much the program is and how it’s administered within the Department of HR?

Thank you, Mr. Polakoff My clock shows that it’s after 2:00 p.m., so, recognizing the clock, I will now rise and report progress.