Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Nov. 17th, 2009

[Andrew Finton]

We are working with Yukon College, and they're looking at the opportunity of us developing a carving instructor program, with the idea that some of our students can then be utilized to teach and instruct other students in communities throughout the Yukon. That's one of the ideas.

I think the second idea is...quite a few students we get aren't going to graduate. Again, a large number of our students, or a percentage of our students, have FAS or FAE. It's not really a barrier. I mean, there are certainly barriers in terms of.... Several of our carvers are making a very decent living from art work, despite the fact that they can't read or write. It's amazing. I think there are a number of students in our program who are FAS or FAE and will probably never learn to read or write, but quite honestly, within the next five years they will probably make more money than I'm making right now.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We'll have to call it at that.

Thank you very much.

Mr. Finton, we do have to move along.

Mr. Gaudet, you have the floor.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My question is for Mr. Curtis.

Could you describe how your organization is structured?

[Dan Curtis]

Though there is validity both in Whitehorse and the regions throughout Yukon, we tend to structure most of our programs or our clubs throughout the communities. What we've done is gone quite aggressively into the communities repeatedly to find out exactly what it is that community needs, wants, or desires in terms of trades or technology. Quite often they'll vary quite a bit. But we'll go and talk to as many youth and as many people as we can—and feel out the industry as well, little as it may be, to find out if we can find someone who's capable of welding, or a mechanic or whatnot. So we go to the communities an awful lot and spend a lot of time and dedicate a lot of our resources to them to find out what it is they want.

When we find that out, we provide them with the material they need. Sometimes it's a bit more expensive than others. Sometimes we provide a welder with the equipment they need. If we don't have somebody in that community, we'll bring someone to that community and go through the whole safety thing, the prospects, and into the next level. That's why we keep on going back to the mobile, to have somebody who would be able to take them to the next level, the next step. The base is to find out what that community wants and what they really need. A lot of it is for survival, and that's what we try to provide. Hopefully when they learn the skills as much as they can from us, they won't feel as intimidated to go to the next step and go on to some post-secondary perhaps.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

What is your budget?

[Dan Curtis]

Our budget from Service Canada is $250,000 a year. That pays for our national travel to go from Whitehorse, Yukon, to the national skills competition, which typically takes about half of our budget. That budget is for myself and staff--I have none--our facility, and any moneys we get. Mr. Furlong, for instance, mentioned that the Yukon Employees' Union gives us a few bucks, and Local 310. We rely heavily on the generosity of industry and our other partners.

In terms of...not the money we have; it's really moving mountains, when you think of how many people are put into an employable place, and really building a lot of confidence. For the amount of money we have, it is really is phenomenal, because in kind, and people who donate their time and expertise, would be in the millions, surely. I'm really proud of the representation that we do get from our community members.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

That $267,000 budget is only for the Yukon, correct?

[Dan Curtis]

No, $250,000 comes from Service Canada for Skills Compétences Canada Yukon. For every province and territory, their primary funder is Service Canada--every single one. I take that back. Perhaps Alberta has more industry following than they do Service Canada. Skills Compétences Canada would not exist if it wasn't for Service Canada.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

That answers my question. So every territory and province has its own budget. Is that right?

[Dan Curtis]

Yes, it is, and it varies greatly.

From what I understand, the Yukon is very fortunate to have the funding it has for the size of our region. We're producing some amazing results nationally and internationally. We're very blessed to have what we have.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

I agree. I have absolutely no problem with the budget.

My next question is for Mr. Furlong.

The federal government has allocated $33 billion to the territories over the next five years. Do you think you will be able to attract other workers to become affiliated with you?

[Alex Furlong]

That would be music to my ears.

We in the labour movement have funding issues as well. There are some big projects that are planned for Yukon, if we look at the Alaska Pipeline and those types of initiatives. We have great union density in the Yukon. We have a workforce of approximately 15,500 people, of whom about 4,500 are unionized, so about a third. We're better off than most regions in Canada, if you look at union density across Canada, but we would always welcome new industries or new opportunities to organize and increase our density, because we're firm believers that to be a union member is to have better working conditions, better pay, and better benefits.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Thank you very much, Mr. Gaudet and Mr. Furlong.

It is now Mr. Clarke's turn.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to thank the witnesses for coming here tonight at this hour. It's going to be quite late before you all get home.

First of all, I'd like to make a statement. I'm first nations. I've lived on a reserve, worked on a reserve. I was also an RCMP member. Sometimes, as a first nation we have to help ourselves to get ahead. I had to pay for my own schooling to get ahead, to where I became an RCMP member and became one of the first aboriginal members in the RCMP in charge of his own detachment in Saskatchewan.

When I hear numbers being sent out or when I hear statements, one thing that upsets me--and it can get better--is that when this government took over, there were 197 communities with unsafe water. The number is down to 40. I think that still needs work, but things are getting done slowly.

What I would like to know about tonight, since I haven't heard about this skills competencies program before.... You mentioned that 90 skills clubs are in operation. When you're looking at skills from hairstyling to welding to electrical, can the individuals partaking of these programs challenge the exams for further development and become tradespeople, or do they have to take further courses?

[Dan Curtis]

Anybody can challenge a program. The pre-employment programs, even at Yukon College, are not necessary to challenge a program, but I think it would be prudent to do them. Our hope and our desire is to reach out and find that there is some interest, and like you mentioned, and you're absolutely right, people have to help themselves. We're not trying to offer a handout. We're trying to offer a hand up.

What I'm getting at is that the more they learn and the more they get from our programs, the more apt they would be to challenge an accreditation program.

So yes, that's the plan. That's the whole desire.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

What I'd like to do now, just on custom, is to pass the feather over to Ron to see what he has to say tonight.

[Ron Rousseau, Representative, Yukon Federation of Labour]

I'm not just a pretty face. I sit on the federation. I'm the aboriginal member. I'm president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers here. I sit on the Canadian Labour Congress as an aboriginal member.

What I can say about the cost of living statistics we provided you is that when we look at food, it shows lower inside the Yukon than Canada. We can talk all we want, but here in Whitehorse I can go down and buy a jug of milk for $4.50, generally, but I can go to Old Crow and pay $14 for the same jug of milk. I can go to Ross River and pay $10.

When we start looking at where the aboriginal people are, these are the real figures. We talk about gas. In Whitehorse, we're paying $1.04. You can pay $1.54 inside Dawson, if not more, as well as for heating oil. This is where the aboriginal communities are; this is where the people are.

As far as taking work back to the communities is concerned, just over a year ago Canada Post was looking at shutting down post offices in the north just because of the cost of it. With the help of the Federation of Labour and Mr. Furlong, I went back and took it to the different federations, to the national table. We sat down and drew up letters. We took it to the Assembly of First Nations and to the Prime Minister. We let everybody know what was happening.

Through that pressure, the post offices are going to remain there. Those post offices aren't just places you can get FedEx or Purolator to go into. These are for sending out artisan-type things. These are for receiving goods, receiving food. These are for sending out money orders, even the COD services. It's an essential link on which I think we've made headway. These are the type of things we should be looking at, keeping the work where it is.

I hope I'm not talking too much, but there can be a lot of things there. As I look at the people I've grown up with who have gone to the tar sands to look for work, I watch as people go into these communities and build homes. They bring in plumbers and electricians who set up this home and then they go, and then we bringing people back in. Through people such as Dan Curtis, we're able to maintain somebody inside the community to do this work.

There are lots of things we can go forward with to ensure that these vital things are there. We can talk about medical, police, or other essential services that should be there.

Here we have both the federal government and the YTG, which have lots of employment opportunities, almost at times trying to beg people to come in who are aboriginal, to be taking the work. They also need to be taken into the communities and ensure that these jobs are there.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Thank you, Mr. Clarke. That will finish the round.

We'll go back to Mr. Bevington, and then the final question will go to Mr. Payne.

Mr. Bevington, you have five minutes.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

I think we've come around to a point that I'm pleased to be at here tonight. It goes back in some ways to what's in the Federation of Labour brief, where you say you believe in sustainable development.

I believe in that, too. I've lived in the north most of my life and I believe the more things you have that you make yourself, you take care of yourself within your community. In the Northwest Territories, for instance, the value of the subsistence harvest of game is estimated at $60 million a year in terms of replacement.

The ability to heat your home with the forest around you and the ability to find the ways to make your life sustainable in the north are extremely important. Quite clearly, when we talk about these numbers, the people who live in communities that have found ways to be sustainable are the ones who can deal with these extremely high costs.

In the Northwest Territories we've been in a bit of a boom over diamond mines, but our population has dropped. What I've noticed in the Yukon—and the statistics were given to us by our staff—is that the population has increased quite a bit.

I'll direct this to Alex, because he brought up the sustainable development idea: How do you see sustainable development in the Yukon? How do you see people taking hold of their lives here in a positive fashion, and rather than looking obstacles, looking at solutions?

[Alex Furlong]

I certainly concur that when it comes to our rural communities, they need to be in charge of their own destinies. As you said, Mr. Bevington, the resources of the land certainly need to play a big role in that.

As I said in our brief, and Mr. Rousseau can jump in, when we talk about consultation, we need meaningful consultation. There are many projects that I know of firsthand that first nations have put forward that haven't met the mark or that haven't gone anywhere. I firmly believe that they need to be bigger players who are in charge of their own destiny, and they certainly need to be equal partners, not only here in the Yukon but in Canada.

Do you have anything to add?

[Ron Rousseau]

As I mentioned on the post office, that was actually putting it back in and putting the pressure on, and the job is there. It's gone into every first nation community inside Canada that had postal services remaining. Ensuring that the work stays there ensures that the people are there.

As far as developing, when things come in and there are contracts to be given out, I think first nations should be taken into account, especially when it's in their area, and should get the training and move forward.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

It was very interesting to hear Chief Peter Johnston talk about the need to build not just in their communities, with economic development, but the need to have the dollars go down to the level where individuals and smaller units can benefit from micro-investment and opportunities to borrow money to make things happen at that level. I know that's probably a little off from organized labour, but it is, as well, sustainable. You're in the entrepreneurial aspect. What do you think about that?

[Barbara Dunlop]

The dollars going down, is that the question?

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Yes, I mean getting down to a more local and individual level.

[Barbara Dunlop]

Absolutely. Going back to our webisodes project, a lot of the webisodes will be out in the communities. We will go to as many communities as we can. We will engage the services of community members who are members of the film industry or who are interested in becoming members of the film industry. We'll be hiring them for their services to make the webisode commercials.