Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment in regard to industry, trade and investment. In regard to my Member’s statement, I mentioned a company out of Calgary that was recruiting individuals in the Mackenzie Delta and trying to find people to work in the oil and gas industry in Alberta, preferably Fort McMurray. Again, we also have other industries in the N.W.T. that seem to be lacking in that type of endeavour. So I’d like to ask the Minister: would he pass on a message to the N.W.T. Mining Association that they can try a similar arrangement by recruiting outside of the North Slave in the N.W.T.?

The diamond companies in the Slave Geologic Province have been leaders in hiring out northern employees in the N.W.T., particularly from the North Slave region. We were following very closely the announcement that Flint Energy had decided to also look at the N.W.T. in an attempt to hire skilled workers. Having worked with the diamond companies, the socio-economic agreements that the Northwest Territories has signed with them, it came up as a result of the environmental review process. Certainly, this is an area in which we are having discussions with the diamond companies, and we’re hoping to be able to work something out in the near future.

Mr. Speaker, there are some $300 million in wages leaving the Northwest Territories every year and going south in Canada. Yet for residents of the Northwest Territories to get a job, now they have to go to Alberta to find work because the companies in the Northwest Territories are not hiring Northwest Territories residents. I think that as a government we have a responsibility to ensure we take care of the interests of residents of the Northwest Territories first.

I’d like to ask the Minister again: would he make sure the N.W.T. Mining Association along with Diavik, BHP, and other companies make their best efforts to look outside the North Slave of the N.W.T.

and go to the Mackenzie Delta, to the Mackenzie Valley, and other places in the Northwest Territories to start recruiting other people from the Northwest Territories?

The three socio-economic agreements we have negotiated with the diamond companies require the hiring of employees from pick-up points at various centres in North Slave. The diamond companies have been quite successful in doing so. We are having discussions with them. We’ve expressed concern about arrangements whereby employees are being flown in directly from southern points, and we are having discussions with diamond companies to find the solution that would meet all of our different objectives.

Mr. Speaker, as a government I think we do have an obligation to the residents of the Northwest Territories I’d like to ask the Minister if he is willing to consider opening the socioeconomic agreement to expand it to include other regions of the Northwest Territories for employment in the mining industry.

The socio-economic agreements cannot be opened except by mutual consent, so we are looking at other avenues to increase the catchment area for the hiring of skilled N.W.T. employees.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that during the 15th Assembly the Minister’s predecessor opened

up that agreement and allowed more people to be flown in from southern Canada, with no consideration for other people in the Northwest Territories. Since that was the position given to the companies in the 15th Assembly, I don’t see why

this government could not also ask for an addition to that agreement, like we already gave in the previous negotiations. I’d like to ask the Minister again: will he consider opening up that agreement to ensure that there are more Northwest Territories residents working in the mining industry?

Mr. Speaker, certainly one of our objectives is to increase the hiring of Northwest Territories employees in all sectors. We think that we can achieve the objective that the Members laid out without having to open up the socio-economic agreements. We will be working towards that very end.

Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

On the news this morning there was more speculation about the Alaska pipeline and the

Mackenzie gas pipeline taking a major sidelining to the proposals and thoughts that are out there now on serving North American markets through liquefied natural gas. It seems an alternative. When it looked like there was a possibility for the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline, we criticized this government heavily on the front of being prepared because we said when the diamonds were coming to the Northwest Territories, we didn’t get out ahead of it. We weren’t prepared.

So now, when the natural gas is coming, we encouraged our government to get involved right from the outset. Get people in positions; let’s be prepared. The government, in response to those requests, did so. Now we have people working in almost all departments, working on pipeline readiness.

In fact, I’d like to know how we are going to address all that build-up of expertise, planning and personnel should the pipeline not proceed at this time. The Mackenzie Gas Project offices have already been closed. What is the signal to the government by this other information coming forward on alternatives to our pipeline?

The government has been working very hard to be prepared for the pipeline. We realize there is significant lead time to make sure that we have people trained up and businesses ready to take advantage of the opportunities that will come with a pipeline.

I should point out that the offices in Inuvik, Norman Wells and Fort Simpson have not been closed; they have been downsized. Imperial Oil has indicated that they are doing so to wait the writing of the Joint Review Panel report, and they remain committed to the project. The Liquid Natural Gas reports that you are referring to…. This was something that the proponents had pointed out several years ago. We

were always aware that

LNG

was a real

alternative to a pipeline and that the technology was developing to the point where there are several locations in Canada where LNG terminals had started to be constructed. So this is something that we are aware of, and we want to ensure that we can advance the pipeline as quickly as the regulatory system allows.

Mr. Speaker, the eventuality of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline is something that has been debated extensively all through this process. Will it go, or will it not go? When will it go? This has been a question that has been out there.

Given the ramping up of positions and people in preparation for the pipeline on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, do you have a contingency plan in place? Do you have an exit plan? Do you have something else these folks can do? Do you have other priorities they can turn

their attention to if the pipeline is postponed and deferred?

In the work that we are doing, with most of the positions for the government that would be affected, those skills are still transferrable. I would think that with the economy the way it is, there would probably be little difficulty in finding alternative employment for those affected employees. I think it would be more difficult for businesses that have ramped up in anticipation of the pipeline. Our expectation is still that the pipeline will go ahead, and we’re continuing to work on that basis.

I have been a big proponent of the government being prepared for the pipeline and making sure that Northerners are prepared, that industry is prepared, that as a government we are prepared. What kind of timelines are we looking at? You said you were waiting for the completion of the report of the regulatory bodies. What kind of a time frame are we looking at now to have that kind of information in hand?

Although we wanted this kind of preparation in place, at the same time, if there is a significant delay or postponement of the pipeline, we have financial pressures on us right now. We don’t want to be wasting money pursuing something that isn’t going to be forthcoming in the time frame we expected.

Mr. Speaker, the timelines that have been laid out indicate that the JRP report would be completed within four months after the hearings were completed. If you adhere to that, then you’re looking at early spring of 2008. If there’s any delay, it would push it back into the summertime, and as we all know, even for writing reports that would probably mean that it wouldn’t be available until the fall. That would be problematic, because it would probably push back the go–no go decision which the company would have to make probably within a year after the report has been concluded.

I’d like to know when was the most recent communication the Minister has had with the APG and the producers group and the proponents of the pipeline. When was the most recent communication that he had with them that causes him to still feel optimistic, and what is that vehicle for ongoing communication with our government and the business components of the pipeline?

We’ve been in communication with a number of people, most recently with Mr. David Hudson, the ministerial envoy for Minister Prentice, who is the lead on the Mackenzie Valley pipeline for the federal government. We’ve also had discussions with Randy Broiles of Imperial Oil and

the APG members, so we continue to remain optimistic.

Mr. Speaker, I believe quite firmly in the concept of lifelong learning, and I’ve been reading a lot of Greek mythology lately. I have to admit I did have a tongue-twister trying to describe this situation. In modern terms it’s referred to as a rock and a hard place. But in my reading it was called the Scylla and the Charybolis, and it was about that six-headed monster versus the monster that sinks your ship through whirlpools. I thought that perfectly — perfectly, I have to stress — describes the struggle of small business, where the monster of the system chews you up and spits you out and the whirlpool sinks you in paperwork.

Mr. Speaker, I find the frustration of small business is not getting the help they need when they need to try to get foreign workers and help with the paperwork of permanent residents.

My question to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment is: will he set up a program to help these small-business folks process that paperwork?

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education does provide services and programs to assist with these immigrants in Canada. We do have various programs that we offer newcomers via Aurora College for English as a second language and also career counselling, job search assistance that the Member is asking for. And also the resume writing and job skills assistance. Those are just some of the areas that we are conducting at the department. I do believe that Industry and Tourism also provides various programs to assist businesses, but with our department we provide employment services programs that specifically highlight the individual’s needs. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I respect the Minister’s answer, but while I’m not going to say wrong, I don’t agree with him. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, I’m talking about people trying to get here. I’m talking about small businesses that want skilled and semi-skilled workers here to help do specialized jobs that they can’t get just walking out on the street and saying, “Here, I’ve got a job application. Please jump on board, and I’ll pay you.”

Mr. Speaker, we need talent. Sometimes we have to reach outside the N.W.T. That’s what I’m describing. I’m saying there’s a role for the Department of Education to play here.

Would the Minister of Education strike up a program that will help businesses so they can attract and fill out the paperwork needed to bring in

employees and possibly foreign workers to the Northwest Territories to fill those gaps created?

Our Department of Education, Culture and Employment is working closely with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the federal government department, specifically dealing with the immigration status here in the North. There is an increasing number of immigrants to Canada and also specifically to the Northwest Territories. We are doing what we can as a department with the federal funding that we are receiving through immigrant settlement and adaptation programs. That is the program that we are initiating and that we are working with other departments to deal with the issue at hand. So we are delivering programs to assist those immigrants that are here in the North and also throughout Canada. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, the system, I hate to say, doesn’t exist to anyone out there on the street. The system must exist under some rock hidden in some broom closet or something, because I’ll tell you, we’ve got small businesses out there that need help filling out the paperwork . That’s what they need. They need someone to help them along with the process. They need someone to help them work with Citizenship Canada. They need that process. Not when they’re here, because when they’re here that’s not the problem. They just want to get them here. So the problem is getting them to the Northwest Territories and helping them with their temporary residency and turning them into permanent residents. Which, by the way, we get grant money of almost $20,000 a head for every one of these people. So it’s in our best interest.

Mr. Speaker, would the Minister of Education take into consideration what I’ve just said there and look at starting a program so that small business can tap into those skills to help them?

Mr. Speaker, again we do provide those programs and services to immigrants that are in the North. Also, with the business sector it does fall under Industry and Tourism, but with our department we are working with the program itself dealing with immigrants to the North. So we are doing our best with the programs that we have to assist those individuals from outside Canada that are immigrating to the North. There are various programs as highlighted, Mr. Speaker.

So we will continue to work with the federal government, within our Territorial departments, and improve and enhance our programs that we have currently in place. Mahsi.

Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I am not going to say that I agree with the Minister, because I didn’t agree with that at all.

Mr. Speaker, there is no system to help a small business like a restaurant hire a professional cook who cooks a very special style. There’s no program out there that helps other small businesses bring in foreign workers so they can fill gaps for skilled and semi-skilled workers. He may have a system out there — who knows where — that helps them learn English. Yes, I know there are cases of that. I know that there are a few other things. But there’s nothing to help them with that.

By the way, if we think small business has nothing to do but fill out paperwork, we’ve got to be crazy. They’ve got a business to run. So the fact is we need a program.

Mr. Speaker, would the Minister please take the time and help me investigate this problem and solve this problem? Thank you.