 |
Labour Views
with Steve Petersen
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
What should the workers of the NWT expect this year?
They should expect to be involved in the unprecedented growth and prosperity given the magnitude of projects that are being planned for the area.
The Deh Cho bridge, anticipated pipeline, highway development, hydro expansion, diamond mine underground phase, increased military presence, and a variety of large institutional buildings are just a sampling of projected activity.
These projects should provide major opportunities to Northern residents to participate in a meaningful way.
We have the luxury of being able to sit down and make a realistic timeline to get these projects completed with maximum involvement from the residents.
This time should be ample enough to undertake a survey of who would like to become trained to be involved in the burgeoning job market.
Once every Northerner has been contacted and advised of the various vocations that will be required, along with the prerequisites to be considered for the position, then aggressive recruitment and training should begin. If there is a shortage of interested, trainable Northerners, then and only then should expertise be sought elsewhere!
The disturbing trend of allowing the multinationals to overfly Yellowknife and pick up and drop off workers in the south does nothing to enhance and create a Northern-based population. The paltry payroll tax levied upon these fly-in, fly-out workers is really not a hardship when you compare the reduced cost of living in the southern climes.
It is high time that our local politicians stand up and address the fact that we require workers to reside in the North.
A recent mobility survey from Statistics Canada reported that the NWT was the only jurisdiction the country that lost population. This seems counterintuitive given the fact that we are being characterized as being the economic engine of Canada.
There are vast challenges that require immediate attention, and federal cutbacks to literacy, Status of Women, etc. are not conducive to addressing the requirements to get individuals involved.
What entity is going to address the requirements that would enable full participation by Northerners?
So far the multinationals have not adequately dealt with the recruitment and retention of Northerners; they are content to import workers, in some cases unskilled employees, from elsewhere.
Meanwhile the territorial and federal politicians witness the influx of workers and the exodus of residents and do nothing to stop the practice.
Hopefully some gumption by our elected legislative assembly will result in more Northerners being involved in the unfolding future of the North.
- Steve Petersen is the Great Slave regional vice-president of the Northern Territories Federation of Labour