“If anyone wants to work, we’ll find them work.”

Are you an Inuk living in Montreal and looking for work?

Richard Desrosiers, the interim Inuit employment agent in Montreal, can help you, no matter what Inuit region you came from.

"If anyone wants to work, we'll find them work," said Desrosiers, a Kativik Regional Government employee.

Desrosiers now has an office in Verdun, and a mandate to boost Inuit employment in Montreal and train an Inuk employee to take over his job.

Desrosiers' first task is to make contact with potential clients in Montreal.

To do this, he'll hop on his bike, ride around, talk up his services and hand out business cards with his numbers: "Anybody who wants to work in Montreal and wants to commit to working – I'll be more than ready to help them."

Desrosiers also plans to go to the next meeting of the Association of Montreal Inuit. As well, he'll keep regular contact with the Inuit employers and organizations located in the Montreal area.

"The Inuit staff working in the Montreal area is often the starting point for Inuit that come to live in Montreal, so it's important to keep them informed of these employment and training opportunities," Desrosiers said.

While Desrosiers will mainly link up willing workers to opportunities in the Montreal region, he will also scout for Inuit interested in working at Nunavik's two nickel mines, Xstrata Raglan and Canadian Royalties, which have many Montreal-based workers.

Even for Inuit who have fallen between the cracks, there are definite possibilities, Desrosiers said.

Referrals to upgrading programs are included in the range of services offered by the new office.

And Desrosiers will also be able to assist Inuit who qualify for welfare.

The Inuit Urban Employment office's operations are covered by a three-year funding agreement between Quebec's employment department, the ministère de l'emploi et la solidarité sociale.

"Since the federal government has refused to provide funding for this kind of service we're going through the Government of Quebec. We've really been neglected in the area of urban Inuit by the federal government and thank goodness that the provincial government has recognized the need and will step in," said Margaret Gauvin, the director of the KRG's employment, training, income support and childcare department.

For years, the KRG and other Inuit organizations in Montreal lobbied for employment services for Inuit in Montreal.

The Montreal's Native Friendship Centre receives money from Ottawa for its Aboriginal Employment Services, but the KRG has maintained the impact on the estimated 1,000 Inuit who live in Montreal hasn't been strong enough.

"We're not trying to get the money away from the Friendship Centre, " Gauvin said. "We really believe there's a need for the Friendship Centre to continue services for First Nations people, but we think Inuit, who are not First Nations people, will feel much more comfortable with someone who speaks Inuktitut."

A recent study by AMI found many individual Inuit residing in the Montreal area did not even know of the existence of Aboriginal Employment Services of Montreal.

The study found only there were only 19 Inuit who received services and financing from this group. This means about two per cent of its services went to Inuit, although Inuit represent up to 15 per cent of the urban aboriginal community in Montreal.

The new Inuit employment office will serve all Inuit who are residents of Montreal – not just those who originally come from Nunavik.

The office will be the KRG's 15th point of service and "the first time we offer services outside of Nunavik," Gauvin said.

The office is located within the premises of the Centre Local d'Emploi at 1050 Galt St. in Verdun. Its phone number is (514) 864-6646, extension 249.