Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Even knowing the opportunities for Member’s statements during this short session are few, I would want to take time today to profile the need for and importance of providing flexibility in part-time versus full-time jobs in government and in our communities. This simple but key act yields benefits ranging from an enhanced quality of life to a healthier society and the retention and attraction of NWT workers and families. The far-reaching impact of this modest tweak to employment patterns is something that job providers throughout the Northwest Territories, both public and private, really need to pay heed to.
Time and time again people tell me they want jobs that give them more time to engage in the community outside of work. They want what we want: increased self-sufficiency, diverse economic opportunities, time for volunteer work and involvement in neighbourhood and community support and quality family time, especially with young children. Well, even my good friend Peter McKay today exemplifies exactly this. People realize life is about more than a paycheque. They are looking for healthier, compassionate and more well-rounded lives. Businesses find challenges filling jobs, though they are much quicker to realize the need to offer different opportunities to employers like adjusting work time. The GNWT has difficulty filling hundreds of positions, with 500 to 700 empty at any one time.
We claim that temporary foreign workers are required to fill many of the available traditionally configured jobs. Perhaps a new approach is called for. I am always saddened when a hardworking and valued employee approaches the employer to request a change to half or three-quarter time and the ask is denied with little attempt to accommodate. Typically the employee is seeking a chance for personal development, home construction or renovation, volunteering in civil society or care of an ailing family member. Such rejection of engagement leads to the loss of a dedicated long-term employee and loss of all broader benefits.
We had shoehorned ourselves into defining jobs as one person year, no matter what the job is. I don’t buy it. Granted, it may be difficult initially to decline the work in ways that full, half, three-quarter or two-thirds steps can do, but the workforce, family, employer and, indeed, community benefits would soon outweigh that initial difficulty.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Mahsi.
---Unanimous consent granted
Job sharing, seasonal jobs and reduced-time jobs are important factors in the quality of life. Providing people with job opportunities geared to today’s northern lifestyle would yield happier and more productive workers with healthier families and communities. It may well yield improved attention and attraction of new northern families.
I urge this government to pursue this opportunity soon, and I will have questions for the Minister. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
