Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Mr. Speaker, about the new road to Whati, I would like to ask questions to the ITI Minister [translation ends].
I have additional questions for the Minister of Infrastructure. Some questions may be for more detailed information, which the Minister may not have at hand, but this is coming directly from my constituents. It's their words, Mr. Speaker. What is the current status on the Tlicho All-Season Road project? More specifically, to the northern, southern, and Tlicho hires. Last time I asked the Minister, southern hires were 50-percent-plus. Masi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As of June 2, 2020, 77 people were employed with the project. Of the 77 workers employed, 24 were from the Tlicho region or the Northwest Territories, and 53 were from the South. There have been 6,573 hours of Tlicho citizen training resulting out of the project to date. The number of employees is anticipated to increase up to 120 by the end of June. We remain committed to ensuring that local and northern benefits on the project are maintained. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am glad that the Minister is committed to monitoring the progress that is happening there. That's my next line of questions here. We are fortunate to be living in the North. It's small enough that we run into our constituents, or people, who actually work at the TASR site, Tlicho All-Season Road. I was yet again, Mr. Speaker, informed by one of the current workers yesterday that southern hires keep increasing, and friends and relatives of Southerners get on heavy equipment faster than my own Tlicho people working there. Even those guys, my Tlicho workers, have been waiting for a number of weeks now.
Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister: what is the number of recent southern hires, new hires, the positions that they were hired for, and also advancements at the TASR construction site for southern hires?
I will have to come back to the Member with those details.
I'd like to thank the Minister for her follow-up on this, because, again, this is coming from my constituents, so there are more detailed questions being asked of me to the Minister. My Tlicho workers, who are approximately, as the Minister indicated, 24 out of 70, or according to the workers there it's around a hundred or coming to a hundred, so it's a small number that we have there, who have years of experience as heavy equipment operators through their diamond mines experience, but they are not given the same treatment as Southerners wishing to advance. Could I have the Minister's commitment to provide in detail, as she may not have that in hand, as indicated earlier, the number of Tlicho workers who cite any advancements since the start of construction in October 2019; in addition, southern workers who cite less advancement?
Yes, I will have to come back to the Member with those details. However, I do want to commit to the Member that I remain committed to ensuring that Northerners are getting meaningful work and training out of these projects and that we will ensure that, going forward, we are making sure that the training components are built in and that people are getting meaningful employment.
Thank you, Minister. Final short supplementary, Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. I understand that the Minister is new to the file. I'm glad she's going to follow through. That agreement was before she came on board, so I'm glad she is going to be monitoring this. The last question I have is: can I get a commitment from the Minister that she and/or her senior staff, departmental staff, visit the Tlicho All-season Road construction site and meet with the Tlicho workers to simply hear them out and follow through with their concerns, Mr. Speaker? Masi.
Yes. Yesterday in the House I committed to coming to speak with the workers at the Edzo maintenance camp for the highway. At the same time, I will come to the TASR camp and speak with people there. Anytime, though, I do encourage the Member, if he does have constituents who have concerns, that they come to me directly and don't wait on those visits, which will likely be the last week of June. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
