Debates of May 31, 2006 (day 2)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister responsible for Human Resources, the Honourable Floyd Roland, and I do hope that the rest of Cabinet is paying close attention to the questions that I have today. Two numbers to keep in mind, Mr. Minister, as I outlined in my Member’s statement earlier, 13 percent of our population suffers from a disability of some kind and only .4 percent of our current workforce is comprised of persons with disabilities. Mr. Minister, this only confirms that any existing measures to increase these numbers are woefully inadequate and it doesn’t seem to bother the GNWT that this is the case, because it is blatantly obvious to me that over the past 10 years these numbers haven’t gone anywhere, but stayed stagnant. It doesn’t appear that the Government of the Northwest Territories is willing to do anything about it. The Government of the Northwest Territories' policy states that the government is committed to a competent public service that is representative of the population it serves. Also it states that the government should be a role model for affirmative action in the Northwest Territories. Since the government has practically no representation of the disabled community within its own public service, I’d like to ask the Minister what he is willing to do to correct the gross under representation of this community of people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board Secretariat, Mr. Roland.

Return To Question 13-15(5): Barriers To Government Employment Experienced By Persons With Disabilities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct in his quoting of the numbers of the amount of people who have counted themselves as disabled when they’ve applied for positions or have positions within the Government of the Northwest Territories. The numbers, in fact, since our tracking from 1991, are very similar throughout the years. They haven’t changed much. Part of the issue, Mr. Speaker, is the fact that when somebody applies for a position within the government, they have to identify if in fact they are disabled or not and some people who are working within the government have not identified themselves as disabled. The issue around the affirmative action policy, much of the focus of that policy is around aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories being hired in positions. What we’re looking at doing is working on an employment equity policy to take over what the affirmative action policy has been identified to do and work on from that benefit to try to ensure that people who apply for positions within the Government of the Northwest Territories that identify whether they are an affirmative action candidate or a disabled candidate would receive the priority that they’re entitled to. Thank you

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 13-15(5): Barriers To Government Employment Experienced By Persons With Disabilities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m just wondering and the Minister has made it abundantly clear how useless the current affirmative action and where we place disabled persons in that four-tiered approach to affirmative action as a priority two, how useless it is to persons with disabilities in trying to gain employment with the government and for him to stand up and say that they don’t self identify, I think that’s just taking the first escape route that he can see as to why the government hasn’t come up with some other policy or some other means to increase the number of disabled persons that are ready, willing, and able to work for the Government of the Northwest Territories. I’d like to ask the Minister how he can defend, and this is a big one, Mr. Speaker, how he can defend the fact that hundreds of direct appointments are made by this government, the last government, to priority one candidates under the affirmative action policy, but only one was ever made in the last number of years -- you can go back five or six years -- only one was ever made to a person with a disability. I’d like the Minister to say how he can defend those types of numbers in this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 13-15(5): 13-15(5): Barriers To Government Employment Experienced By Persons With Disabilities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the fact is, as a representative government, I can’t defend what previous governments did or did not do. The fact is that when Ministers bring forward a request for direct appointment, it’s tied to some of our other initiatives. For example, when we talk about graduates from our Nursing Program, our Social Work Program, as well as some of the teachers, and as well the internship program that we have of people who’ve gone to school, receive some training in their area and have worked within the department for a year or so, we’ve used that tool as an avenue of ensuring that we get qualified people in those positions.

Mr. Speaker, the Member is using the allocation of disabled people in the sense of the percentage of disabled people across the North at 13 percent and using that in comparison with how many people are employed within the Government of the Northwest Territories. We don’t have a key number here on how many disabled people have applied for government positions. Yes, the number is not good and, as well as in a number of areas within our affirmative action policy, and we are going to work to put in something that is, as I mentioned earlier, put together a package that we want to bring to Members about the employment equity policy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 13-15(5): Barriers To Government Employment Experienced By Persons With Disabilities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let’s just talk about this government then. Let’s talk about this government and its practice of direct appointments to people under the affirmative action policy. It doesn’t include very many disabled persons that I’m aware of; maybe one, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister if indeed he can provide any targets or any type of scenario that would see an increase to the number of disabled persons -- and I’ve got a couple of constituents, Mr. Speaker, that have faced nothing but barriers when it comes to employment with the Government of the Northwest Territories -- and I’d like him to stand up and tell me what he’s going to do to improve this for people with disabilities here in the Northwest Territories trying to gain employment with their own government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 13-15(5): Barriers To Government Employment Experienced By Persons With Disabilities

Mr. Speaker, one of the things we have to look at as a government when we put out for positions to have filled by residents of the Northwest Territories is the type of function and other parameters we have to work within in having people be successful in applications when they apply for that position. We can’t just set targets and say there’s a 20 percent requirement here, let’s fill it with persons with a disability, or that are from a different part of the territory, or aboriginal descent, 1922-ers or whatever we call, as well. The fact is, first and foremost, as we put out positions that are to be filled to do jobs for this government is we have to look at the role of that job and take in the affirmative action policy as it sits. I’ve already stated we are working on a paper, an employment equity policy that hopefully will address concerns around affirmative action hiring in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 13-15(5): Barriers To Government Employment Experienced By Persons With Disabilities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I take issue with what the Minister has to say because if you use his rationale, you know, it’s completely backwards here because I know this government tries to get a workforce that’s representative of the population that it serves. Direct appointments are made under the affirmative action policy to P1 candidates. It happens all the time and this government does it. I’ve seen it happen. But yet when it comes to persons with disabilities, direct appointments are nowhere to be found, Mr. Speaker, absolutely nowhere to be found. I’d like to ask the Minister, will he look at some proactive approaches to increasing the number of persons with disabilities that are able to gain employment with this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 13-15(5): Barriers To Government Employment Experienced By Persons With Disabilities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a government we’re always willing to look at suggestions of possibilities here and I would hope that when we bring forward the employment equity policy here for discussion with Members, that we will have a good dialogue on what options are out there and opportunities that we can improve on our hiring practices as a government. So, yes, we’re willing to look and sit down and discuss what options we might be able to implement as we move forward.

The other issue is, just for the record, Mr. Speaker, when we use direct appointments as a way of putting people into positions within the Government of the Northwest Territories, it is not under the affirmative action. We use the affirmative action as some of the criteria. Questions are asked if it does fit with that program and how it would apply. Thank you.