Mr. Speaker, at this time I’d like to take an opportunity to thank Flint Energy of Calgary for taking on the initiative of going into Mackenzie Delta communities to consult individuals and take applications for employment in the oil and gas industry in Alberta. I also would like to thank the oil and gas industry for looking at the potential resources that we have — which are the people of the Northwest Territories, especially in the Mackenzie Delta — to look for job opportunities in the oil and gas industry.
The company also committed to pay for the transportation costs of the individuals that are being hired through the application process and will fly them to Alberta to work in the oil and gas industry. Yet our own industry in the Northwest Territories, specifically the mining industry, is paying some $300 million in salaries to import people from southern Canada to work in the mining industries.
I think it’s time that this government stuck up for the residents of the Northwest Territories and made sure that we’ve fulfilled those job opportunities with Northern residents before anyone else takes advantage of those job opportunities.
I think it’s critical that this government looks up to other companies such as Flint Energy out of Calgary for taking the initiative to go into our isolated communities, take applications and find the residents from the Northwest Territories an opportunity to work in industry, especially oil and gas. But more importantly, I think the mining industry has to take note of what is happening in regard to recruiting people in the Northwest Territories and elsewhere than simply in the North Slave.
At the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment questions on this matter in regard to what the Department of Education is doing to ensure that we have our residents employed in all segments of our economy.
