Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I spoke of apprenticeships in the small communities and how this government should try to take advantage of the Apprenticeship Program and to try to get some deferred maintenance requirements done. I mentioned that across NWT and GNWT buildings, there is a deferred maintenance backlog of over $300 million.
I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment: does the Minister know what the deferred maintenance requirements for each community are? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Those are the areas that we need to explore with each department. Each department has their own mandate. They have their own goals and objectives to deal with the communities, whether it comes to apprenticeship or training on the job at the community level and also employment. So we need to gather that information. I can definitely share that with the Member as well. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, I’m trying to get the appropriate department, I guess, to start looking at employment rates. It’s very difficult to kind of place this issue, like the Minister responded, on one department. I’m also trying to find some sort of champion, I guess, from Cabinet to be able to lead something like this. Again, I want to ask the Minister if he knows, if the Minister or the department knows what industry needs for the demand of trades personnel are in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we do have data. We’ve conducted a survey in the past and we also have an MOU with the mining industry and they’ve identified how many apprentices will be required, how many positions will be required, training programs and the local employment. Just recently the Rio Tinto Diavik, they’ve hired on I believe it’s nine additional apprentices. That’s above and beyond what they’ve committed to. So kudos goes to the team. But others, the corporations and the bands have identified what’s going to be required in the next five to 10 years down the road. We do have the information on that and we are working with that information as we develop a plan to move forward on identifying budget, within the budget, to allocate that funding specifically to the communities such as Fort Res and Lutselk'e in the Member’s riding and other communities as well. Mahsi.
That’s good news, Mr. Speaker. It sounds like there’s been some activity with the industry. Now, in as far as the department themselves go, the department of Housing, Public Works, MACA, ITI, and their needs for work to be done, just any sort of work that has to be done, most of that type of work, when there’s contracts and so on, there’s a requirement for trades personnel to be on-site. I’m wondering if the Minister has discussed any sort of plan with departments such as Housing, Public Works, MACA and ITI in as far as the need for trades labour goes for their work. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, there’s always an ongoing discussion interdepartmentally, whether it be MACA, PWS, Housing, and within our Education department and other departments, as well, that may require whether it be apprentices or training on the job, and we do what we can as the department to assist in those areas because we do have the funding allocated under apprenticeship and an on-the-job training as well. Mr. Speaker, I’ll continue to work with those departments and strengthen the working relationships that we have and identifying those key areas of interest that are out there in the Northwest Territories and in the communities that we need to push for. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, that’s positive. I think that’s in the right direction. There seems to be some good planning, I guess, going on for future needs and I’m talking about trades, although I’m ultimately trying to get some apprenticeships. Will the Minister commit to developing an overall plan for trades and apprenticeships, for both, to address the total needs of all trades requirements in the NWT including government and private industry? Thank you.
That definitely is part of the plan within Education, Culture and Employment. We need to have short-term and long-term plans as well. Just identifying some of the key areas in the Member’s riding, we’re happy to share that information on the 18 journeypersons in Fort Res mostly in the heavy equipment operators, three journeypersons in Lutselk'e, carpentry, heavy-duty mechanic and housing maintenance, and also two registered apprentices in Fort Res. Those are just, I think, a start for us and we need to identify those key areas working with the departments and also the corporation, the band council at the community level and also the community government. We need to identify what is required at the community level and we are more than willing to work with the communities in developing those key areas as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
