Funding the Future
THE MINING TRAINING SOCIETY CELEBRATED ITS FIRST DECADE WITH A VISIT FROM THE PRIME MINISTER AND $5.8 MILLION IN NEW FEDERAL FUNDING.
On August 20, 2013, Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Hay River, the Northwest Territories’ longtime transportation hub, to help celebrate the work of the Mine Training Society.
The PM came with more than words of support, announcing the delivery of $5.8 million in Federal government funding for the Mine Training Society’s Mining The Future initiative.
WHAT‘S THE MONEY FOR?
Mining The Future is a program designed by MTS to ensure that the Northwest Territories’ Aboriginal population can fully take part in the oncoming burst of new mining activity in the Northwest Territories.
With three active mines in the NWT already employing an estimated 2,935 people, and multiple mining projects well into development and expected to go into operation over the next few years, there is a jobs boom coming to the territory. By 2017, it’s expected that there will be nearly 5,000 mining positions available, and another 9,000 support or indirect jobs resulting. That’s some 14,000 employment opportunities in the NWT in less than a decade.
As well, the NWT’s currently active mines – Diavik, Ekati and Snap Lake – are expected to reach the end of their lifespan over the next 10 to 15 years, providing another source of employment opportunities as reclamation and remediation activities kick into gear.
Mining The Future will make sure that Aboriginal workers are fully prepared to take advantage of these opportunities, by providing wide-ranging training and career support that deliver the necessary technical and life skills.
Mining The Future is supported by the funding announced today through the Skills Partnerships Fund (SPF), as well as equally generous in-kind and cash contributions from the MTS’s industry, local government and educational partners.
TEN YEARS OF SUCCESS AND PARTNERSHIP
The Prime Minister will also be celebrating the achievements of individual trainees who have gone through MTS programs and launched themselves into long-term careers, acquiring valuable and transferable skills that will continue to provide immeasurable benefit to their families and communities well beyond the lifespan of any one mine project.
As well, the PM will be spotlighting the unique nature of the Mine Training Society’s partnerships with a wide range of key agents in the development of the North’s economy. All levels of public and Aboriginal government, all major business players in the mining industry, and the North’s main educational and training institutions are all working with the Mine Training Society to help ensure that all Northerners can have a fair share of the future.
SEE VIDEO OF THE EVENT:
Description: Prime Minister Stephen Harper acclaims the Mine Training Society as it celebrates ten years of achievement.
CLOSING STATEMENT FROM IRIS CATHOLIQUE, CHAIRPERSON, MINE TRAINING SOCIETY
Prime Minister Harper, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Mine Training Society, and our many supportive partners, I would like to thank you and the Government of Canada for the continued investment and support you have given to our organization’s training-to-employment initiatives.
We like to say that our success is made one person at a time. And after ten years, we can say that we have succeeded at least 850 times.
- over 850 people have become employed through the many initiatives we have built with our partners in industry and with Canada;
- those 850 people are now able to provide for their families.
- and those 850 people pay more than $13M in federal taxes every year, with another $5.5M in territorial taxes.
But they are not only paying their taxes, they are repaying the investment made in them in many other ways, too – they are bringing positive economic and social impacts to the other adults and children living in their homes – they are building their communities – and they all have a better future.
The Mine Training Society is engaged with Nunavut and Yukon to create a pan-territorial approach to increasing Northern participation in the mining labour force. We have a resource rich territory – yes, we have metals and minerals, and we have the people.
We will have new mines opening. We will have older mines closing. This creates opportunity for training in both operations and reclamation. We dream of being able to train for the full spectrum of mining – from community engagement, through construction and operations, and finally to reclamation. Our Mining the Future project is an excellent start to seeing this dream come true.
If we are going to bring those resources to market in a way that benefits the people of the North and all of Canada, we must continue to invest in the people of the North. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, with industry, Aboriginal governments of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and with Aurora College. Your help for that partnership will allow this success to continue, one person at a time.
Mahsi Cho.