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Thank you all for taking part in this week’s celebration of business in the North, and in particular, the Northwest Territories.

My thanks to the NWT Chamber of Commerce for their work in organizing this conference, and for the opportunity to share some thoughts with you today.

The NWT Chamber has asked me to address the topic - What Lies Ahead?

Mr. Speaker, the film sector offers extraordinary opportunities for NWT residents to share their stories, landscape, and talent across diverse audiences. 

Furthermore, the economic multipliers of film production are among the highest of all active industries in the NWT with seven jobs created for every million dollars spent.     

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories holds a virtually untapped wealth of oil and gas resources.  The jobs, income and revenues associated with the responsible development of those resources represent an enormous economic and social development opportunity for the people of the Northwest Territories. Our Government is taking steps to realize those opportunities on behalf of our residents.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and congratulations on the conclusion of what I understand has been productive information sharing, and celebration of Canada’s fur trade.

On behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, it has been a pleasure to co-host the Fur Institute’s AGM this year. 

My congratulations to the Institute’s Board of directors, for hosting this meeting in Yellowknife and for your continued efforts to advance the interests of Canada’s trappers on the world stage.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories has a centuries-long history in trapping and the fur trade. We have a high regard for the cultural values entrenched in this tradition, which set Northerners apart from other Canadians; and for the activities of the traditional economy which have helped shape our North and remain in many of our communities today.

As a proud founder and partner of the Fur Institute of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories continues its tradition of leadership in this industry.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its Mandate to finalize and implement the Commercial Fisheries Revitalization Strategy. I would like to share with Members of this Assembly, the work the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is doing to revitalize the Northwest Territories’ commercial fishery and broaden the NWT’s economic horizons.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its Mandate to develop and implement an Agriculture Strategy to increase domestic food production, improve distribution networks for NWT-produced foods and to increase producer and supplier opportunities.

The price of food is a significant driver of the Northwest Territories’ high cost of living in all of our communities, Mr. Speaker.  Equally important in supporting and growing our vibrant communities, is diversity in localized economies.

Mr. Speaker, it has been 25 years since Charles Fipke and his team discovered diamonds near Lac de Gras and brought the largest mineral rush in decades to our North.

This year, our diamond mines surpassed $50 billion in total mineral value produced in these 25 years.

The Government of the Northwest Territories mandate document highlights the fact that benefits from non-renewable resource production enable investment in many priority areas.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its Mandate to build partnerships to support, among other things, culturally-based tourism.

The tourism sector offers the potential for direct and indirect economic growth in many of our communities and the possibility for diversification and growth of regional economies.

As we look to the future, we can be assured that our government’s strategic approach to tourism development is already working.

YELLOWKNFE (June 2, 2016) — The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is partnering with the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO)  to bring exciting new mentorship opportunities in the tourism sector.

CESO and Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) have reached an agreement which will see CESO take on frontline delivery of the Tourism Business Mentorship Program, executed through their roster of Volunteer Advisors.