Rights lawyer slams bumbling Nunavut bosses

Incompetence by senior Nunavut officials led directly to a Kugluktuk man’s departure from a GN job three years ago, but he is not a victim of racial discrimination, a fair practices officer has found.

Robert Ayalik of Kugluktuk, a former employee of the Department of Health and Social Services, complained to the Fair Practices Office for Nunavut in July of 2002 that the GN discriminated against him because of his Inuit ancestry by coercing him into quitting his job in July of 2001.

After mediation efforts failed, Ayalik’s allegations were aired out at a four-day hearing held last January in Iqaluit before Sarah Kay, a Yellowknife lawyer brought in to act as a fair practices officer.

Kay’s 18-page decision, issued June 25, found that Ayalik’s supervisors – Dr. Keith Best, an assistant deputy minister of health, and Andrew Johnston, then the deputy minister of health – did not act in a racist manner.

But she concluded that there was “a clear breakdown in basic human resource management.”

“Regrettably, neither Dr. Best nor Mr. Johnston showed much leadership in this situation,” Kay said in her decision.

Ayalik, however, said he is “disappointed” that Kay did not uphold his allegations of racial discrimination, and said that if he were in Premier Paul Okalik’s shoes, “I would terminate Keith Best’s employment and find another assistant deputy minister.”

The other supervisor, Andrew Johnston, was forced to resign from the GN in 2002 because of “an inappropriate relationship,” not because of his job performance or his treatment of Robert Ayalik, Kay said in her decision.

Ayalik, who in April of 2000 started work with the GN’s Department of Human Resources in Iqaluit, ended up in Kugluktuk, his home community, after accepting a “transfer assignment” in November of 2000.

“Transfer assignment” is government jargon for an arrangement that lets a worker move from one GN job to another, in a deal that either side may cancel on 30 days’ notice. Ayalik’s new job, titled “Nunavut Workforce Specialist,” required him to “develop creative solutions” to the shortage of Inuit staff in the GN’s health department.

In July of 2001, Ayalik discovered the health department was planning a primary health care conference the following month in Rankin Inlet, and that no Inuit appeared on a list of 21 people who were to participate.

A colleague, Rachel Munday, added Ayalik’s name to the list. But the next day, their boss, Keith Best, ordered her to delete him, to cut costs.

Ayalik, who earnestly believed the GN’s “Inuit-free” conference violated Article 32 of the Nunavut land claims agreement, wrote an e-mail to Best – with a copy to Andrew Johnston – demanding to know why no Inuit were invited.

“In essence, Inuit will again have others telling them what is best for them without any consultation or input,” Ayalik said in his e-mail.

Ayalik received no answer. Then he sent another e-mail asking his bosses to give him permission to talk about the issue with Premier Paul Okalik, Health Minister Ed Picco, and his MLA, Donald Havioyak. Again, he received no answer.

Instead, Best, who had just returned to Kugluktuk from a business trip, called Ayalik into his office for a meeting – which ended badly.

“There is no doubt that Dr. Best could have done a much better job of explaining matters to Mr. Ayalik. This failure by Dr. Best however, is not the result of a prejudiced attitude, but rather in a weakness in his management and human resource skills,” Kay said, explaining why she denied Ayalik’s allegations of racism.

But Ayalik said he still believes his interpretation is correct. “When the 22nd person who is on the list is an Inuk, now all of a sudden cost constraints become an issue, I still don’t buy that,” Ayalik said in an interview this week.

Best then decided to withdraw from the conflict, leaving it in the hands of his immediate supervisor, Andrew Johnston.

The next day, Ayalik got a letter from Tom Thompson, the assistant deputy minister of human resources who helped Ayalik get the Kugluktuk job. Thompson’s letter said Andrew Johnston “has formally requested that your transfer assignment be terminated” and that Ayalik head back to his old job in Iqaluit in 30 days. Thompson’s letter didn’t say why.

Since Ayalik was compelled to stay in Kugluktuk for family reasons, he resigned from the GN rather than move to Iqaluit. So his complaint alleged that he was subjected to a “constructive dismissal.”

It wasn’t until his hearing last January that Ayalik heard Thompson admit that insubordination was the reason for the termination of his transfer assignment.

“They said I was ‘insubordinate’ for insisting that Inuit be more involved in matters of governance,” Ayalik said.

But even though the outcome didn’t go his way, Ayalik said he’s still glad he made the complaint, and still believes he would make an excellent GN employee.