Premier P.J. Akeeagok today released a statement in response to the arbitration decision about Article 23 concerning Inuit employment levels in government:
“The Government of Nunavut (GN) is committed to building a workforce that represents the population of Nunavut as set out in Article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement. We continue to work with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) and the Government of Canada to further our shared goal in this regard.
The GN will continue to develop and implement detailed, specific, and ambitious Inuit Employment Plans aimed at increasing Inuit participation in government employment to a representative level.
To support these plans, our government has introduced associate deputy minister positions to mentor more Inuit into leadership roles. We have prioritized the allocation of staff housing to identify long-term indeterminate Inuit staff who were wait-listed due to availability of staff housing. We have prioritized the direct appointment process to get more Inuit into indeterminate positions. We are also looking at ways to support decentralization and provide more ways for GN employees to work from any community within a GN office.
We accept the arbitrator’s findings in their March 25 decision. The GN is committed to responding within 60 days to NTI’s proposed remedies, and we will provide further comment at that time.”