Mr. Speaker, on October 3rd, the Honourable Jane Stewart announced, in conjunction with the Honourable Ethel Blondin-Andrew, a new aboriginal skills and employment partnership program.
This $85 million, five-year program is aimed at securing and increasing sustainable aboriginal participation in large economic developments across Canada. These training programs can range from basic literacy skills and academic upgrading, to job specific programming.
Funding proposals must set out a comprehensive training-to-employment plan for aboriginal people that links skill development to specific job opportunities.
This is welcome news for aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker. As you are well aware, residents in the North need to move beyond the entry-level positions. I know that programs such as this one will assist us in making this move. By assisting aboriginal people to receive the training and skills they require, we know we are setting the stage for a better future for all Northerners.
The NWT economy, fuelled by extraordinary levels of mining and oil and gas activity, offers a remarkable number of opportunities for well-trained, skilled people. So many opportunities are available that, at the current time, we are experiencing difficulty meeting labour demand. We need to ensure that our northern population is trained and ready to meet this demand.
Mr. Speaker, while this program is national in scope, I am confident that a great deal of the impetus for it came from several years of intense effort by our government, in cooperation with our partners, to have federal dollars invested in the North for resource development.
This government has, over the past two years, been working on the development of two specific strategies. Mr. Speaker, the NWT industrial mining skills strategy and the oil and gas industrial skills strategy are expected to total approximately $20 million in new funding. Although the federal government has seen previous copies of these proposals, they must be resubmitted to meet the new guidelines. We will continue to work in conjunction with our partners -- industry, federal
government, aboriginal organizations and the Aboriginal Summit -- while finalizing these documents.
This new funding announcement speaks directly to these types of proposals, Mr. Speaker, and will complement the ongoing industry, GNWT and aboriginal investments currently taking place.
While the total amount of $85 million is allocated across Canada, we are confident that, given the level of activity and the excellent work done to date, a large portion of these dollars will be invested here in the NWT.
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the Minister of Human Resources Development Canada and our MP, Ethel Blondin-Andrew, for the support they are demonstrating in our ongoing effort to ensure that the northern economy maximizes northern employment, one of the primary goals of our government.
As well, I also compliment and congratulate industry, aboriginal partners and the Aboriginal Summit for coming together and working collaboratively to ensure we are ready to now take advantage of this opportunity.
Mr. Speaker, while there remain a number of administrative details to iron out, it is important that we continue to work cooperatively with our partners and keep in mind the main goal of increasing employment for aboriginal Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
