GN Inuit hires hit 47 per cent

Louis Tapardjuk, the minister of human resources, told MLAs this past Monday that the proportion of Inuit working for the Government of Nunavut stood at 47 per cent as of June, 2005.

He also said the GN’s target for 2010 is to achieve a work force that is 56 per cent Inuit.

To do that, Tarparduk said the GN has changed its “priority hiring policy” so that it applies to all Crown agencies, with the exception of the Workers Compensation Board.

That policy states that: “Based on the government’s objectives to achieve a representative workforce in the Nunavut Public Service, beneficiaries who meet the qualifications will be given priority over all other applicants in all competitions.”

Tapardjuk said the number of beneficiaries hired by the GN increased by 1,013 between June of 1999 and June of 2005.

About 80 per cent of all GN jobs are now filled, compared with only 42 per cent in 1999.