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Northern Gateway brings jobs to BC Interior
By Janet Holder,
Special to The Post
In today’s economy, British Columbia parents and families want to know that their children will have access to skills training and good jobs.
In Prince George, where I live, I hear that concern almost every day. And it’s one of the reasons why I believe so strongly that the Northern Gateway Pipeline is the right choice at the right time for BC.
Northern Gateway’s economic impact in BC will be immediate. Overall, it represents a $6.5 billion economic investment – one of the largest ever in BC history. Northern Gateway will create 3,000 BC jobs during construction and 560 permanent jobs – good jobs with good paycheques.
Those new jobs will support local communities and local economies, generating new economic activity and revenue we need to support vital public services like health care and education.
But Northern Gateway’s long-term economic impact will be just as significant for BC families. That’s because the training opportunities created by the construction of Northern Gateway will last young British Columbians a lifetime, providing them the skills they need to fill the jobs of tomorrow.
According to the experts, of the one million jobs opening in BC over the next decade, almost 80 per cent will require skills training. Many of those in-demand jobs will be in skilled trades like pipe-fitting, iron-working, welding, surveying and heavy equipment operation -- precisely the ones needed to build and maintain Northern Gateway.
That means that every British Columbian trained to work on Northern Gateway will be able to use their skills to fill new jobs in industries around the province, filling the skills gap and benefiting our entire economy.
Already, we have committed $3 million in core funding to the Gateway Education and Training Fund. The fund will help British Columbians secure opportunities to train for pipeline related skills – a commitment that will grow substantially as the project proceeds to construction.
And with the help of local colleges in BC and Alberta, Northern Gateway will work to link the right training to the right jobs, on the Northern Gateway and in projects throughout the economy.
That’s the promise of the Northern Gateway Pipeline.
Northern Gateway is about more than getting our goods to markets overseas – as important as that is. It’s also about investing in our people and our communities, providing the next generation with the same opportunities we had to make a good living, raise a family, and give back to our communities.
British Columbians expect no less from us. In the recent provincial election, you made that clear. You said that a strong economy and a clean environment must go hand in hand. And when it comes to pipeline development, you said Premier Clark’s five conditions are the best way to get there.
At Northern Gateway, we agree. On each of the Premier’s conditions, we are making important progress. Northern Gateway will meet the highest environmental standards anywhere in the world. It will provide lasting legacy to Aboriginal communities who are taking a direct stake in the project’s success.
And it will offer British Columbians the skills our economy needs to grow and our communities need to prosper.
Over the coming weeks and months, I will be travelling to communities in every corner of BC to listen, answer your questions, and talk about the steps we are taking so that British Columbia families get the most from the Northern Gateway Pipeline. I invite you to participate with me in that conversation. Because we all want the best for our province
And we all want to leave a strong economy and a clean environment to the next generation.
Janet Holder is a proud British Columbian and the senior Enbridge executive responsible for the Northern Gateway Project.
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