Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The second week of June marks Mining Week, a time to celebrate the industry that has built the North as we know it and reflect on the hard work of the first pioneers and all who have come after them in maintaining and growing our engine of economic growth.
Mining Week is a proud tradition first proclaimed by Yellowknife Mayor McMahon in 1991. This year, the Nunavut and NWT Chamber of Mines will be holding the mine rescue competition on June 14th and 15th at the multiplex arena. They will also hold a miners’ picnic on the 15th outside the multiplex from 12 to 3 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, the mining industry is truly thousands of years old. People Indigenous to this land became experts in harnessing minerals long ago to create everything from nails, saws, knives and daggers, so they may craft, build, and hunt. After contact with Europeans, a boom of prospectors making their way farther north to stake claim to the source of minerals took place, bringing with them the first settlers to the North who set up communities the around these deposits establishing many of the communities we live in today. Almost a century after the first mines opened to the shores of Great Slave Lake, the industry has gone through many booms and busts and we've learned many lessons along the way. We've learned how necessary it is to respectfully partner with Indigenous nations so that the industries develop fairly to the benefit of all. We've also learned how important it is to shrink mining's ecological footprint so that Northerners can continue to enjoy a pristine natural environment.
Since the first Mining Week was proclaimed, many mines have come and gone but the crown jewel of our industry is our diamond mines. These mines have contributed $23 billion to the NWT's economy since 1999 and have spent $16 billion on procurement from NWT businesses alone with over $7 billion going to Indigenous owned businesses. Since 2015, the GNWT has collected an average of $90 million from diamond mines annually and over 3,000 workers are employed in the mining sector overall.
This Mining Week, it's time to reflect on the closing of these mines and how we must pivot to the next chapter of our mining history. The land still boasts untapped mineral resources that are the demand of world markets, but it's up to this government to make new development a reality. Let's carry on the work of the pioneers who came before us. Let's get mining back on track for the North. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.
