“Our basic intent in this mission is to get to Ottawa with the capability of the private sector, and to ensure that the money that’s being spent in the north is driving work, activity, employment for local businesses,” said Eric Brohman, president of Ketza Construction
Ottawa must lower monetary thresholds to access crucial financing programs or risk delays and cost overruns for planned major projects in the far north, according to a coalition of Yukon businesses.
The business owners, who visited the capital this week, said they often can’t qualify for federal loan programs because the government’s “one size fits all” approach has created minimum qualifying standards that don’t reflect the unique needs for the North.
And while not all are directly involved in any already announced major projects, the business owners said they represent key sectors necessary to their success, including hospitality, energy, transportation and First Nations economic development.
“Our basic intent in this mission is to get to Ottawa with the capability of the private sector, and to ensure that the money that’s being spent in the north is driving work, activity, employment for local businesses,” said Eric Brohman, president of Ketza Construction.
“We want to make sure that when those funds come, when the procurement is done, that it is done in a way that enables all of us to participate, so that we can actually benefit as companies who are established in the North — it’s not always easy to access federally procured projects at our scale.”
During the visit, the business owners met with several ministers, including Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali to discuss federal expenditure management, adjusting procurement scale thresholds, and integrating local risk-reduction factors into federal tenders.
They also met with Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr, where they discussed domestic defence supply chains, defence procurement opportunities for Yukon-based manufacturers and other issues.
Other meetings were held with Yukon Liberal MP Brendan Hanley and staff with the transport, energy and AI ministers’ offices. They also met with senior bureaucrats from the Major Projects Office, Build Canada Homes, National Defence, the Canada Infrastructure Bank, and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.
The business owners pointed to rigid fiscal requirements as a major hurdle for development. For example, programs offered through the Canada Infrastructure Bank will only offer loans for projects far more costly than what’s being proposed by Yukon businesses. But while a proposed apartment complex in Whitehorse may not meet that threshold, they say it will have an oversized impact on the economy by allowing businesses to hire scarce local workers, driving down costs and ensuring reliability.
That’s why the other big ask centred on immigration. All of the business owners said it was needed to recruit workers to the north and the numbers of people being sought out wouldn’t overwhelm the system. The comes despite Ottawa lowering immigration targets and cutting permits for international students and temporary foreign workers in recent years.
“You are going to kneecap growth in rural and northern Canada if you don’t find ways to ensure that immigration continues to flow at its current levels,” said Michael Hale, the CEO of Northern Vision Development LP.
“They’re talking about 10s of 1000s of people in the big centres. I think our total allocation is 300. So we’re not creating massive stress points on social services in small and rural communities, but the outsized impact that these labor programs have — there’s nothing else the federal government can do for companies like mine.”
Ottawa is expected to table a new immigration levels plan this fall.