Nunavut Tunngavik takes aim at QEC over Inuit employment

The president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., Cathy Towtongie, blasted the Qulliq Energy Corp. July 15 for what NTI calls a “continuous pattern of discriminatory employment practices” targeted at Inuit employees.

At least seven Inuit employees have filed wrongful dismissal lawsuits or union grievances alleging unfair treatment of Inuit employees by QEC management, NTI said in a news release.

“These cases are not isolated incidents or random acts unrelated to each other. These events show a consistent pattern of discriminatory practices by some senior QEC managers toward Inuit employees,” Towtongie said in the news release.

NTI has already sent letters on these matters to Lorne Kusugak, the minister responsible for the QEC, and to Peter Mackey, the president of QEC.

The Inuit organization asked QEC to do independent reviews of their employment practices and to set up a joint Inuit employment committee with NTI, but GN officials have rejected these requests.

“In the responding letters, Minister Kusugak and Mr. Mackey defended QEC employment practices, denied discrimination and maintained that employee discipline are internal matters not open for discussion with NTI,” Towtongie said.

Towtongie insists that as a Crown corporation, QEC has a legal obligation to implement Article 23 of the Nunavut land claims agreement, which requires governments to increase their proportion of Inuit workers until it eventually reaches the proportion of Inuit in the territory’s population.

And NTI is angry that QEC is punishing Inuit workers for attempting to advance their employment rights.

“QEC cannot hide behind a curtain of confidentiality or self-serving processes that attempt to hide discrimination by concocting workplace offenses that allow for the unfair punishment of Inuit who speak up for their rights,” Towtongie said.

She also said QEC management should not deny Inuit employees the right to advance to supervisory and and mangerial positions by imposing professional qualifications that are “artificial and unnecessary.”

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