Notes for an address by

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, Minister Edzerza, Kimberley, and members of the Board of the Yukon Wildlife Preserve.

It is great to be back in Yukon and to join you today at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve.

This is my first visit to the Preserve and I want to thank Kimberley for welcoming me here and for giving us a glimpse of this unique Northern sanctuary. Even though our visit this morning has been brief, it’s been easy for me to see why the Yukon Wildlife Preserve is such a unique place and why it has become such a popular destination for students, tourists and researchers.

While this is my first visit to this extraordinary facility, it’s certainly not my first visit to Yukon. Not by a long shot. It’s been my good fortune as Canada’s Minister of CanNor and Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to travel across the North. I have had the great opportunity to experience the generosity of Northerners and see firsthand the unique beauty of Canada’s North.

As Canadians, we like to think of our country as a Northern country, and ourselves as a Northern people. And we are. Yet it’s only when we come to the true North that we understand in the purest sense what it means to live in a Northern country; what it means to be Canadian.

It’s for that reason I make a point of telling Canadians south of 60—especially young people—to go North. Travel North. Start your career in the North. Raise your family in the North. Make your mark in the North. Yukoners demonstrate every day that if you’re young, smart and ambitious, there’s no better place where you can make your mark so quickly and boldly as right here in our great Canadian North.

It’s my enthusiasm and optimism for the incredible promise of this region that brings me here today.

I’m pleased to announce that our Government, through the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, will provide the Government of Yukon $1.9 million over the next two years to help design and construct an animal research and rehabilitation centre here at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve.

This announcement is another concrete example of the priority this Government places on Canada’s North.

This investment in the development of an animal research and rehabilitation centre will make it possible for the Preserve to take a big step on the path toward achieving accreditation by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Accreditation from CAZA isn’t about getting a plaque to nail up on Krista’s wall. Accreditation means increasing your profile. It means the Preserve will be able to gain the international recognition it needs to attract sponsorship funds from wildlife groups around the globe, and draw more and more researchers from all corners of the world to study northern mammals, birds and plant life.

This investment will also generate exciting employment opportunities for dozens of skilled workers in a variety of different trades—opportunities for men and women who are ready and eager to build strong futures for themselves, for their families, for the land they call home.

I can tell you all that Prime Minister Harper and this Government will continue to support strong futures for the North and for Northerners. That belief has brought me here today.

That belief continues to inspire our government’s support for the local mining industry; for the City of Whitehorse virtual tradeshow to showcase local businesses and investment opportunities; and for the partnerships being nurtured by the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce.

That belief also powers our efforts to work with Yukoners to nurture a skilled workforce; to improve the competitiveness of local industries; to create and maintain good jobs; and to take advantage of emerging development opportunities that are environmentally sound and that benefit all Yukoners.

In fact, that belief encourages all of us to recognize and capitalize on the vast human and economic promise of this rich, beautiful and distinctly Canadian region.

Thank you. Merci.