With the closure of Tolko being announced earlier this week, MLA Kelly Bindle says it is a great time for the province to find other ways for economic development in the north.

With the Port of Churchill and Tolko closing and Vale expected to close half of its operation in 2018, Bindle says the government must help the north with other opportunities for economic growth.

The government will be launching a new program to attract new businesses and companies to look at northern communities as a place for opportunities.

He also said that Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories is a good indicator that a city can get back on solid ground after a giant employer leaves a small town.

Yellowknife's largest revenue stream was tourism after the gold crashes in the late 1990's. Tourism is the largest renewable industry in the Northwest Territories.