Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT population is declining. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories has been good to me. I chose the Northwest Territories as a high school student sitting in a classroom in southwestern Ontario. I picked it off the map. I came here. I didn’t come here with my family, I didn’t transfer here with a job, I didn’t come here as somebody’s spouse. I chose the Northwest Territories. The Northwest Territories has been good to me. I should be the poster person for the Northwest Territories.
---Applause
But, Mr. Speaker, might I also say that I found a man here that wanted to marry me. That’s not a… I just wanted to work that in.
---Laughter
I wanted to work that in because it’s Valentine’s Day. Thank you.
---Laughter
In the third quarter of 2009 we were the only jurisdiction in Canada whose population dropped. Census data for the past five years shows a definite downward trend while Canada’s population increases and the population of our neighbouring territories, Yukon and Nunavut, are also increasing. To find reasons for our decline we should look no further than the NWT’s high cost of living, the lack of affordable housing and slow paced development. People are leaving many of our small communities where there’s typically higher unemployment. In communities where the population has increased, the number of occupied private dwellings have gone down, evidence of a housing shortage.
In contrast, the Yukon has experienced steady growth over the same period. The Yukon’s population increase is mainly attributed to the mining sector. Two mines came into production in 2010, bringing jobs not only to this industry but also to other sectors. The high price of metals and minerals continue to benefit producers and attract investment from new companies, while on this side of the Mackenzie Mountains companies are still slogging through the red tape. The Yukon also has higher numbers of non-permanent residents, suggesting that more people are being brought in to work in the service industry. These people may decide ultimately to make the Yukon a permanent residence as soon as they have the opportunity.
The Northwest Territories needs to take a hard look at the reasons that our residents leave, why our migrant workers choose not to live here. We need to develop and implement practical strategies that get to the root of why people are leaving. We need targets, we need measurable income, we can no longer afford gimmicks to attract residents, we need real reasons to bring people here, keep people here: job opportunities, comparable cost of living, housing solutions and vibrant communities. This is no one else’s job to try to change this statistic than ours. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
