Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once again, I want to talk about affirmative action, an initiative that was put in place to ensure the GNWT public sector would be representative of the population it serves. We know that over the past 35 plus years, little has changed when we look at percentages of Indigenous Aboriginal people employed in the public sector.
Mr. Speaker, the current affirmative action policy has specific groupings of priority hires, more specifically, Priority 1, 2, and 3 candidates, with priority 1 being specific to Indigenous Aboriginal persons. The current policy defines "Indigenous Aboriginal persons" as, and I quote,.
Mr. Speaker, the newly proposed Indigenous employment policy will change that definition. Such a change would only divide and reduce the number of Indigenous Aboriginal persons who are currently considered priority candidates. The proposed policy narrows the definition of "Indigenous Aboriginal persons" by removing those not deemed Indigenous to the presentday boundaries of the NWT, whether born here or having lived here more than half their life.
Mr. Speaker, Hay River's Indigenous population is made up of those who are Indigenous to the presentday boundaries of the NWT and many who are not but have either been born or lived over half their life in the NWT. Many of these persons about to be removed are fourthgeneration Indigenous Aboriginal residents who have made the North their home. These persons I am referring to are many Indigenous fishing families who migrated to Hay River from southern Canada and who suffered the same disadvantages as all other Indigenous people.
Mr. Speaker, further dividing Indigenous people is not progress; it is colonialism. If we want real success, and knowing employment in the public sector requires formal education, let's
Concentrate our efforts and resources on hiring Indigenous Aboriginal students straight out of postsecondary or trades;
Consider decentralization of positions to communities where most Aboriginal people live;
Use the training and mentoring programs we now have in place;
Hold departments accountable in applying the policy; and, most importantly,
Continue with strengthening the education system for both Indigenous and northern residents.
Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
