Evidence of meeting #75 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 41st Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was projects.
A video is available from Parliament.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Fort McMurray Airport Authority
I know Alberta well. I'm happy to report that the apprenticeship programs in Alberta are very strong.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Fort McMurray Airport Authority
They're based out of both NAIT and SAIT, and Keyano College.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Fort McMurray Airport Authority
And they're industry-led.
NDP
Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON
I'm glad to hear that, because that's one of the things that is causing temporary foreign workers to be a big issue—
President and Chief Executive Officer, Fort McMurray Airport Authority
So do we get a little more money on that score?
NDP
Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON
I'd love to.
One of the suggestions that's been made in this committee and in others is that if we're going to spend billions of dollars on infrastructure, and if we have identified that there is a shortage of skilled trades, we ought to try to kill two birds with one stone and spend the money where it needs to be spent—that is, to create the apprenticeship and the training programs as part of that infrastructure spend. I think the finance minister listened to us, and has hinted that this might be coming.
To Mr. Taylor, one of the things that I believe Mr. Adler quoted from your mandate was that government be accountable to taxpayers.
Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON
So do you have any comment on the missing $3.1 billion, some of which might have been spent on infrastructure?
Conservative
NDP
Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON
Well, I'm not sure whether it was or not, because we don't know where it was spent. It might have been spent on infrastructure.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
I think we know it wasn't, so....
You have a minute left, Mr. Sullivan.
NDP
Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON
To Mr. Clements again, one of the difficulties that Fort McMurray is facing is that it doesn't have the infrastructure to support the size of the workforce that is needed by the resource extraction that's going on around it.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Fort McMurray Airport Authority
That's an understatement.
NDP
Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON
We heard the same from Timmins, in fact. The Mayor of Timmins told us that they don't have the housing to support the Ring of Fire that is going on around them.
In days gone by, when somebody wanted to do resource extraction in Canada, we had something called “company towns”. The company would actually build the houses, would build the infrastructure. It had a whole bunch of other problems associated with that, but.... Is that happening in Fort McMurray?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Fort McMurray Airport Authority
Oh, my goodness. We have probably eight company towns up in the north. They're mobile, but they're towns with all the amenities. I mean, national unions love that, because their workers are being looked after really well. They're flying in, flying out. The tax dollars are going back home. It happened that way because of the lack of foresight and the lack of a strategic plan to do this thing properly. It will be difficult to undo.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Your time is well over, Mr. Sullivan.
Mr. Stoffer, you had a brief question?
