Mr. Speaker, I believe quite firmly in the concept of lifelong learning, and I’ve been reading a lot of Greek mythology lately. I have to admit I did have a tongue-twister trying to describe this situation. In modern terms it’s referred to as a rock and a hard place. But in my reading it was called the Scylla and the Charybolis, and it was about that six-headed monster versus the monster that sinks your ship through whirlpools. I thought that perfectly — perfectly, I have to stress — describes the struggle of small business, where the monster of the system chews you up and spits you out and the whirlpool sinks you in paperwork.
Mr. Speaker, I find the frustration of small business is not getting the help they need when they need to try to get foreign workers and help with the paperwork of permanent residents.
My question to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment is: will he set up a program to help these small-business folks process that paperwork?
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education does provide services and programs to assist with these immigrants in Canada. We do have various programs that we offer newcomers via Aurora College for English as a second language and also career counselling, job search assistance that the Member is asking for. And also the resume writing and job skills assistance. Those are just some of the areas that we are conducting at the department. I do believe that Industry and Tourism also provides various programs to assist businesses, but with our department we provide employment services programs that specifically highlight the individual’s needs. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I respect the Minister’s answer, but while I’m not going to say wrong, I don’t agree with him. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, I’m talking about people trying to get here. I’m talking about small businesses that want skilled and semi-skilled workers here to help do specialized jobs that they can’t get just walking out on the street and saying, “Here, I’ve got a job application. Please jump on board, and I’ll pay you.”
Mr. Speaker, we need talent. Sometimes we have to reach outside the N.W.T. That’s what I’m describing. I’m saying there’s a role for the Department of Education to play here.
Would the Minister of Education strike up a program that will help businesses so they can attract and fill out the paperwork needed to bring in employees and possibly foreign workers to the Northwest Territories to fill those gaps created?
Our Department of Education, Culture and Employment is working closely with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the federal government department, specifically dealing with the immigration status here in the North. There is an increasing number of immigrants to Canada and also specifically to the Northwest Territories. We are doing what we can as a department with the federal funding that we are receiving through immigrant settlement and adaptation programs. That is the program that we are initiating and that we are working with other departments to deal with the issue at hand. So we are delivering programs to assist those immigrants that are here in the North and also throughout Canada. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, the system, I hate to say, doesn’t exist to anyone out there on the street. The system must exist under some rock hidden in some broom closet or something, because I’ll tell you, we’ve got small businesses out there that need help filling out the paperwork . That’s what they need. They need someone to help them along with the process. They need someone to help them work with Citizenship Canada. They need that process. Not when they’re here, because when they’re here that’s not the problem. They just want to get them here. So the problem is getting them to the Northwest Territories and helping them with their temporary residency and turning them into permanent residents. Which, by the way, we get grant money of almost $20,000 a head for every one of these people. So it’s in our best interest.
Mr. Speaker, would the Minister of Education take into consideration what I’ve just said there and look at starting a program so that small business can tap into those skills to help them?
Mr. Speaker, again we do provide those programs and services to immigrants that are in the North. Also, with the business sector it does fall under Industry and Tourism, but with our department we are working with the program itself dealing with immigrants to the North. So we are doing our best with the programs that we have to assist those individuals from outside Canada that are immigrating to the North. There are various programs as highlighted, Mr. Speaker.
So we will continue to work with the federal government, within our Territorial departments, and improve and enhance our programs that we have currently in place. Mahsi.
Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I am not going to say that I agree with the Minister, because I didn’t agree with that at all.
Mr. Speaker, there is no system to help a small business like a restaurant hire a professional cook who cooks a very special style. There’s no program out there that helps other small businesses bring in foreign workers so they can fill gaps for skilled and semi-skilled workers. He may have a system out there — who knows where — that helps them learn English. Yes, I know there are cases of that. I know that there are a few other things. But there’s nothing to help them with that.
By the way, if we think small business has nothing to do but fill out paperwork, we’ve got to be crazy. They’ve got a business to run. So the fact is we need a program.
Mr. Speaker, would the Minister please take the time and help me investigate this problem and solve this problem? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work with the challenges that we’re faced with, with the retailers here in the North. It’s a challenge throughout the North, and also nationally. So we will continue to improve our services and programs. Mahsi.
