Report: Inuit employment is falling within the GN

IQALUIT — A report tabled in the legislative assembly this week confirms that the Nunavut government is falling far short of its goal of 85 per cent Inuit employment in government jobs, especially at the senior levels.

The report, tabled by Human Resources Minister Kelvin Ng, shows that with 79 per cent of Nunavut’s public service jobs filled, Inuit hold only 41 per cent of them.

Overall, the Justice department has the lowest percentage of Inuit employees — only 29 per cent. Out of 194 positions, Inuit hold only 38 positions.

The department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth has the highest percentage of Inuit, at 71 per cent.

It also has the highest percentage of Inuit at the executive level, 100 per cent. In contrast, at the executive level in the health and justice departments, as well as the Nunavut Housing Corporation, there are none.

In nearly all the departments, Inuit employment is clustered at the level of adminisrative support. The percentage ranges from a low of only 31 per cent in Justice to 100 per cent at CLEY, the legislative assembly, and the Nunavut Housing Corporation.

Overall, in the Nunavut government, 79 per cent of administrative positions are held by Inuit. In senior, middle management and professional jobs, only about 20 per cent are Inuit employees.

From June 1999 to December 2000, the percentage of Inuit employment in the civil service actually dropped from 44 per cent to 43 per cent.

The lowest levels of Inuit in the public service are in Iqaluit where only 29 per cent of the territorial government’s workforce are Inuit.

The communities of Hall Beach, Coral Harbour and Sanikiluaq have the highest percentage of Inuit civil servants.

The community with the largest number of positions left to fill is Iqaluit, where 278 vacancies remain.

For Iqaluit’s workplace to attain the percentage of 85 per cent Inuit, which has been touted as a goal for the territorial civil service, employment figures will have to closely reflect those found in CLEY.

At CLEY, 53 per cent of the jobs have been filled. Of these, 71 per cent are held by Inuit, at levels which range from 25 per cent in the para-professional group to 67 per cent among professionals to 100 per cent at the executive and administrative levels.

The pattern of employment at the health and social services department is, however, far from the ideal. In this department, there are no Inuit workers whatsoever at the executive levels, only eight per cent at the senior management levels, and seven per cent in middle management.

The communities with the fewest Inuit workers employed at the health department are Iqaluit, with only 25 per cent Inuit workers, and Cambridge Bay with only 35 per cent Inuit employment.

The departments of health and justice, which have the lowest percentage of Inuit employees, are trying to increase their pool of potential Inuit workers through nursing and legal programs.