Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know that we have no control over the market but when I think and talk about the mine closure, I feel sad knowing the outcome for the people and the environment. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, my question is for Minister of ITI.
Given the fact that impacts of mine closures extend far beyond employment, how is ITI coordinating with education, culture and employment and health and social services to ensure a unified approach to workforce transition, mental health supports, and family stability for affected workers and communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Monfwi. Minister of ITI.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for the question. It's definitely top of mind for many that are supporting these workers, that are neighbours of these workers, that are employers of these workers, because it's certainly mine workers directly but then also those that are employed with contractors and subcontractors as well that will be impacted. These are conversations that are happening not only with myself but also with the Minister of Health and Social Services and staff at department level and also with the mines themselves. So the mines do have mental health support staff. So for example, Diavik has people that they work with and that serve workers of the mine both at site and then also continued relationships away from site. And so some people I know have asked to stay on with the same people and indicated a desire to continue those relationships, and then also ensuring that the staff themselves are aware of what supports are available to Northwest Territories residents. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What specific mechanism has ITI established to coordinate long-term planning to maximize local employment and Indigenous business participation in reclamation work? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Mr. Speaker, certainly as far as connecting businesses themselves to different workforce development funding tools, so accessing those wage subsidies that I spoke with earlier to the Member of the Sahtu, and accessing those training dollars that are available to employers that want to be able to retrain their staff. There are employers in the territory that are working to do on-the-job training for workers that are shifting from one work environment to another. And then the good news is, though, is a lot of people coming out of the mines have skill sets that they're able to take to these new roles. Some of those supports include things like communicating to my federal government counterparts how the federal procurement processes sometimes don't serve our end goals and also supporting the messaging coming out of industry who are also taking those messages themselves to the federal government. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, how is the department working with other departments and Indigenous governments to support the creation of new local industry to ensure communities can retain workers displaced by mine closure? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So Mr. Speaker, we are working both here in the NWT to make sure that people can remain employed here in the Northwest Territories. And so that's everything from participating in career fairs that bring together multiple employers that are looking, including the GNWT, that are looking to hire some of these workers that have been displaced. Some of them are looking to retire, so making sure that they have the support to understand, you know, what their rights look like from an employment standards perspective. And then some are looking to start up businesses and so making sure that they're connected with their regional coordinator if they're looking to pursue funding, for example like SEED funding or other funding sources from the GNWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
