Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT is a fantastic place to live. People that were born here love it and visitors who come for a few days end up spending a lifetime. Yes, some people are leaving, but my sense is that many are leaving reluctantly.
But an increase in population should not be a goal on its own. We should not look at every resident as a cash machine or as part of a funding formula. Rather, a decreasing population is an indicator. It shows we are failing to meet our people’s needs.
First of all, spending to build our numbers by 2,000 over five years is a waste of resources. Most provinces, especially our neighbours, as we’ve heard today, are desperate for workers and they offer a much lower cost of living, job and travel opportunities, proximity to family, and the option to base there and work here.
In recent years this government has invested big money in large and costly infrastructure, gambling that mines and power lines will be attractive to provide more jobs and sustain our economy. Clearly, it is not working. Will we learn something here?
The current mines cannot meet their northern hiring targets. Every qualified Northerner who wants to work in a mine already is. Most remaining people are either not qualified or they don’t want to work on a two-in/two-out rotation, and mines do not attract people to live here. Increasingly, workers fly in and out again.
Syphoning off key program dollars to mega-infrastructure projects does not serve. In contrast, my colleagues today have made many practical suggestions to address real needs with real solutions that will encourage people to stay in the North. If daycare was affordable, people would stay and work and pay taxes. If power and heating bills were affordable, people would stay, invest, raise families. If our social safety net actually helped people get out of poverty, they would thrive. If we invested in educating versus just training them for entry-level mining positions, people would be engaged. With jobs and business opportunities in their home communities, they would choose to stay.
Let’s get real and start by getting our house in order first. Let’s build on our strengths, our vibrant communities, our progressive diverse cultures and beautiful northern land, and let’s restore our quality of life. Let’s invest in a society that treats every resident with respect, reduces our dependence on expensive imported food and energy and is a responsible caretaker of the northern land that is our home.
Mr. Speaker, the population issue will look after itself. Mahsi.