Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I spent a bit of time highlighting some of the words the Finance Minister had provided this House on February 6th . It was
really talking about embarking on a new adventure of trying to create this initiative that would draw 2,000 new people to the Northwest Territories over the next five years, but as our NWT Bureau of Stats has clearly said, outlined – and I put great faith in their hard work – we’ve had a drop of 218 people in this last year, which puts us about 10 percent below that greater mark.
So, what I want to hear from the Minister today is what is he doing as an initiative to draw new people to the Northwest Territories, because we’ve lost 218 thus far. This has a serious impact in Yellowknife, but it has a crippling impact on every small community. When they lose those jobs, it is devastating, that financial economy is taxed, it hurts the community and we have to put every single effort into building resources in those areas. So, what is the Minister doing? Thank you.