NTI: Ottawa, not GN, to blame for HR mess

This is regarding your article “Nunavut admits Inuit jobs target now a long shot.”

All Inuit in Nunavut are no doubt disappointed and frustrated that Inuit participation in the GN workforce appears to be stalled at just over 50 per cent — a long way from the 85 per cent number set by the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement that the Government of Nunavut hoped to achieve by 2020.

As Auditor General Sheila Fraser has pointed out, the GN could and should have done a better job.

That being said, it must also be acknowledged that the efforts of the GN have been hugely undermined by the failure of the Government of Canada to live up to the implementation responsibilities of the Crown under Article 23 of the NCLA.

Every NCLA implementation study since 1993 has recognized that achieving the 85 per cent target requires greatly expanding the supply of qualified Inuit.

This requires a systematic approach involving major training programs aimed at fast-tracking Inuit who may lack paper credentials but show interest and aptitude, and targeted investments to improve aspects of the education system in Nunavut.

Between 1993 and 1999, the federal government provided extra funding for training programs in the NUHRDS program. In 1999, this kind of extra funding stopped abruptly.

When NTI and the GN tried to use the 10-year updating of NCLA implementation to kick-start further public sector training on the scale so badly needed, the federal government walked away from the negotiating table.

It also rejected NTI’s offers to arbitrate and put Justice Thomas Berger’s conciliator’s report in the too-hard-to-do file. This resulted in the major lawsuit before the courts.

The GN cannont get its Article 23 job done without major new training and related investments by the Government of Canada, as required by the NLCA. Failing to come to grips with this reality has already added to social distress and missed economic opportunities for Inuit and for Nunavut as a whole.

Continuing denial by the federal government of reality and its obligations under Article 23 of the land claim will only add to the long term costs to Inuit, Nunavut and all Canadians.

James Eetoolook
Acting President
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

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