CGS enjoys big jump in Inuit job numbers, Nunavut minister says
Department turns 22 casual workers into full-time employees
Lorne Kusugak, the minister of community and government services, said the number of Inuit employees at the department has risen from 108 to 144 this year. (File photo)
The number of Inuit who hold jobs at Nunavut’s Department of Community and Government Services rose rapidly this year, CGS Minister Lorne Kusugak said on Monday, Oct. 21, in a minister’s statement.
In what he described as a “remarkable success,” the number of Inuit staff at CGS has increased from 108 to 144 since December 2018, Kusugak said.
Kusugak, who also serves as minister of the new Human Resources Department, said this happened after the hiring of a new deputy minister at CGS.
That deputy minister, Constance Hourie, was appointed in October 2018.
“Last year you all know that we hired a new deputy minister for the department and in our first meeting I challenged her to increase our Inuit staff,” Kusugak said.
The department partially accomplished that by appointing 22 Inuit casuals to full-time indeterminate jobs across Nunavut.
“The department will continue to monitor and move forward on this initiative,” he said.
Another hiring success for CGS is that 81 per cent of the summer students they hired this year were Inuit.
“This is an excellent way to introduce our Inuit youth to the government and get them to consider a future career with us,” Kusugak said.
And, through the GN’s Sivuliqtiksat program, CGS has created its own intern and development program for Inuit and committed to the creation of 14 internship positions, in addition to two staff already assigned to that program.
“I am particularly pleased to note that the positions identified are either specialized positions, supervisory or management positions,” Kusugak said.
Also at the CGS department, one more Inuk, a person who has worked there over the past 18 years, has joined its senior management team as director of capital projects.
Last, Kusugak said the department has brought on a dedicated Inuit employment and outreach program officer.
The GN’s recent Inuit employment plan reports, which are issued four times a year, show that as of Dec. 31, 2018, 68 Inuit workers held casual jobs at CGS.
But by June 30, 2018, only 39 Inuit casual workers were employed at CGS.
Overall, the proportion of Inuit employment at CGS rose from 40 per cent in December 2018 to 43 per cent in June 2019.
The September 2019 IEP report, which would reflect the numbers Kusugak announced, has not been released to the public yet.
Congratulations to the DM of CGS and her team for taking a strategic leadership role in this area. Great success story!
Very nice of CGS to toot their own horn for going from having awful Inuit Employment stats to having slightly less awful Inuit Employment stats. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good news, but maybe you shouldn’t be making big announcements in the House when you’re still the second-worst GN Department by IEP numbers.
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It’s no secret within the GN in Iqaluit that CGS is constantly the most nepotistic department. Adam Lightstone knew it, and he pissed off Kusugak when he suggested it.
It’s so unfortunate that you choose to focus on the negative aspect of this story, despite the efforts made by the department to increase Inuit Employment. Baby steps, Rome wasn’t built in a day and this is a step in the right direction. Kudos folks!
Not in an increase in numbers of Inuit hired, just moved from casual to full time, now they can finally receive benefits like the rest of the GN employees. Some have been there for 7+ years as casuals.
I did say, “don’t get me wrong, it’s good news”, and then you went and got me wrong. It is a step in the right direction, but maybe you don’t have to stand up in the House and announce it when your numbers still aren’t that great. I imagine you wouldn’t be so positive and talking about baby steps if Baffinland made a big deal press announcement that they had increased Inuit employment from 15% to 18% if their target is 50%, well CGS went from like 41% to 44% when their target is 85%, sooo maybe just be happy with your progress, hush up, and keep working away at it.
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Especially when 22 of the “new” employees were long-term casuals before. Fred is incorrect to say that casuals don’t receive benefits. After 4 months, casuals receive benefits just like indeterminate employees. They won’t get housing, but indeterminate positions don’t necessarily get housing either and I’d be interested to know if any of the 22 got housing with their status change. In all likelihood, for 22 of those positions nothing really changed at all except they don’t have to sign a new CSA every 4 months.
why only men are put on full time?
Remarkable? Outstanding achievement> what are they talking about. Something that should have been taken care of years ago is now viewed as success? Anyways this is all smoke and mirrors. Nothing really changed. Did it?
This obsession with Inuit employment numbers isn’t getting Inuit anywhere. Rather than focusing on simply increasing Inuit employment numbers, the government needs to focus on ensuring that Inuit are armed with the skills and education to do jobs that require higher qualifications. It doesn’t help Inuit in the grand scheme of things when so many of these jobs are admin, janitorial, or basic maintenance jobs. Inuit need the opportunity to achieve education and skills in finance, project management, healthcare, etc. The hospitals should be full of Inuit nurses. The schools should be full of Inuit teachers. NHC and CGS should have Inuit project managers, etc. This can only be achieved by ensuring that Inuit get the education required to do these jobs, and this has to start at the elementary and high school levels. The education system in Nunavut sucks, and it’s setting Inuit up for failure. All departments should be focused on making this happen.