GN summer student policy fosters racist attitudes

I wish to comment on the recent reports in the legislative assembly and Nunatsiaq News regarding the difficulty of non-Inuit students finding summer jobs.

It is most disturbing to hear that the Government of Nunavut is treating some citizens different from others. The blatant way that non-Inuit students are being told to wait until all Inuit students have jobs before they can be given summer employment is really against all that we try to teach our children: among other things, we teach them to be fair and honest with all people, regardless of their ethnic origin.

This is a public government, and all citizens should be treated the same. Some university students have been waiting for more than three weeks to begin their summer employment in order to earn enough money to pay their tuition and expenses for the coming year.

In fact, the amount of money available to non-Inuit students through FANS is less than that made available to Inuit students, and that makes it all the more important for these students to earn as much as possible during their summer break.

Because all students sponsored by FANS have gone through a screening process in order to receive that benefit, there is an easy way to facilitate the opportunities for summer employment. Any student receiving FANS meets certain criteria: they are an Inuk, or a long-term northerner who has received a significant amount of their education in the North.

In March, all FANS students could be sent forms asking them to indicate if they require a summer job, and what date they could begin work. Those forms would be returned to the Department of Human Resources who would determine placements for summer students.

Students could then be informed where their summer placement was and what day they should report to work. If there were additional students not sponsored by FANS who applied for a summer job, and if there were job placements available, they too could be offered jobs.

In that way the government could be assured that all Inuit would have jobs as well as other students who are long-time northerners. The government would be providing valuable opportunities to prospective employees and receive much needed help over the summer months.

Many of these non-Inuit students were born in the North or have lived most of their lives in the North and are very proud to be from Nunavut. They are acutely aware of their history and cultural issues. Nunavut is their home too, and they love it.

The present policy concerning summer jobs fosters racist attitudes. We have only to listen to the news to know that there is already too much of that attitude in the world. The Nunavut government promised the citizens of Nunavut that their government, a public government, would treat citizens better than previous governments. Here is an opportunity to show good faith to all its citizens.

A Concerned Citizen
Iqaluit