Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members might get tired of hearing me talk about the importance of mineral development to our economy, but I'll risk it.
Mineral resource development is truly a pan-Canadian industry, but it's significant to the North. Exploration and mining is the North's largest private sector employer and largest employer of Indigenous people, creating about one in every six jobs. Mining exceeds 20 percent of our GDP and brings in investments in the billions of dollars. Mining is also the largest private-sector partner of Indigenous businesses, so it's not only strengthening the NWT economy, it specifically supports Indigenous economic prosperity.
It was good to see this week when the federal government released the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan, or CMMP. The CMMP will guide Canada's mineral resource sector, focusing on areas like global competitiveness, advancing Indigenous participation, environmental protection, and incorporating leading science and innovation into the industry.
Industry recognizes that much of its future growth will be made in remote and northern areas, but creating an operational mine requires a huge investment, Mr. Speaker, and even more so in the north. An industry study found that, because of the "infrastructure deficit," a mine in the north costs about two-and-a-half times as much to develop as in southern Canada.
Mr. Speaker, in days when investor confidence is soft, dealing with that infrastructure deficit is an important priority. We have to demonstrate that we're serious about growing the economy, and that means encouraging Ottawa to play its part in reducing our cost of doing business.
We need less expensive, and green, power. We need transportation routes to reduce the cost of essential goods in our communities, as well as to provide access to our resources. We need to increase our efforts to manage, and not contribute to, a rising cost of living.
Mr. Speaker, we've been demanding that the federal government act to help reduce the infrastructure deficit with large-scale investment. Yesterday's announcement of over $5 million in funding for the Slave Geological Province project is welcome news, and the new CMMP highlights priority areas that will be good for the North, our economy, and jobs for Northerners.
Mr. Speaker, even though it's an election year, we need to hold Ottawa to its commitments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.