Mr. Speaker, on May 13 to 16, 2012, 17 youth from the Northwest Territories participated in the national skills competition in Edmonton, Alberta. There were 500 competitors from across Canada at the competition, with a team from every province and territory.
There were about 40 contests at this event, and our team competed in Auto Service, Carpentry and Industrial Mechanics, Cooking, Plumbing, Electrical Wiring, Welding, TV and Video Production, and Graphic Design.
I am extremely proud to report that three of these competitors returned home with national medals in hand:
Antonio Lewis, gold in Welding at the secondary level.
Sébastien Rémillard, silver in Cooking at the secondary level.
John Spoelder, silver in Auto Service at the post-secondary level.
We also had a number of other strong finishes:
Colin Miller, Plumbing;
Richard Neary, Electrical Installations;
Katharine Thomas, Graphic Design;
Tony Liske, Industrial Mechanic/Millwright;
Jeanne Yurris and Nick Walker, TV/Video Production.
Congratulations to these talented individuals. They all worked hard for their results, in some cases training for many hours each week outside of school and work.
Winning national medals in skilled trades and technology has significant impact for youth in the Northwest Territories. It increases respect for people working in these sectors. It helps connect youth with other youth who know the value of careers in skilled trades and technology. It fosters pride in quality of work and accomplishment, which helps our youth to know what they can achieve if they love what they do and work at it. The trades are critical to strengthening and diversifying our economy. By becoming skilled tradespeople, our residents in every region can have opportunities and choices.
I want to thank the deputy chair of the Standing Committee on Social Programs and MLA for Range Lake, Daryl Dolynny, for attending this event with me. I also want to thank executive director Jan Fullerton and the other staff of Skills Canada NWT for the incredible work that they do with northern youth. In partnership with government and industry partners, Skills Canada NWT is promoting careers in skilled trades and technologies to northern youth and helping to build the future workforce of the North. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
