I rise on behalf of the Liberal caucus to pay tribute to National Skilled Trades and Technology Week. Skills Canada puts on this week every year, with the goal of promoting the great opportunities that careers in the skilled trades can bring. Skilled trades are important to the continued success of the Canadian economy and Skills Canada works to educate and to inform our youth about opportunities and careers that trades can provide.

Very few young Canadians realize just how diverse the trades field is. Skilled trades are not limited to carpentry and plumbing, but there are also red sealed chefs and other culinary pursuits, or estheticians, like hair stylists or other beauty treatment skills, just to name a few. The opportunities in the skilled trades are absolutely endless.

I would like to thank Skills Canada Yukon and also the Yukon College for working to promote skilled trades and for delivering the training necessary that our economy needs to grow and to be successful. The Yukon College has been working very hard to increase awareness for trades programs in the communities, as we saw with the mobile trades trailer program in Dawson, which the minister referred to in her tribute.

This will be incredibly beneficial to our economy in the long run as we can fill skilled jobs with local Yukoners. I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate the members of Team Yukon who brought home three medals in this year’s national skills competition in June. Congratulations to: David Lister, silver medalist in the mechanical CADD for the second year in a row; Nicolas Filteau, who brought home bronze in electrical installation; and finally Spencer Tomlin, who brought home bronze in sheet metal. You make us very proud and you are a shining example of how Yukon can compete with the best in the country.