Human Resources Minister David Akeeagok says the Government of Nunavut makes it a priority to hire Inuit.
He was responding Tuesday to a question on immigrants in the workforce from Aivilik MLA Solomon Malliki. During question period, Malliki suggested people arriving from outside of Canada are being hired for jobs intended for Nunavut Inuit.
“There are people coming [from] outside of our country that are taking over the Inuit positions,” Malliki said in Inuktitut.
Akeeagok responded, also in Inuktitut, saying private businesses may target the hiring of immigrants but the GN “does not do that.”
Inuit, he said, “are the priority” when it comes to hiring by the government.
Malliki doubled down in a followup question.
“[It] seems like they are taking over the positions that Inuit should be working in, and everywhere you go, no matter where you go, they are working in the positions where Inuit should be working,” he said, asking how the government will “rectify” this situation.
Akeeagok responded by elaborating on the way the government conducts its hiring.
“We choose individuals according to their ability and their qualifications,” he said.
“With that process, no matter where they come from — whether they come from overseas and they become Canadians — they do have the right to apply.”
The GN has a general Inuit-priority hiring policy which follows Article 23 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. That article sets out how the federal and territorial governments must increase Inuit employment to a level that is “representative” of the territory’s population.
As for the current percentage of GN employees who are Inuit, Akeeagok said he needs to confirm that number.
In May, Akeeagok tabled the Government of Nunavut Inuit Employment Plan 2024 to 2034 in the legislature. The 124-page document details ways the GN intends to fulfill its hiring obligations under Article 23.
Malliki also questioned Akeeagok about language barriers between Nunavummiut and public servants, such as teachers and nurses, who come from out of territory.
Akeegok said the GN is “always looking” for ways to improve those services.