Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about concerns with employment rates, so I have questions for the Minister responsible for employment. In this particular case, that would be Mr. Lafferty.

Could Mr. Lafferty provide some examples of true unemployment figures in several of our communities, and I’ll allow him to pick his own examples of what the true unemployment figures are in some of our northern communities, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll gladly take any one of those commitments, all or some or who knows what I’ll get, but I’ll certainly welcome every single one of them. Since, as I highlighted, the changes to the EI program, it now makes it more challenging for our northern workforce to find consistent, meaningful employment options. We’re now talking that you have to find well over five months of actual work to qualify for EI. Now, in a robust, working economy, not a problem. I accept any changes. But what is the department prepared for in this new shift where they’ve extended the hours one must...

Thank you. By way of example, the last figures I can find, of course under our NWT Bureau of Stats, is Beau-Del was at 54 percent, Deh Cho 50 percent, Sahtu 55, South Slave 63, Tlicho 39 percent and YK at 79, and that’s sort of territory-wide for the Minister’s benefit.

What job creation programs has this department created under the tenure of this Minister, and can he provide some examples of how many new jobs have been placed on the ground and where?

Mr. Speaker, the recent release of the Bureau of Stats numbers would give most people an opportunity to celebrate. What they do say is the fact that unemployment rates have reached a new one-year low. This is normally a good thing. But normally this doesn’t always tell you the whole story when you take a look at the bigger picture of what all the stats say. When you look closely at them, you actually see what the true figures are.

Employment figures have actually dropped, and I mean in this case they’ve gone south, literally and figuratively.

Participation in the employment sector, trying to get...

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I’ve been practicing. Mr. Speaker, on February 5th of this year the Finance Minister proclaimed an aggressive yet ambitious target to attract 2,000 new residents to the NWT. Our most current publication from the Bureau of Stats says the NWT’s population fell by 218 persons. Now, that is a negative 10 percent shortfall on that particular number.

In the Finance Minister’s words on February 6th, again, it said our fiscal future is closely linked to economic prospects and healthy population growth. The Minister continues to go on by saying we are also aware the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I said in my Member’s statement that the net effect would actually be awash because our growth and our federal grant transfer would actually cover the cost of those teachers. May I also briefly remind the Minister that he had pointed out in his February 6th statement that in 2013 we continued to lose population? What’s happening here is, year over year over year we continue to lose population.

My last question is simply this: Where have there been any results of population growth in the Northwest Territories under the tenure of this McLeod government?

I was proudly educated in the Northwest Territories, growing up in Fort Simpson and in Yellowknife. My education taught me that negative 218 persons is a lot. So when the Minister says to me – and remember, this is the gentleman in charge of our books and our finances – we’re not losing ground, perhaps the Minister of Finance can explain how a loss of 218 people isn’t a loss to the Northwest Territories and the Northwest Territories isn’t losing ground. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to take the opportunity to recognize constituent Julie Green. She’s been a wonderful woman, she does a lot of great things in the city and I think she spends a lot of time with the YWCA. At this time I’ve forgotten her position so I won’t try to name it, but I will say that she has an enormous impact in the North for women and their rights.

I’d like to recognize two missionaries in the back of the gallery I can see there. They are both from the United States doing good work here in the Northwest Territories. They are Elder Ames and Elder Anderson, and although...

Yellowknife’s population has relatively remained the same and we’ve been fortunate only on the principle that we’ve had growth from the communities. That’s terrible, because where the real impact is happening is in the communities. Getting the jobs out to the communities will have a positive effect on the whole territory, every single program we need.

In my Member’s statement today, I said let’s put two teachers in every single school. That would bring new families to every community; that would bring new job growth, new vitality and new cash on the ground where people spend money. There’s an...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I spent a bit of time highlighting some of the words the Finance Minister had provided this House on February 6th. It was really talking about embarking on a new adventure of trying to create this initiative that would draw 2,000 new people to the Northwest Territories over the next five years, but as our NWT Bureau of Stats has clearly said, outlined – and I put great faith in their hard work – we’ve had a drop of 218 people in this last year, which puts us about 10 percent below that greater mark.

So, what I want to hear from the Minister...