Are you happy working for the government? Statistics Canada wants to hear from you
Survey includes mental health, staff housing availability as new topics
Statistics Canada has launched the 2026 Nunavut Government Employee Survey, inviting about 7,500 federal and territorial employees working in Nunavut to share their workplace experiences by April 3. It’s part of efforts to increase Inuit employment in the territory. (File photo)
Statistics Canada wants to hear about people’s experiences working for the Government of Nunavut and the federal government.
The Nunavut Government Employee Survey, the third of its kind, is part of an ongoing effort to increase Inuit employment with both governments, according to information from Statistics Canada.
All of the approximately 7,500 current GN and federal government employees whose assigned work location is in Nunavut can answer the survey. That includes indeterminate, term, contract, seasonal, casual or student employees.
It is open until April 3.
The data is aimed to help governments and Inuit organizations meet obligations under Article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement, requiring Inuit employment in government to be representative of the population.
The previous survey, in 2021, found that of the approximately 25,000 people age 15 and older in Nunavut, about 7,200 held government jobs — roughly 6,600 at the GN and about 600 for the federal government.
This year’s questions focus on issues specific to working in Nunavut. That includes Inuit societal values, the use of Inuktut in the workplace, access to government staff housing, child-care responsibilities and barriers to education, training and career advancement.
The survey is open to Inuit and non-Inuit employees, said Roxan Vaillancourt, survey manager, Nunavut Inuit Labour Force Analysis for Statistics Canada, in an email.
New topics added to the 2026 survey include mental health in the workplace, which Statistics Canada describes as an “emerging priority.”
Questions related to staff housing have been expanded to see whether housing was obtained through employment or someone else, such as a spouse or partner, parents, friends or roommates.
The survey also now asks about the importance of government staff housing in choosing and continuing to work for an employer, and the impacts of losing staff housing on retirement.
It was developed with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.; the GN; Employment and Social Development Canada; Pilimmaksaivik, the federal centre of excellence for Inuit employment; and Statistics Canada.
Responses will be collected online in Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English and French.
Statistics Canada plans to publish results in 2027.
I think a lot more people would be employed and happy GN worker if Baffin human resources wasn’t in Igloolik.
Even when we give our truthful answers in this survey what changes are likely to happen? My guess is, nothing, because nothing ever changes even when we voice our concerns.
There used to be a time when the territorial public service would produce a Public Service Annual Report that could tell you, without Stats Canada lifting a finger, a great deal about the job satisfaction of territorial government workers. It is actually the law that they do.
Those days are gone.
The Annual Reports submitted by the Human Resources group of the GN are now nothing more than PR fluff pieces.
There are no statistics on the number of grievances; the type of grievances, whether they were resolved to the satisfaction of the parties concerned, whether disciplinary actions resulted and what trends in grievances might exist.
There are no statistics on the number of interactions with the Ethics Officer. A separate Ethics Officer report (non glossy and no happy faces) is bereft of any trend analysis or indication whether the parties who contacted this office obtained any actual satisfaction.
The annual report mentions the GN has a Respectful and Harassment Free workplace, but says nothing about whether anyone is figuring out if this policy is understood, accepted and being complied with.
The annual report mentions the Telework Policy, but again, says nothing about how many employees use it, and what they might think of this policy.
Employee Retention is a good measure of job satisfaction. The Annual report mentions retention, and states what the annual retention rate is, but offers not one shred of analysis. Is it going up or down, who is being retained, and who is quitting?
Stats Canada might touch on some of these issues, but this work appears to have other, broader questions to answer.
As common as it is to hear GN workers complain about their work conditions, it appears that even with these two separate reporting arrangements, GN still finds a way to manages to hide its dirty secrets.