Julie Green

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recently, the GNWT's Department of Transportation applied for permits to build an allseason road to Whati. The proposed 94-kilometre road will connect the community of 500 people with Highway No. 3 and the NWT road system and it will stop within 50 kilometres of a polymetallic deposit owned by Fortune Minerals that may one day become a mine. Still, Fortune Minerals needs to raise $589 million to make that dream come true, and its stock is trading for pennies a share.

The hitch is that the GNWT doesn't have the money to spend on the road to Whati or any other...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wonder if I could get some information about why we're leasing office space in Ottawa. Thank you.

This is more a comment. It's my understanding from the president of Indspire that $125,000 worth of scholarships were given out in the NWT in the last year to students. It seems like a pretty good investment to provide that kind of support for the $125,000 in return, although I understand the Minister's rationale for not going with the ongoing support of the event itself. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm wondering if the Minister could just give a quick rationale for deciding not to continue funding to the Indspire Awards.

No, thank you.

Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition dealing with the matter of the 2016 Government of the Northwest Territories Budget. Mr. Speaker, this petition contains 330 signatures of Northwest Territories residents and two signatures of residents from southern Canada. Mr. Speaker, the petitioners request the following:

That the Government of the Northwest Territories recognize the following criteria when implementing reductions in the 2016 budget:

First, government workers and their families need to be prioritized;

Second, government jobs must be protected;

Third...

Thank you to the Minister for that answer. The labour market forecast says that from 2015 to 2030 the NWT will need to recruit 777 elementary and kindergarten school teachers, as well as 577 secondary school teachers, 448 early childhood educators and assistants, and 382 college and vocational instructors. It is just staggering numbers. How is that going to happen?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last month I had the pleasure of attending the Skills Canada NWT Regional Competition. As I walked through the venues I saw dozens of young people perfecting their skills in an impressive variety of fields from hairdressing to electrical wiring, from making a film to making a meal. I found all this activity inspiring. While 19 per cent of the labour force includes youth who are not in school but who want to work, there are many others who are working hard now to ensure their future employability and income. The following day the GNWT released its Labour Market...

Thank you to the Minister for that answer. One of the things that seems to be a gap in this labour market forecast is that it looks primarily at the non-renewable resource sector jobs rather than some of those which might be part of diversification. I am wondering why the report did not look at diversification, for example filmmaking, traditional economies, agriculture, manufacturing, and so on, rather than concentrating on the declining sector of our economy.