Natural Resources Committee on June 7th, 2012

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Good morning, everyone. Welcome.

Of course, we are here today to continue our study on resource development in northern Canada.

We have here with us today three witnesses. From the City of Dawson, we have Peter Jenkins, mayor; from the Hamlet of Rankin Inlet, we have Pujjuut Kusugak, mayor; and from the Hamlet of Baker Lake, we have Peter Tapatai, councillor. Welcome to you all.

Your trips here make ours seem relatively easy, those of us who have eight-and-a-half hour trips. I know it's a long journey, and I really do appreciate your taking that journey and being here with us today.

We're looking forward to your presentations. We hope you have timed those at about 10 minutes. Then we'll go to questions and comments, because a lot of the information we get is from questions and comments.

We'll start in the order on the agenda with Mr. Jenkins, mayor of the City of Dawson.

Go ahead with your presentation, please, sir.

[Peter Jenkins, Mayor, City of Dawson]

Thank you very much, sir.

Good morning, all. Thank you for the invitation to appear before this committee.

Currently, I am serving as the mayor of Dawson City, having served previously as mayor from 1980 to 1994. I served as a member of the Yukon Legislative Assembly for Klondike from 1996 to 2006, both on the opposition side and on the government side. On the government side, I served as Deputy Premier, Minister of Health and Social Services, Minister of the Environment, and minster responsible for the workers' compensation board.

Being part of the private sector and having served in government, both at the municipal level and at the territorial level for several decades, I believe I have a somewhat unique perspective on what governments should and shouldn't be doing to promote development in the north, and in particular in Yukon Territory. It is a fact that the Yukon's past, present, and future are inextricably tied to the development of its natural resources. The Yukon territory owes its very existence to the Klondike gold rush of 1898. Yukon's economic and social well-being to this very day are dependent upon the level of activity in the territory's natural resources sector.

This morning I would like to raise with the committee three matters that are currently affecting or will affect the level of natural resource development activity in the territory. The first matter involves the development of strategic infrastructure—namely transportation and energy—which I believe the Government of Canada should be working with the provinces and territories, as well as the private sector, to advance. The other two matters are specific to natural resource development in Yukon and concern environmental assessment and land use planning, both of which emanate from the Umbrella Final Agreement of 1993, settling Yukon first nations land claims.

I will start with transportation and energy infrastructure. History has a lesson for us that is still relevant today. The Fathers of Confederation envisioned a Canada extending from sea to sea, from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. In the four years between 1881 and 1885, Canada was forged into one nation by the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. One of Yukon's leading authors, Pierre Berton, in The National Dream and its sequel The Last Spike, chronicled the story of how the building of some 2,000 miles of track bound a fledgling nation together with a ribbon of steel. The building of the CPR was a major infrastructure project that defined Canada as a nation and shaped the perception of Canada as a nation extending from east to west. It in fact ensured that Canada would grow all the way to the Pacific coast.

One of the most important legacies today was when the Right Honourable John George Diefenbaker envisioned a new Canada—a Canada of the north—and the Dempster Highway was started, which connects my home town of Dawson City, Yukon, to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. I commend the Government of Canada for its current plans to continue the construction of the Dempster Highway from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk. I believe that with the coming of age of the three northern territories, climate change, and the developing territorial economies, Canadians' perception of our country will change once again. Canada will be perceived as extending from sea to sea to sea, with the Arctic Ocean and Beaufort Sea defining Canada's northern boundary. I believe in future years the focus of southern Canadians will become more and more fixed north of the 60th parallel.

My point here is that the Government of Canada has an important role to play in developing strategic transportation infrastructure in the north. It is my contention that just as the building of the CPR defined Canada as a nation extending from east to west, it is now time for Canada to invest in the development of strategic transportation infrastructure that will also define Canada as a nation extending from north to south. The extension of the Dempster Highway from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk is a good start, but much, much more can be done.

There are several strategic transportation infrastructure projects in Yukon that would provide tremendous economic and social benefits to Yukon and to all Canadians. One such project is the Alaska-Yukon railway project. The concept of building a railroad from the lower 48 states to Alaska is an old one dating back to 1848. The Alaska-Yukon railway project did not have sufficiently high priority as compared to the production of the weapons of war and accordingly was not built. The Government of Yukon and the State of Alaska revisited the concept and released “The Alaska Canada Rail Link Project, Phase 1 Feasibility Study: Rails to Resources to Ports” in March 2007. The report provides a quantitative outlook on the potential for a rail connection through Alaska, Yukon, and northern British Columbia, linking northern Pacific Rim markets in the shortest trade corridor between north Asia and North America.

Drastic changes in global demand driven by Asian markets have sharply raised the value of mineral resources in northwestern Canada and Alaska. The Alaska-Canada rail link could most effectively move those resources from remote development sites to tidewater export positions.

The estimated cost of the Alaska-Canada rail link is $11 billion; however, the economic impacts for Alaska and Canada comprise, over a 50-year life cycle, additional economic output in GDP of $170 billion and 25,000 new jobs. I would urge the standing committee members to examine the findings of the Alaska-Canada rail link project.

With climate change and the opening of the Northwest Passage, Canada could be well advised to consider the development of a deepwater port at King Point on Yukon's north shore in the Beaufort Sea. Road access to King Point could be provided off the Dempster Highway. Having a secure coastal marine facility at King Point would help address Canada's significant sovereignty concerns with the opening of the Northwest Passage.

The Alaska-Canada rail link I referred to earlier would be of tremendous benefit to the development of the massive Selwyn Mine located at Howard's Pass in Yukon.

These are just some of the transportation infrastructure initiatives that I would urge the Government of Canada to consider. The return on their investment would be enormous.

I will now switch to energy infrastructure. Once again I commend the current Government of Canada for its $71 million investment in the $160 million project to connect the Whitehorse-Aishihik-Faro grid to the Mayo-Dawson transmission line and to upgrade the Mayo hydro dam known as Mayo B. Its $5 million investment in the Aishihik third turbine to generate a further seven megawatts at the Aishihik hydro plant is also welcomed.

Once again, I would emphasize that these investments should be a start, not an end. The development of affordable energy is the biggest single impediment to developing the north's economy and in fact all the economies here in Canada.

In Yukon, our government has been working to eliminate the need for expensive diesel-powered electric generation. Currently, Yukon is generating most of its power from hydro. However, even with Mayo B and the third turbine at Aishihik, we are reaching the upper limits of our hydro capacity. Yukon's total current capacity is 129.6 megawatts, with 76.7 megawatts being generated from hydro facilities. The Casino mine alone will require 100 megawatts, and the Selwyn and Mactung mines on the eastern border require an additional 33 to 45 megawatts.

Yukon has a substantial number of potential hydro sites that could be developed in the future, subject to two requirements: investments by the Government of Canada and the private sector—because the development of these sites will be beyond the fiscal capacity of the Yukon government—and connection of the territorial grids to grids in British Columbia and Alaska and/or both, which will require investments by the Government of Canada, other governments, and the private sector. These potential hydro sites will take considerable time and money to develop and will not meet the short-term and medium-term needs for affordable energy. Liquefied natural gas would appear to be the most viable alternative. Nuclear energy could also be considered.

I want to make the point that if Canada is going to realize its full potential as a global leader, it must develop a national energy strategy in cooperation with the provinces and territories that will support federal investment in environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable infrastructure. Such a national energy strategy is of critical importance to the development of the north and to expanding the vision of Canada as a nation from sea to sea, from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Arctic Ocean in the north.

I would now like to deal with two other matters that are specific to natural resource development in Yukon. The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act, commonly referred to as YESAA, is the fulfillment of a commitment agreed to by Canada, Yukon, and Yukon first nations in the umbrella final agreement settling Yukon's first nations land claims in 1993. YESAA is a single assessment process and replaces the Yukon Environmental Assessment Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. YESAA up to this point in time has been the most progressive assessment and permitting process in Canada, with its fixed timelines providing certainty for investors.

There have been some problems with YESAA, which came into full force on November 28, 2005. However, I understand many of these problems may have been addressed by the five-year YESAA review. One problem that remains, which is causing difficulties and is undermining the timelines and thus the certainty of the process, concerns adequacy. There appear to be some different interpretations as to when enough information has been submitted on a project to assess the project and the decision body being able to make its decision.

We have even heard of one project that was delayed—with an extension being granted to consider the project—because the individual making the request for an extension was away on holidays. This is unacceptable. I would propose that the act be amended to allow the decision body to make the determination that the information submitted through YESAA is adequate.

There is another mining project, 40 kilometres outside of Dawson, the old Viceroy mine, which is now Golden Predator. They have all the permitting in place, yet an interpretation of just one part of their permit by the Yukon government administration has required that Golden Predator go back to the beginning and start the YESAA process all over again. This lack of understanding of permitting sends an extremely negative message to the mining industry and the investment community.

In view of the fact that the current Government of Canada has prepared a new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, CEAA 2012, modernizing the regulatory system for project reviews, I would recommend further amendments to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act in order to make improvements.

The YESAA assessable activities regulation was heavily influenced by the CEAA inclusion list, exclusion list, law list, and comprehensive study list regulations. At the time, the CEAA agency wanted to ensure that all projects or activities that were assessable under CEAA would be captured by the YESAA process. If CEAA is moving away from assessing smaller-scale projects, the YESAA regulation should be reconsidered in this light.

Many minor projects are currently assessed under YESAA that would not be assessed in any other Canadian jurisdiction. The potential environmental and socio-economic impacts of these projects are mitigated through existing regulations. These types of projects include individual power pole installations, paving driveways, reconstruction of schools, and replacing culverts and highways, to name but a few. Assessment of these types of projects requires considerable resources from proponents, both private and government: the Yukon government and the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board, or YESAB.

Section 37 of YESAA allows YESAB to create standard mitigating measures for classes of projects. This option would allow a reduction in the level of assessment by developing ready-made terms and conditions for groups of projects, such as all culvert replacement under highways. However, the major focus should be on major projects and revisiting the activity list in the YESAA regulations. Any amendments to YESAA would require full consultation with Yukon first nations.

My final comments are reserved for the land use planning process that is set out in chapter 11 of the umbrella final agreement. The objectives of chapter 11 are as follows: to encourage the development of a common Yukon land use planning process outside community boundaries; to minimize actual or potential land use conflicts, both within and between settlement lands and non-settlement lands; to recognize and promote the cultural values of Yukon Indian people; to utilize the knowledge and experience of Yukon Indian people in order to achieve effective land use planning; to recognize Yukon first nations responsibilities pursuant to settlement agreements for the use and management of settlement land; and to ensure that social, cultural, economic, and environmental policies are applied to the management, protection, and use of land, water, and resources in an integrated and coordinated manner, so as to ensure sustainable development. Sustainable development means beneficial socio-economic change that does not undermine the ecological and social systems upon which communities and societies are dependent.

There has been only one land use plan since the umbrella final agreement was signed in 1993, and that is the north Yukon land use plan, in 2009. The latest land use plan, the Peel watershed regional land use plan, encompasses an area that is about the size of New Brunswick, or 67,431 square kilometres. The Peel planning commission has effectively reinterpreted sustainable development to mean no development.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Mayor Jenkins, I'm going to have to ask you to wrap it up fairly quickly. We do have two other presentations, and then we will have lots of questions for you.

Our members do have a copy of your presentation, or they soon will have. I can see that you still have quite a bit left. Please wrap it up, and hopefully we'll get the other information during the question and comment period.

[Peter Jenkins]

The issue I'd like to make clear here is that there's a group of people in the U.S. and they are heavily funding bodies in the north as to the direction in which things should go. The Yellowstone-to-Yukon concept is alive and well and is being pushed by these groups. It's a Y2Y to turn Yukon into a park and decimate the territory's resource-based economy. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the Yukon Conservation Society, and the Suzuki Foundation are all part of it.

In summation, there are three issues: transportation, energy, and proper land use planning with an efficient, effective, and time-sensitive review process.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you very much, Mayor Jenkins from Dawson City. Thank you in particular for the specific recommendations.

We'll now go to Mayor Kusugak from the Hamlet of Rankin Inlet.

Please go ahead with your presentation, sir.

[Pujjuut Kusugak, Mayor, Hamlet of Rankin Inlet]

Qujannamiik uqaqtitaujunnarama ublumi pivalliajuniriniup miksaanut ukiuqtaqtumit.

Thank you, Chairman Benoit and the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, for this opportunity to speak about the socio-economic impacts of development in the north

Rankin Inlet is the second-largest community in Nunavut, with a population of just under 3,000. We're on the west coast of Hudson Bay. Originally a mining town in the fifties, Rankin is on the verge of opening another mine 25 kilometres north of the community, this time for gold.

The company, Agnico-Eagle, hopes to begin production in 2017 and hopes the mine will have a lifespan of 15 years or longer. There is also the potential for 500 to 600 jobs during construction and the creation of another 500 to 600 jobs once the mine goes into production. This is great news, not only for the community of Rankin Inlet or the region of the Kivalliq, but also for the Territory of Nunavut. We are a business and transportation hub in the Kivalliq region and the gateway to Nunavut from central and western Canada.

Due to the large volume of traffic through the area, we also have a history of regional government, mining, and exploration. So Rankin has developed a strong task force of entrepreneurs. There are 150 registered businesses in Rankin, including freight expediters, equipment suppliers, and outfitters who are interested in providing services in different areas within the sector.

Rankin is an ever-expanding community, with the opening of the wellness correctional centre, a trade school, and tremendous potential for mining. Rankin is a great place to live, to visit, to work, and to start a business. The Nunavut government is the largest employer, but this could change with the Meliadine project.

Over the past year, regulatory processes were halting development due to the long and drawn out phases. An example of this is the all-weather road that was proposed for the Meliadine project. However, new policies that are being put in place have allowed for development and a more accurate use of these processes.

Regulatory boards have the responsibility for overseeing safety for all people, land, and animals. We are grateful for their work and dedication. It does take a lot of time. There has been criticism that sometimes they make it too difficult and delay projects, thus harming the chances of projects to develop, but at the same time it's also very important that these be in place for the safety of all in our region and territory, especially our people.

There are challenges evident in the north: employee retention, attendance, training, and qualified beneficiary employees. Some employees tend to go home because of homesickness, family issues, and/or co-worker issues.

We would like to see more beneficiaries in the higher positions, such as supervisors, managers, etc., but the reality is they don’t have the experience, qualifications, or training. Hopefully, with the Kivalliq Mine Training Society, this will not be a problem for long.

High school students need to be engaged by outside investors or universities to show that there are opportunities and options out there. This needs to begin probably in junior high and continue on right through high school to grade 12. Our children need to know about these opportunities, and it's very important that the parents and adults who are in their lives are also engaged to help encourage these children.

Even with all the mining developments going on in Nunavut, unemployment is still very high. However, in the Kivalliq region there are many opportunities to work. Individuals just need to sacrifice in order for this to happen. A lot of shifts are two weeks in, two weeks out. As I said at the beginning, it causes a bit of strain also.

We need more tradesmen. Nunavut Arctic College is starting to work on that by having a trade school located in Rankin Inlet.

We need more Inuit in management and professional positions. There are many opportunities in mining and resource development. There are also other economic opportunities in business development and spinoffs from the increase in mineral exploration and mining.

An example of this is the $30 million spent by Agnico-Eagle, just on exploration. We understand that development involves sacrifices for opportunities. Well, our sacrifice in our region and community is our land, which we sacrifice so that our people will have jobs. Jobs are needed. This can help deal with many issues that are prevalent in the north: high unemployment, high suicide rates, a high birthrate, and issues with health care and housing. All of these are interrelated. We can't just brush them off, and we cannot deal with just one area. We need support and help all over.

Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, also called NTI, and the regional Inuit associations, such as the Kivalliq Inuit Association, look after beneficiaries to make sure that Inuit are consulted on all projects. They're also responsible for negotiating impact benefit agreements and making sure that reclamation is scheduled to happen once projects are completed. The RIAs also help monitor the animals in our area to ensure that they're taken care of properly.

In Nunavut we need more infrastructure, such as ports and airports. In Rankin Inlet we are looking at a $20 million port facility. We recently received funding to develop a business case to see whether it is feasible for the hamlet and potential investors to pursue this. This funding came from CanNor, and we're very grateful for that.

I would also like to thank the government for the approval of the much needed expansion of the Rankin Inlet terminal. This will help the rest of Nunavut accommodate the growth we are experiencing.

I would like to make a few recommendations. First, communication is an extremely important component in the north. All mining and exploration companies need communications people. It has to be enforced at all levels of government that there needs to be effective communication in Inuktitut, English, and, in some communities, French.

Community consultations are necessary for these companies. At times, the companies have these meetings when really, there's nobody around in the community, especially at this time of the year, when everybody wants to be out fishing, goose hunting, and drying out caribou meat. These are the realities of our home. Right now, I'm sitting here when I could be out fishing; I could be out goose hunting. But it's really important to have this opportunity to speak with you. So again, thank you very much for the opportunity.

We also need to ensure that all mining and exploration companies know the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement signed by the federal government and the Inuit of Nunavut.

Industry also needs to help build relationships within the community. This will help gain trust from the community members. This is not something that is going to happen overnight, but it's a process that is absolutely necessary.

Another recommendation would be to deal with the housing shortage. Homes are desperately needed. I'm sure that everybody here is aware of that. This causes overcrowded housing, which causes many health and well-being issues. This then stresses the health care system. We need more doctors. We have a hospital in Rankin and in Iqaluit, but again, there's a shortage of doctors and nurses.

Also, the government needs to work with NTI and the RIAs, which are the Inuit organizations, to tackle social issues, such as the ones mentioned earlier. This is so there's help for the north and so we can accommodate the potential growth of the socio-economic sector.

Another area I'd like to have recognized is that we have many employees who come from the south who are working in areas like Meadowbank and Meliadine, and for all the other construction companies that do come up north. Because they're from the south, the north is contributing greatly to the southern economy and the families the workers have. They make all their money up north and then bring that money home. So the north really is supporting the south. The infrastructure built in the north would be a huge investment, and we're looking for support from the south to make sure the north develops properly.

In conclusion, really, wouldn't we all rather see fewer problems and work towards the prosperity the north has to offer? That's what I'd like to leave you with.

Again, thank you very much for this opportunity. I will try to answer any questions you might have to the best of my ability.

Qujannamiik.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you, Mayor Kusugak, for your presentation. You're, of course, from Rankin Inlet.

And thank you for the invitation; I think I heard an invitation to go fishing and hunting up there.

[An hon. member]

Hear, hear!

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you very much.

We go now to the final presentation, from Baker Lake, Peter Tapatai, councillor.

Go ahead, please, sir, with your presentation.

[Peter Tapatai, Representative, Hamlet of Baker Lake]

[Witness speaks in Inuktitut]

Thank you very much.

I would like to make a correction. A formal invitation was given to the mayor and the other members of the council of the Hamlet of Baker Lake to bring up matters to this committee relating to socio-economic impacts. The mayor and the council do send their regrets, as they are unable to appear before this committee. I would like to thank the Baker Lake hamlet council for having the confidence in me to act as their representative to bring forward very important issues before this committee.

I would like to thank the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources for providing me the opportunity to come and share my experiences in Baker Lake and what I have learned while seeing a mine project developed, constructed, and operated near my community.

As you know, Nunavut is the most remote, the most sparsely populated, and the least developed of the three northern territories of Canada. The economy of Nunavut is far too dependent on government expenditures and federal transfers. We have the highest percentage of aboriginal residents with relatively low levels of education and employment.

On the other hand, Nunavut has huge non-renewable resources potential. Every study of the Nunavut economy undertaken by the government and by non-government organizations over the last decade has come to the same conclusion: by far the greatest economic potential for Nunavut lies in the development of its non-renewable resources. This remains the only hope for significantly increasing employment and reducing dependence on government transfers.

Two key things are required from the government to realize this potential.

First is investment in people. Centralized education and training programs are required to ensure Nunavut residents can participate in the economic benefits of development.

Second is investment in infrastructure. This means better seaports and airports, power, communications, and community transfer...I mean infrastructure—excuse me, but English is not my first language, sorry—and housing. We don't expect highways, but we must rely on the best possible air and marine facilities.

Today, Baker Lake and the Kivalliq region are leading Nunavut in non-renewable resources development. Agnico-Eagle Mines has completed construction of the Meadowbank gold mine north of Baker Lake.

By the way, it was sure a pleasure last year to see our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, along with his colleagues, come to our community to see the Meadowbank mine for themselves. It was a very satisfying feeling to see somebody from Parliament come up here—especially our Prime Minister—to see the actual mine. It is so important for southern Canadians, especially those from the House of Commons, to see for themselves what the Meadowbank mine is.

This mine alone will add some 30% to the Nunavut GDP. It is already providing over 100 jobs, as well as training, to our residents, and opportunities for our businesses.

The whole purpose of appearing before the committee is to bring forward issues that are of utmost importance to the Hamlet of Baker Lake. I will make every effort to try to complete my presentation in a timely way in the time allocated for me. I will be covering five main points: overview of Baker Lake; federal-territorial process and environmental considerations; aboriginal considerations; what the socio-economic impacts were in Baker Lake; and recommendations for the government.

First, let me tell you a little bit about Baker Lake.

Ottawa may be Canada's political centre, but Baker Lake is the geographical centre of Canada. If you go north, south, east, and west, we're right smack in the middle. It is a Nunavut community with a population of about 1,900 people, and it is the only inland community in Canada's Arctic.

Our community is not accessible by road. This means we get all of our supplies by sealift and by air. This means that everything from buying groceries to maintaining a house to running a business is very expensive in Baker Lake, as it is in the rest of Nunavut.

Temperatures in Baker Lake can be below minus 50 degrees and colder, at minus 70 degrees with wind chill—a little cool.

We are also the only community in Nunavut that supports an operating mine, Agnico-Eagle Mines. While it is hard to estimate what the real unemployment rate in Baker Lake was before the mine, it would have been at least 40%. Today we are at below 5%. Anyone who wants work can find work.

Now I will turn to the Baker Lake federal and territorial regulation process and environment consideration. The Baker Lake hamlet council was active in representing the community's interests in this whole mining process.

The Hamlet of Baker Lake has taken the position that it welcomes this mine. Our goal is to maximize employment, business, and infrastructure benefits while minimizing potential negative impacts. The hamlet council did a study in support of this goal.

I will now briefly touch on Nunavut's regulatory process and the process of getting a mine permitted in Nunavut. Simply put, the process is far too long and too complicated. Because of its remoteness, Nunavut is an expensive place to operate, and the additional regulatory issues mean that we can often scare away companies interested in exploring, mining, and helping to develop Nunavut.

Once projects enter the regulatory phase, they slow down significantly. There are various challenges, including not enough board members, board members with little experience, and simply too many parties reviewing every project.

While our regulatory process is too long, it is important to make sure that projects are developed properly and responsibly. We Inuit care about our land, and we want to see a balance between development and protection of the environment.

It is also important to explain projects and their environmental impacts to our elders and youth. I have seen Agnico-Eagle and Areva Resources do this well by taking elders and members of the community to visit similar projects in Canada and other parts of the world. We Inuit like to see things with our own eyes. When we go see these projects, it helps us to understand that these projects can be developed safely and responsibly.

Cumberland Resources, the company that previously owned the Meadowbank project before it was a mine, updated us regularly about their project and provided us with the opportunity to ask questions and grow comfortable with this project.

Companies now understand that, first and foremost, Inuks need to know about and understand the projects in their communities, and that when projects happen on Inuit land, Inuit are the ones who can make these projects happen by supporting and participating in them. The Inuit are the ones who can benefit by learning new skills and establishing new businesses to service these projects.

In terms of aboriginal considerations, Nunavut is a young and inexperienced territory. Our people are also young and inexperienced. As we learned with the Meadowbank mine, it is very important to start training and preparing our workforce as early as possible so that Inuit can fully participate in this new economy. This kind of education has to start before the mines come, and in school, not on the job.

Training is not only important for the resource industry, but for the Nunavut hamlets and businesses too. What we have learned is that high-paying mine jobs will make it difficult for hamlets and for our local businesses to keep staff. We have seen quite a few of the hamlets in our region lose heavy equipment operators and other key staff to the mines. If we don't focus on training our youth to prepare for the growth that will come from resource development, we will not only miss out on the benefits from these developments, but we will also see our communities suffer, as municipal service levels will decline. That has happened in Baker Lake. It has a huge impact.

When the road from Baker Lake to Meadowbank was built, the company building the road came to Baker Lake looking for employees. Most of these employees came out of Baker Lake when the work started. We saw benefits to locals and the community right away. At one time, jobs in Baker Lake were scarce, but with the building of the road we saw a shift, and Inuit who were not working before were suddenly working and earning a regular paycheque.

We saw what these jobs really meant when we saw the first barge arriving that summer. Normally we see vehicles belonging to the federal government or to the territorial government. Suddenly we saw the mine workers or people who worked for the mine purchasing personal vehicles. These were mostly for the mine workers, and this was a big and sudden change. People were buying not just pick-up trucks, but Inuit were buying ATVs, Ski-Doos, and household items. Even a new co-op was built—that's a store.

The other thing is we were used to seeing only hamlet employees bringing up new snowmobiles, but suddenly this was not the case anymore. We saw that those who were never able to afford those things suddenly had spare money to make their lives better. It used to be that women were the ones who used to do the odd jobs, but suddenly the man was working, a fine example for their children, and there was suddenly a sense of pride among the whole family.

Agnico-Eagle has been doing its best to live up to and even exceed commitments made by Cumberland. Local businesses have been very busy. Agnico-Eagle estimates that there has been over $140 million in contracts to Nunavut businesses, including about $8 million in Baker Lake.

Once the construction was completed, a new phase started. This was an everyday routine. At the end of 2008, a total of 150 Inuit were working in new jobs for Agnico-Eagle and its contractors.

Before the construction of the road and the mine, the hamlet had been trying very hard to find training funds, as they anticipated the loss of employment to the mine, but no training money ever came. Now that people have a choice about where to work, finding reliable staff becomes a new challenge for the hamlet and the private sector in Baker Lake. We can see that it is important to start the training programs before the mine starts, so that Inuit are ready to participate in the new economy.

You need to remember that this is a new lifestyle, and it is a very attractive one. It is two weeks in and two weeks out. Today is Thursday; it's payday every Thursday.

What can I say? Training is the key to making sure the economy—

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Excuse me, Mayor. You're at about 15 minutes. I don't want to cut you off. I would recommend that you maybe go to the recommendations for government on page 5 and give us those recommendations, and then hopefully the other information will come out in questions and comments.

[Peter Tapatai]

I was just going to move to it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you very much.

[Peter Tapatai]

Here are our recommendations to the government.

At least 7% of our population is under 25. The workforce is rapidly changing, so we need to provide our youth with better education and much needed training opportunities. If Nunavut is to succeed as a territory and if our children and our communities are to have opportunities to better themselves, we need to work together to train our people, and especially our youth, to be ready for the new non-government economy that is coming. We need to work together with resource development to help develop strong and sustainable private sector business. That is how our community benefits.

We need to streamline regulatory approaches so that projects don't get hung up in a very long assessment, but we also need infrastructure. The cost of operating in Nunavut is very high. We all know that. In the Yukon, it takes $200 million to start up a mine because they have access to ports and roads. We don't have these things in Nunavut. That's why the cost of a mine in Nunavut is between $1.5 billion and $1.6 billion. We will never see small, $200 million mines in Nunavut until we get more infrastructure. Today, each project needs to plan to build its own supporting infrastructure, including rail, roads, and ports.

Our priorities are training, infrastructure, and business development. In the future, we hope we can work better in partnership with the government and KIA to meet the full potential of our community.

Thank you. Ma'na.

[The Chair, Conservative, Leon Benoit]

Thank you very much for your presentation.

Thanks to all of you.

We will go now to questions and comments, starting on the government side with Mr. Trost, for up to seven minutes. Go ahead, please.

Actually, before you start, Mr. Trost, I do want to say that nobody has a copy of these presentations because they haven't been translated yet. As soon as they are translated, you will get a copy of them.

Go ahead please, Mr. Trost.

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Since a couple of the witnesses went a little bit long, I'll first give Mr. Jenkins a minute or so to summarize anything he couldn't quite cover.

Then I'll go over to our councillor from Baker Lake. I'll give you another minute.

[Peter Jenkins]

Thank you very much, sir.

The major issue today in bringing any project online in the Yukon is the regulatory regime that is in place, the timeline surrounding that regulatory regime, and the undue influence being placed on that process by associations, groups, and NGOs like the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, CPAWS, the Yukon Conservation Society, and the David Suzuki Foundation. Millions of dollars are being funnelled from U.S. foundations into these groups.

The concept is to make one park from Yellowstone to Yukon, and that is the concept that is being worked on. Right now, the thrust is on the Peel region, which is very rich in mineralization and has a great potential. No one's saying don't create a park. That's probably the area that I'd like to—

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

So your basic concern is that outsiders are trying to push around the Yukon and limit your economic development for their own purposes. Have I got that right?

[Peter Jenkins]

Not just the Yukon—Canada.

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

But you represent the Yukon.

It was noted to me earlier that your MP, Mr. Ryan Leef, is a small guy, but we learned that you don't push him around. He was very insistent in making sure that you and the Yukon were represented here today. I should acknowledge that.

I actually worked at Meadowbank as a geophysicist back in 2000, so I've been to Baker Lake and am a big advocate to go up there and see the results of my work.

I would be glad to hear anything on which you need a minute or two to sum up your remarks.

[Peter Tapatai]

I can't help but stress that if Nunavut is to get independent, we need to really focus our energy on training our youth, not during the construction of a mine but before. We are impacted greatly by lack of training, a workforce that could have stepped right into doing work. Training is a key component to our needs.

Thank you.

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

To follow up on that, you've gone through that experience. When I was working in Baker in 2000, I saw what you saw—very high unemployment at the time. What has worked and what has not worked? You're the community that's successful. Rankin is undoubtedly looking to your experience. What would you say has been effective in your community, and what would you say we shouldn't try again because it wasn't productive?

[Peter Tapatai]

I'll be honest. Nobody heard us. We went to our RIOs. We went to our territorial government. It just fell on deaf ears. Baker Lake had a very high rate of unemployment. We wanted to make sure we maximized our benefits by training our workforce, but it just fell on deaf ears. Now we are paying for it, because the community could have benefited. It would have been not just for Baker Lake. We want to share our experiences, and train our workforce not just for Baker Lake but for the region.

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

So what training, what programming, what specifically has been most effective and has worked for your community?

[Peter Tapatai]

It may sound very simple, but it would be heavy equipment operators. In our community, municipal services are not being done very well because the municipal service workers who used to work are working at the mine. We thought that when they came home on their two weeks off, they would work, but they don't. They want their two weeks off to be with their family. So heavy equipment operators are very difficult to come by.