The government of the Northwest Territories has reported that the majority of newly hired Indigenous individuals under the revised affirmative action policy are residents of the territory. The updated Indigenous employment policy, initiated in April of the previous year, categorizes Indigenous applicants into two priority hire stages based on their ancestral ties to the region.
Stage one priority hires encompass Indigenous applicants who are members or descendants of First Nations, Métis, or Inuit communities within the present boundaries of the Northwest Territories. Meanwhile, stage two priority hires include Indigenous applicants from regions outside the Northwest Territories.
Since the implementation of the policy, nearly 1,000 individuals have been hired, with 226 identified as stage one priority and 34 as stage two. In the previous fiscal year, only 196 Indigenous workers were hired, marking a significant improvement.
The revision of the affirmative action policy was prompted by the low representation of Indigenous individuals within the territorial government workforce, despite comprising approximately half of the territory’s population. Initially, Indigenous people made up around 29% of the public service workforce, the lowest percentage on record.
Following the policy change, there has been a notable increase in Indigenous hiring, with the employment rate for Indigenous people exceeding 33%, as reported by the Department of Finance spokesperson to CBC News in May.
Despite the positive outcomes, concerns persist among some Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) regarding the policy’s impact on N.W.T. Indigenous residents. Some Indigenous MLAs mentioned not witnessing any notable rise in hiring within their communities.
George Nerysoo, MLA for Mackenzie Delta, expressed similar sentiments, stating that he has not observed constituents benefiting from the Indigenous employment policy. Nerysoo highlighted the need for the program to support qualified residents from communities like Fort McPherson who have completed university education.
Furthermore, MLA Kieron Testart from Range Lake in Yellowknife echoed concerns about the lack of benefits reaching constituents under the new policy. He emphasized the necessity of reinstating priority hiring for non-Indigenous northerners, as provided by the former affirmative action policy.
Testart stressed the importance of enhancing Indigenous education access across the Northwest Territories as a long-term solution to increasing Indigenous employment opportunities.
Overall, while the revised policy has led to an increase in Indigenous hiring, there are ongoing calls for ensuring equitable opportunities and addressing the concerns raised by some MLAs regarding the program’s effectiveness for Indigenous residents in the region.