Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we're told that the NWT economy has increased by 30 percent in the last three years.
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So we have the fastest-growing economy in Canada, and that's good news for Northerners looking for work. In fact, it's great news for the overall economy, with lots of high-salary mining jobs and many more jobs in northern businesses that provide goods and services to northern mines.
Mr. Speaker, the news is similarly good in areas of oil and gas. It's maybe not as busy this year as last, but the outlook is extremely positive for jobs and economic growth, with the pipeline appearing to be not too far over the horizon. The overall economy is good. Unemployment is low and job participation rates in the Northwest Territories are higher than in other areas of Canada. The jobs created by mining have provided opportunities and stability to the Northwest Territories that would not otherwise exist. But with people in Yellowknife walking away from their homes and mortgages only five or six years ago, it's not hard to see how important the jobs we get from mining are in the territory.
So, Mr. Speaker, we have the hottest economy in Canada right now because of diamond mining and oil and gas activity, but as Mr. Handley pointed out earlier this week, our government is in danger of going bankrupt. You've heard the phrase no pain no gain, well, resource development in the North means that this government gets all the pain but very little gain.