Debates of March 14, 2007 (day 2)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if my question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment or the Minister of ITI. I would like to ask the question on the Mackenzie gas pipeline. We heard in the news that 2007 is going to be a construction date. That is seven years away. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier how we will get our people in business or training into the workforce. There are diamond mines down south in the region. We have seven years to get our people here and some people may just get fed up and leave the country. Some people will have to possibly claim bankruptcy. What is he doing for the people in the Mackenzie Valley to take part in some the economic activity that is happening now, rather than waiting for seven years to get involved in the economy? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will refer that question to the Minister of ITI. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bell.

Return To Question 36-15(6): Maximizing Resource Development Employment Opportunities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the Member is very well aware, coming from the Sahtu, regarding the concern in the region about the pipeline delays. The new date we are talking about is 2014, Mr. Speaker. It is a concern to all northerners. This project will be a pillar of our economy in the future, we believe. It will spur additional exploration and development in these regions. But the Member is right in that we need to ensure our people are ready to take the jobs that will come their way. We have always insisted this project must do a number of things, but, first and foremost, it must benefit northerners, Mr. Speaker. We have negotiated a $21 million training fund in the socio-economic agreement. Mr. Speaker, we know those funds don’t start to flow until the project is a go; so in the interim, I am working with the Minister of ECE. We have an Aboriginal Skills Employment Partnership program that marries up industry, government and aboriginal organizations to roll out some training not just for pipeline construction, Mr. Speaker, that is in a few years, but we are more interested in developing a workforce that can take advantage of the 50 or 100-year industry we are creating around oil and gas exploration. So it is on us collectively as northerners to meet this challenge. Yes, we will work to put the programs in place to make sure northerners are the beneficiaries of these jobs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 36-15(6): Maximizing Resource Development Employment Opportunities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I certainly would support the Minister in terms of the initiative that his department is doing. Mr. Speaker, people in the Sahtu, the Gwich’in, the Beaufort-Delta and other parts of the North here are seasonal workers. They are limited in terms of what they can do. They have huge payloads in terms of the work they have to do. What is the Minister doing in terms of how do we get these people, these companies here, involved in the type of work that is happening in the diamond mines? Where are the numbers that show that we are going to get these people here? Seven years is a long time. Maybe it is called a seven-year itch.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 36-15(6): Maximizing Resource Development Employment Opportunities

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the foundation has to be a good, basic education. I think Members in the House I know are proud to see that our graduation numbers are coming up. That will stand us in good stead. But from there, we know that we have to focus on post-secondary education. We have to focus on developing trades and making sure more people, boys and girls, are interested in entering these fields, because there will be a number of jobs in this new economy that we are creating throughout the Northwest Territories. We are still very optimistic that this project is a go, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t other ongoing oil and gas exploration. We need to continue to send the right messages to industry that there is certainty here. We recognize that there are some challenges around this federal regulatory regime. We need to force and insist that the federal government make improvements to that. But, Mr. Speaker, the North is a good place to do business. We can work with our people to ensure they get the benefits of these jobs, but we will work diligently over the next coming years to roll out the required training programs to make sure that in areas where there are high unemployment numbers, sometimes 30 and 40 percent, we have more than just seasonal employment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 36-15(6): Maximizing Resource Development Employment Opportunities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister is certainly right that the North is a good place to do business. Can the Minister provide to me the numbers in terms of employment for people in my region, the Beaufort-Delta and the Gwich’in, the number of businesses that are used in Diavik and BHP? What are the numbers? Show me the numbers so that we can increase those numbers. We certainly want to work with these diamond companies. We certainly want it fair in terms of working with the different companies to improve our skills in terms of preparing for the pipeline. Can the Minister show me these numbers? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 36-15(6): Maximizing Resource Development Employment Opportunities

Mr. Speaker, I think we can do that. I know in his region, because we are working to sit down in the Sahtu to talk about some cooperation and the signing of an MOU, that part of the work was an accounting of the businesses that were able and eligible to do work. I know that, because of the pipeline, regional businesses have stepped up and made sure they have been accounted for and are in a position to take advantage of work that can come their way. I think this information is available. We can put it together. We can pull this together, and I can share that with the Member. I agree; as was responded to earlier, I think last week in the House, as it relates to the diamond mines, we have asked and encouraged the diamond mines to go farther in the field and to look throughout the Northwest Territories to do business with operations and people in other regions over and above the North Slave, Mr. Speaker. They have agreed to start attending trade fairs and trade shows throughout the Territories. We are going to accompany them. I think there are still a large number of opportunities in that respect. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 36-15(6): Maximizing Resource Development Employment Opportunities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, sometime in April, the Sahtu will have a career fair that is happening. I believe some of the diamond mines will be there. Mr. Speaker, I have asked the Minister in terms of between now and 2014 or 2011, can the Minister work with the communities up in the Deh Cho and the Sahtu, Gwich’in and Beaufort-Delta in terms of providing opportunities for these people, the people in the Northwest Territories, to work in Ekati, BHP and Diavik and stop the influx of workers coming from the South to work in those mines? I see planeloads of people coming in and flying to those mines. It should be northern people. Northern people should be the primary beneficiaries of these workers. It should be northern people that we should be helping. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Bell.

Further Return To Question 36-15(6): Maximizing Resource Development Employment Opportunities

Mr. Speaker, I couldn’t agree with the Member more. The challenge has been laid out before us. We have to find ways to get more of our people employed in all industries, including the diamond mines. We have had a number of discussions with committee. The mining companies, De Beers, BHP, and Rio Tinto, have come in front of us to talk about this and talk about the efforts that they are making. I really do believe that they are making some good effort. Let’s face it; it makes good business sense to hire northerners who are closer to home than it does to go scouring the country and flying workers to and from the corners of this country, Mr. Speaker. So they have an incentive and a vested interest in making this work, as do we. It is about collaborating and coordinating our efforts and we are prepared and expect that we should be doing that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Time for oral questions has expired. Before we go to the next item on the Order Paper, the Chair is going to call a short break.

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