Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up with the Minister of Human Resources on our Affirmative Action Plan. Over the years it always seems to be the case of one step forward and two steps back. The statistics have held level at about 33 percent for the last 10 years. I know that the Minister has got some new strategies there.
I would like to ask him, just exactly what is he doing to improve the affirmative action and our representative workforce in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The first thing that we are doing is that we are looking at community-by-community statistics and determining whether or not in a particular community that the numbers of affirmative action positions are low and then we are trying to fill the positions that are vacant in those communities with Aboriginal employees by various strategies that we are undertaking. One example would be the Regional Recruitment Strategy. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, also I think some of the barriers are that some of our jobs are entry level positions, but the qualifications listed beside them are impossible for just entry level positions. They are asking, I don’t know, like five years of experience, some college or university, but these are entry level positions and they don’t have to be that qualified.
I would like to know if the Minister is reviewing some of those jobs and entry level positions as well. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in the Deh Cho, which includes another riding in the Assembly, there are 34 positions that we are trying to actively recruit for. Seventeen of those positions need a university degree and 10 of those positions are college or trades. Very few of the 34 positions are entry level positions, so I hear what the Member is saying.
One of the things that we are looking at with the regional recruitment is to see if individuals who have a high school education with some training for over a year can fill one of the positions that has a greater education requirement, combining experience and the fact that the individual would have high school. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I’m glad they are going to do some work towards that. Just on another note, too, my constituents and also people throughout the Northwest Territories are frustrated that they’re P1 applicants and are screened out. They actually qualify. They showed me their qualifications. “Mr. Menicoche, why am I being screened out when I’ve got the qualifications?”
What will the Minister do about those scenarios that I’ve raised in the House before? Thank you.
These situations have come up a few times. We do look at these on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes the position requires something that’s not exactly in line with the applicant’s experience and qualifications and they end up being screened out. Sometimes they are close enough that we can use equivalencies and their experience to screen them in. So, many of these things are on a case-by-case basis, but we are working with the departments as these jobs come up, and as individuals responsible for making sure the policies are followed, human resource people are working with them to make sure that the policies are followed with the intent of increasing affirmative action hires in the GNWT. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess part of our job as government is to give our constituents the confidence that we are taking care of their needs, confidence that our policies are working. We are not giving the people the confidence that it’s working. I have constituents who have applied and applied and get screened out. How does this P1 affirmative action work to get our people hired? In my constituency, I have a majority Aboriginal population, but I don’t think the stats represent that.
How are we going to become a representative workforce? If there are two applicants who have the same qualifications, can the Minister explain how P1 works? Thank you.
The job evaluation process is used to determine what qualifications are needed to do this particular job, so if this particular job is out, has certain qualifications that are required, those are the qualifications that must be met. So if there is a priority 1 candidate that meets the qualifications, then those are the individuals interviewed. Once we have a number of priority 1 candidates or even one priority 1 candidate eligible, regardless of whether or not priorities 2 and 3 have higher qualifications, we do interview the priority 1 candidate and attempt to try to increase the affirmative action numbers. Thank you.
Thank you. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
