Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I strongly believe in order for this government to be successful, we need to plan. I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, what is the training plan for the Beaufort-Delta communities to prepare them for the Inuvik-Tuk Highway Project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Part of the ongoing discussions that we have had are in partnership with Inuvialuit and also with the Gwich’in to provide the training requirements. My department is working closely with the Beaufort-Delta on what kind of training is required. Not only that, but we provided training in the past on Source Road 177 in Tuk, combining with our Education and working with the college, Hamlet of Tuk, Tuk Community Corporation and contractors, just going through labour markets to build a database for local residents to plan and deliver training that maximizes the local employment. Those are just some of the examples we have undertaken.
We are looking forward to this new initiative that is coming at us. The project was just approved last week by the Environmental Impact Review Board. We are still waiting for federal approval at that level. But now we are talking about partnership, partnership, partnership. We invited Aboriginal leadership to NWT Days. It was a very productive and successful meeting. We are building on the relationship that we have. Definitely I will be working closely with the Member and members from the Beaufort-Delta to make this training requirement also a success in that region. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in order for us to be prepared, will the Minister ensure that Class 1 driving courses be delivered regularly in every Beaufort-Delta community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, if that is the wish of the communities, by all means, we have done that in the past where training has taken place in the Beaufort-Delta, whether it be safety training, substance abuse workshop, Class 1 driver exam, driver training. There is also heavy equipment Class 1 and Class 3 training that has been undertaken. We need to be prepared and also preparing those individuals from the communities so they can enter the workforce. Once the road has been constructed, we want the manpower to be ready. So that is an area that we are exploring.
My officials will be meeting with ITI and DOT, my department, Aurora College and regional representatives to deal with planning stages on Valentine’s Day. Definitely, we are looking forward to those planning stages. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, how many jobs are expected on the Inuvik-Tuk Highway and what is the target for hiring from the Beaufort-Delta communities and also this territory? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the jobs, training opportunities will be identified through a working group that we are going to establish. When I talk about the meeting tomorrow, that is a preliminary stage of planning. Out of that, we are hoping to get some more concrete figures, concrete numbers from ITI, from DOT, from my department and from regional representatives, because they have their own needs as well. So we need to respect that. We need to take those into consideration, compile all the information that I will be sharing that with the Members once we have that information. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
