Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this important matter today and share with the House some of the initiatives that our government has undertaken. As I have a short period of time, I will only be able to touch on a few important steps that our government has undertaken over the last number of years and months.
I thank the member for Nanaimo—Cowichan for bringing it forward. She is a valued member of our committee and we have a great opportunity to work in that capacity together.
There is no doubt that aboriginal people face situations that make finding work oftentimes very difficult. Canadians who live in remote, rural and northern communities, which is the case for many aboriginal communities, often find that the challenges are magnified in finding and keeping work.
At the same time, there are tremendous opportunities to promote and encourage greater aboriginal participation in the Canadian economy, for example, our mining and mineral exploration industry. Our country is one of the largest mining industrial sectors in the world, producing more than 60 different metals and minerals.
The Canadian mining industry is truly a giant among giants, accounting for 4.5% of our gross domestic product and 23%, close to a quarter, of all Canadian exports in 2011. The sector is the main industry in more than 115 communities and yet it is about to face some serious labour shortages that will absolutely be acute if the sector grows as much as it is estimated in the next decade.
The energy and natural resource sector represents a huge opportunity for aboriginal communities since many of them are located near mines and other natural resource sites. Aboriginal communities are also in close proximity to many exploration projects and can play an important role in providing local labour. Aboriginal people have the potential to be a driving force behind the successes of these industries.
The mining industry is the largest private sector employer of aboriginal people today, however, there is still much that needs to be done. Unemployment rates among the aboriginal people are still too high. One might ask why there is a high percentage of unemployed people in areas with such robust industries like mining and natural resource exploration. Clearly, there seems to be a mismatch between the demands for skilled workers and the supply for those skilled workers. These skill shortages are likely to get worse because of Canada's low birth rates and the retirement of many experienced older workers from the baby boomer generation. Aboriginals must play an important role in Canada's strategy to address growing skills and labour shortages.
Aboriginal youth between the ages of 15 and 30 years old are the fastest growing population in Canada today. We recognize that this presents a well of talent that is currently not properly being tapped. That is why our government remains committed to jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for all Canadians.
Unfortunately, many Canadians living in rural and remote parts of northern communities in Canada do not always have the education and work experience they need to find employment within the resource sector. That is why our government works with partners to ensure aboriginal people are able to take full advantage of the economic opportunities. Several measures are in place to help aboriginal people develop the skills they need to enter the workforce.
One of these measures is the aboriginal skills and employment training strategy, or ASETS as it is often called. The program supports over 80 aboriginal organizations to design and deliver skills development and training programs to increase the participation of first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in the labour market. Agreement holders tailor their training programs to the specific needs of the community and work in partnership with the private sector. Training institutions and the provinces and territories also work toward this effort.
In 2011 and 2012 ASETS was able to find 11,000 jobs for aboriginals in their local areas. ASETS is looking to build off the successes of last year and hopes to see between 12,000 and 16,000 jobs created this year alone.
Another measure is the skills and partnership fund, the SPF as it is often referred to, which supports innovative partner-based projects for aboriginal skill development that responds to economic opportunities. There are currently over 60 projects across Canada that are giving aboriginals the tools that they need to succeed in the labour market. Our government shares the view that partnerships are the key to match skill development and training with the labour market demand. We will continue to make this a priority in especially rural and remote communities.
However, before we get to this point, a solid elementary and secondary education is the way that will give aboriginal children and youth the start that they need in order to succeed.
In budget 2012 our government committed $275 million over three years to improve school infrastructure and provide early literacy programming and other supports to first nations school systems to pave the way for the development of the first nation education act. Unfortunately the unprecedented support for first nations students was voted against by both NDP and Liberal members.
Our government is also working to help all adult Canadians get the essential skills they need to get to work, to stay employed and to contribute to their communities. By essential skills we mean the skills that are used in nearly every job, every day and in every aspect of life. These skills are used in different ways and at varying levels of complexity. Essential skills include reading and writing and of course, but not limited to, computer use and also oral communications and working with others.
The initiatives and investments that I have outlined today are designed to help aboriginal people find and keep work. They aim to build jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for all aboriginal communities across Canada.
It is in our long-term social and economic interest to see that all Canadians have the education, skills and employment they need to build good lives for themselves and their families, whether they live in remote communities or in urban centres, whether they are aboriginal or non-aboriginal.
To remain competitive in the global economy, we must focus our efforts on increasing our labour force participation, in other words, get more people working as soon as possible.
While our government remains focused on working with willing partners to ensure that aboriginals can attain the skills and training they need to succeed in the labour market, the opposition parties remain committed to obstructing and voting against all of our efforts.