Give decentralization time to work

The editorial “Decentralize or Else” (June 7) gives some valuable perspectives on the process we are living through in Nunavut. It is useful to remember some of the history of the events we see happening today. My work every day is assisting the Premier to get positions decentralized, so I am probably one of the “spreadsheet jockeys” you refer to.

What really surprised me was that Nunatsiaq News said “Decentralization works best where the affected jobs are simple and require months, not years of training.” There are two reasons this surprised me.

The first is that it is very hard to hear someone call another person’s work “simple.” All positions contribute to the work of the government. Each position has an impact on how services are delivered to Nunavummiut. All of us have pride in our work.

The second is that if the government took Nunatsiaq News’ advice and only transferred “simple” jobs to communities, then decentralization would not really occur. Communities need a mix of positions. Some positions will create immediate local employment and these are good jobs. Some positions will have policy-making and decision-making authority so that we “get a decentralization of political power” which is a goal your editorial supports.

Young people growing up in Nunavut communities need to see the variety of jobs they could do, to understand that Inuit could do those jobs, and to have goals to reach for. I can accept that Inuit may not currently have some of the experience related to these jobs, but I cannot see any reason why we will not be able to move into these positions in the next years.

Wildlife research positions require many skills, but they also have very significant Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit components. These are jobs that we should expect Inuit will fill. It is disrespectful to Inuit knowledge not to do our best to bring these worlds together.

Decentralization is not a fashion that will come and go, it is a way of bringing Inuit into government and government to Inuit communities. It is a long-term project, so we may have to wait five or seven years to see some of the real gains. There is still a great deal of work to do and we will do it.

David Akeeagok
Assistant Deputy Minister
Decentralization Secretariat
Government of Nunavut