Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Just to refer back to my Member's statement on hiring practices in the GNWT, I had a question for the Minister of Finance. First question: can the Minister provide us with any statistics on the number of individuals in the NWT who are screened out because of a criminal record? Marsi cho.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Finance.
Thank, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT does not prohibit the hiring of any individual with an unrelated criminal conviction, and as such, there are no people who are screened out simply on that basis. Thank you.
Thank you for that. My next question is: has the Minister's department ever looked into an assessment process for applicants with criminal records?
Yes, there is an assessment process that does exist. There is, in the event that a criminal record has what we call a bona fide connection to the position of employment. In other words, if there is a legitimate connected reason why having a criminal record would prevent someone, for safety reasons, to perform the conduct of their duties, there is a process by which, once they are being offered the position, they could be asked to go and get their criminal record checked and bring that back. There is a process for how that would be evaluated, including potentially by a deputy minister who would be able to evaluate whether or not it is, in fact, connected to their employment.
Can the Minister advise what barriers people with criminal records face when seeking government employment and how can they overcome these barriers?
Again, there isn't intentionally a barrier. There shouldn't be a barrier, again, acknowledging that there may be positions where not having a criminal record is directly connected to the performance of that duty. That said, someone who may see that advertised certainly wouldn't necessarily want to apply if they have a criminal record, and they may not be in a position themselves to make the evaluation of whether that connection is there or not. People may well feel shame around having a criminal record. I very much want to emphasize that people can get criminal record suspensions, and that often is a tool that is not adequately used by many who have past criminal records for something. For what that's worth, I would certainly encourage people firstly to be familiar with the policy that we do have so that they don't see it as a barrier, but also to avail themselves of the process with the federal government around seeking what was formerly known as a pardon and now known as a criminal record suspension.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
