Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Sahtu got world-wide attention when major oil companies won exploration record bids for the vast hectares of land surrounding Norman Wells, Tulita and, recently, Fort Good Hope. To the Sahtu people, this area is our home and our land, but to most of the world it’s a remote frontier region yet to be developed, waiting to be tapped.
Between 2012 and 2014, the Government of the Northwest Territories conducted a needs assessment to determine the employment needs and job opportunities related to oil and gas exploration and looked at its impact on government, business and other organizations in the Sahtu. The findings of the assessment are key to managing the resources we have and making sure the benefits go to our people. The Sahtu labour force is about 1,200 people, and just about two-thirds of them have jobs. If development goes ahead, there will be opportunities for rig workers, certified tradespeople and people with advanced technical and professional skills.
We need project managers, administrators, safety operators, cat operators, wildlife monitors, truck drivers and heavy equipment operators. Industry, business, government and other stakeholders all say the same thing: people need life skills and job readiness training, literacy skills, a driver’s licence and a quality high school diploma in order to get jobs, and they need affordable houses and the lower cost of living to stay and work in the Sahtu.
The government needs to find ways to invest in developing the workforce in the Sahtu and all the Northwest Territories. We need to act on the findings of this assessment and create an environment that is good for all professional skill development, and we need to act now.
This statement is the first of a three-part series about the Sahtu oil and gas needs assessment. I want to challenge Members of this House and the people of the Northwest Territories to get ready for this development. Now is our chance to make the best decisions for the Northwest Territories and for the people of the Sahtu. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
