Incompetent GN management needs overhaul

The recent findings reported in your July 9 article, “Rights lawyer slams bumbling Nunavut bosses,” underlines a growing problem for both our relatively new cabinet and the territory’s public service in general.

The problem needs to be addressed soon before the good work over the last five years gets derailed. Having served in our public service for over 15 years in both Nunavut and the federal system, it is apparent to me that:

a) An alarming number of our senior managers in the GN are obviously not all qualifed by any reasonable Canadian standards to perform adequately the tasks that they are assigned to do. This is primarily because of the lack of formal training, or having no relevant experience. Related to this is the fact that the GN as a whole has been slow to promote professional development throughout the system at all levels.

b) Being aboriginal or specifically Inuit does not necessarily qualify a person to just be a senior manager. To think otherwise, despite optimistic and perhaps biased interpretations of certain clauses in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, is plain wrong in the twenty-first century. Equally, just because someone is born in the South of non-aboriginal parentage and has some education and experience does not necessarily mean he or she is qualifed or suitable for the job. I would like to see senior aboriginal managers direct our operations, but a serious candidate for management has to be able to see the big picture, read and write, and have the numeracy skills of a southern college graduate.

c) Whether or not a deputy minister or an assistant deputy minister is Inuit or not, the general public (largely composed of beneficiaries) is entitled first of all to good management in the public service to oversee effective delivery of services or programs. The federal government, since it is paying the tab, is also entitled to see good management.

d) Political pressure to aggressively implement the decentralization plan – or “Paul’s Folly.” No matter what the cost is, this has often distracted senior management, such as sending the Petroleum Products Division to Baker Lake and the former Department of Sustainable Development to Igloolik, at a time of ever-reducing budgets and high staff turnovers. On top of this, the so-called plan was not fairly and transparently implemented with at least one department, Community Government, making side deals to keep certain favoured employees in their communities, despite the plan’s clear identification of their positions for relocation. It is sure nice to know a “flexible DM.”

e) Senior management, most particularly at regional levels, in at least several departments, such as Community Government or the former DSD, is very obviously indifferent to the development and morale of more junior staff. This will only be addressed if we have a comprehensive exit interview process, which should be implemented and administered by objective experts from outside the public service.

f) Senior management devotes an unreasonable amount of its time and attention on the petty politics instead of addressing the principles of good governance and open government with transparency. Some of these senior management have television in their offices to keep up-to-date.

g) Over the last four years there has been an obvious inconsistency of practice, experience, policy and formal qualifications of staff in the Department of Human Resources. To address the declining competency levels, the process has to start at the ground level… and that level is the Human Resources department itself.

There is now a pressing need for the complete overhall of the senior management in the GN, preferably utilizing the services of the Treasury Board, before competency issues paralyze the public sector, agitate the union and provide a reason for lawsuits.

(Name witheld by request)
Iqaluit