Natural Resources
November 22, 2017

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Siobhan Coady, Minister of Natural Resources:

Minister Coady Congratulates the Women in Resource Development Corporation on 20th Anniversary

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House today to congratulate the Women in Resource Development Corporation on the occasion of its 20th anniversary.

For 20 years now, the corporation has been committed to to increasing women’s participation in trades and technology. That work is to be commended.

Mr. Speaker, our government provides operational funding to the Women in Resource Development Corporation though Advanced Education, Skills and Labour’s Labour Market Development Agreement and Youth Innovation Grants. This has created the foundation for very strong working relationships between the corporation and government officials including those in Natural Resources and the Women’s Policy Office.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, we continue to strive to become a world leader in gender equity in the natural resource sector, and the Women in Resource Development Corporation has played a vital role in our province’s success. It has positioned itself as a key partner for advancing gender diversity in the workplace and has provided thousands of young girls and women throughout the province with the knowledge, resources and supports they need to make truly informed career choices, and successfully train and advance in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the skilled trades.

The Women in Resource Development Corporation has delivered workplace diversity and inclusion training to hundreds of employers, provided linkages to skilled and qualified women, and worked directly with the operators, contractors and sub-contractors of our province’s natural resource projects. The organization has been a key part of creating a local, diverse, skilled work-force, and in supporting industry in their efforts to create and maintain inclusive workplaces.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge my colleague here in the house, the MHA for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi, who was the first Executive Director of the Women in Resource Development Corporation, and was dedicated to the development of the organization.

I thank all the women who have contributed to the corporation’s work, past and present, and wish them many more years of great success. Thank you.

2017 11 22                              2:25 p.m.