Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last month I accompanied Premier Bob McLeod and Mr. Robert Hawkins, Member for Yellowknife Centre, along with delegates from our territory’s business community on a trade mission to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The business representatives from the Northwest Territories were Mr. Robin Goad, president of Fortune Minerals; Ms. Verda Law, Yellowknife Tours; Mr. Deepak Kumar, Deepak International; Mr. Fernando Alvarez, president of Jacques Cartier Clothier; and Mr. Mark Downey, CEO of Fur Harvesters Auction Ltd.
Our visit was an important part of the GNWT’s work to develop closer ties with China and the immense market potential it holds, particularly for our territory’s fur, tourism and diamond sectors.
Building relationships with Chinese business and tourism leaders, expanding markets for our products and encouraging investment all strengthen and diversify our economy, a priority of the 17th Legislative Assembly.
This trip provided us an opportunity to follow up with contacts we made during the Council of the Federation trade mission in 2012, where we had productive meetings with the Chinese Vice-Premier, Minister of Finance and leaders in the business community regarding trade and investment opportunities.
The 40th Annual Beijing Fur and Leather Show was
a main focus of our mission. China is the world’s leading manufacturer of fur garments, and their demand for NWT wild fur is high and continues to rise every year. Currently, 80 percent of all NWT wild fur ends up in China; a significant number. Our genuine Mackenzie Valley fur is recognized as a premium product that Chinese designers want to work with, and perhaps more importantly, it is a product that the growing Chinese middle class loves to wear.
Our meetings in Hong Kong helped us to understand this city’s relationship with mainland China. Hong Kong is the gateway to China and an international financial hub. Our fur and tourism sectors have enormous growth potential in this market.
Mr. Speaker, our promotion of the NWT as an exciting location for Chinese tourists was also well received. I am happy to confirm to Members that representatives of the Chinese travel industry are especially interested in aurora tourism. We have seen an increase in Chinese travelers this year,
and by following up with the connections we made, we hope to consistently grow this number.
In addition to promoting NWT Tourism’s new Aurora Capital of the World brand, our meetings and presentations offered numerous opportunities to showcase the wonders and natural beauty of our territory’s regions.
Chinese visitors are interested in authentic cultural experiences, and we took this opportunity to highlight our emerging Aboriginal tourism sector.
During the delegation’s time in Shanghai and Hong Kong, we focused our efforts on tourism and diamonds. I toured the Shanghai Diamond Exchange and promoted the NWT’s diamond sector from both a mining and secondary manufacturing perspective.
Mr. Speaker, China offers the potential to be more than just a source of consumers for our economy. The Chinese manufacturing sector has grown considerably in the past decade, and there is great interest in our territory’s wealth of raw resources and the potential for future trade.
The Premier and I met with investors familiar with the Canadian investment environment, who were excited to learn of opportunities in the Northwest Territories. We highlighted our rich mining history and the need for capital investment in new mines, infrastructure development and our untapped oil and gas sector.
The collective purpose of our government’s trade mission in January was to strengthen trade ties with China and build and establish relationships with Chinese government, businesses and organizations.
With over 25 meetings in three major centres, I can assure Members of this Assembly that we surpassed this goal.
Mr. Speaker, we must act on the momentum from this trip and build on the opportunities that will grow and diversify our economy. I look forward to highlighting for Members of this Assembly the real and tangible outcomes of our work in China as they come to fruition. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
