Derek Neary
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 17/99) - The GNWT and the Fort Liard Band Development Corporation are finalizing the details to base an employment officer in Fort Liard.

Michael Miltenberger, minister of Education, Culture and Employment, disclosed those details during the final sitting of the legislature on Friday.

He said the employment officer would help connect employable people in the region with the Liard Development Corporation and the available jobs surrounding the oil and gas industry.

Beaver Enterprises already employs more than 200 people and is facing the challenge of finding more workers to meet the demand, he said. He added that people have to understand and accept the challenges of working in the industry, which involves working on rotation and in camps.

Shane Parrish, general manager for the band's development corp., said he's really impressed with the response from the territorial government, although it's long overdue.

"We have more support in the last three weeks than we have in the last three years," he said, adding that it certainly hasn't been easy to operate without an employment officer over the past three years. "It puts a lot of stress on our managers, who are also (acting as) human resource officers. It's not workable any longer, if we want to keep the Northern hiring up."

Parrish said the government has offered to fund the position for a period of time, a period which they are currently negotiating.

"I think they're finally waking up to the fact that oil and gas is here to stay. There's lots of opportunities for Northerners. Three hundred and fifty jobs is nothing to sneeze at," he said.

Parrish said the government has also mentioned the possibility of filling the adult educator position in Fort Liard -- a position that hasn't existed for years.

In the legislature, Miltenberger had also said Echo Dene school is willing to let senior students work part time while continuing their high school education. The Education Act provides the flexibility for schools to make such arrangements, according to Miltenberger.

On one other front, government officials have committed in assisting to establish a Northern transportation route across the Deh Cho, according to Parrish.

"Which is important because we need it to get people here to work," he said.