Failure to hire Inuit may cost $1.28 billion in lost wages
We have not yet achieved the dream that is Nunavut: NTI president
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Aluki Kotierk reveals the cost of lost wages to Inuit with the continued lack of implementation of the Nunavut Agreement's Article 23 – an estimated $1.28 billion from 2017 to 2023, according to financial firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada. Kotierk is flanked by John Amagoalik, left, and Pujjuut Kusugak. - Michele LeTourneau/NNSL photo |
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, September 18, 2017
NUNAVUT
The failure to fully implement Article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement will cost Inuit an estimated $1.28 billion in lost wages from 2017 to 2023.
In addition, loss to government in that same time period is estimated to be $520 million.
"The heart knows many reasons to turn this around. This report tells us there are no good reasons to keep on stalling," NTI president Aluki Kotierk said at a Sept. 12 news conference to release the report.
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. commissioned financial firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada to conduct the analysis. 2023 is the year the current implementation contract between the federal and territorial governments and NTI expires.
"We have not yet achieved the dream that is Nunavut," Kotierk said. "We have yet to gain access to essential services in our own language and Inuit continue to be underrepresented in program design and service delivery."
And that's the crux of Article 23 - proportional representation. The land claim's promise is to meet an Inuit employment rate within the Government of Nunavut in equal proportion to the population. The report, based on 2016 census data, says that's 84 per cent.
Currently, the territorial and federal public service workforce sits at 50 per cent, and has remained stalled there for many years, said Kotierk.
However, losses for Inuit go far beyond financial concerns. The report considers an alternative.
"It is important to note that under the alternative scenario there will be a number of benefits that will be enjoyed by Inuit that we do not quantify in this report, including: greater control over policy decisions, improved health outcomes, and higher quality public services," states the report.
Regarding health outcomes, Kotierk included suicide rates during her statement to the press.
"It is widely accepted that economic marginalization can contribute to health problems. Indicators consistently show that Inuit in Nunavut experience worse health outcomes than non-Inuit in Nunavut. It is reasonable to conclude that these figures reflect, in part, the high degree of economic marginalization experienced by Inuit in Nunavut," the report states.
Addressing Inuit, Kotierk said, "You have a right to be frustrated, and to demand better. Your hopes rest on having fair access to opportunity in our land, and you are entitled to that."
The solutions, Kotierk suggested, are a commitment to change, for governments to promote more Inuit, accelerated and expanded training programs for Inuit, and a stronger commitment to education, including teaching in Inuktut.
But Kotierk noted, as government commits, so too must Inuit.
"We can all take steps - for ourselves and for our children - to seek the formal education, training and support required to move forward on our collective path," she said.
"As we each take these steps in our own lives and support our younger ones on their journey, it is important for us to use our voice and to hold government accountable for agreements that have been made with us, Nunavut Inuit."
Later, she told Nunavut News/North that this is bigger than numbers.
"An Inuk who is employed speaks to the confidence level, the pride level, identity, a person's self-worth, how they are able to contribute to their family, how they are able to contribute to their community," she said.
"And I was saying recently, if you hire an Inuk they are then in a position they can buy expensive hunting equipment, so they're actually able to then put forth their own cultural existence, nutritious food for the family and community. There are so many positive spin-offs."
And that's why John Amagoalik and Pujjuut Kusugak agreed to take part in the news conference. Both spoke eloquently on the importance of implementing Article 23, but also the importance of working together.
Kusugak spoke of turning hope, a favoured word for Kotierk, into active participation.
Amagoalik said the government must speak the language of the people, and jobs make a huge difference in the lives of people.
"Jobs are hard to come by ... People are rightfully nervous," he said, noting there is internal opposition and that many Inuit complained to him personally that in government they felt isolated, ignored and harassed.
"The GN has to make a bigger effort," said Amagoalik.
This is not the first time NTI has been vocal about the implementation of Article 23. Most notably, in May 2015, the federal government agreed to compensate NTI with $255.5 million as part of an out-of-court settlement package that ended a $1-billion lawsuit the Inuit organization launched against Ottawa in 2006.
In the lawsuit, NTI alleged the government failed to meet requirements under the Nunavut Agreement, mainly that it failed to adequately fund education and training in the territory.
The report Kotierk released Sept. 12 is intended to lay bare the continued consequences of the failure to fully implement that article.
Asked if there had been improvements since the settlement agreement, Kotierk said there have been more meetings.
"I think the Nunavut Implementation Panel, from my understanding it had stalled during the time of the litigation, but since the settlement agreement they've started meeting more regularly. There has been a document that we've received from the Government of Nunavut that they've called a master Inuit employment plan," she said.
"We've gone through it but we think it still falls short of what was expected. I think there's been some attempts to be working well together."
In early 2016, with $175 million of the $255.5 million settlement agreement, the Makigiaqta Inuit Training Corp. - NTI and GN are partners -had its first official meeting. In late June of this year, its board approved $1.5 million in funding for four Inuit-specific training initiatives.
In February 2017, the board approved more than $3 million in funding proposals for 12 different training initiatives across the territory.
Nunavut News/North asked Kotierk if NTI has other option besides litigation.
"I think litigation is always an option but I think Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. is always looking at other options in how to ensure that the Nunavut Agreement is implemented," she said.
"At this point we're hoping that we can work productively with the governments in terms of developing sufficiently detailed Inuit employment plans. Having said that, I also said to Inuit, 'Please make your voices heard.' I think that's another way to start putting pressure on governments to fully implement the Nunavut Agreement."
Much of the responsibility for implementation lies with the Government of Nunavut. Premier Peter Taptuna made a statement in the legislative assembly two days after the report's release, saying government is examining it.
"Factors of Inuit employment have shifted since 1999. We need to look at the whole picture, not just through a narrow scope. There is value in looking through a lens based on numbers not projected assumptions," he said.
Taptuna noted that his government reorganized the Sivumuaqatigiit (Public Service Training) division, and added those four training programs to one already in existence since the early days of the GN.
"These programs are the foundation for evolvement that is needed for what's now a mature government," he said.
Taptuna also said that since 2001 the territorial government has "almost doubled the number of Inuit employed by the GN ... which shows advancement."
Taptuna echoed Kotierk in her call for cooperation between the partners of the Nunavut Agreement, which includes the Government of Canada.
The 4th legislative assembly will be dissolved at the end of the month, and a territorial election is scheduled for Oct. 30.
"I would always hope that the full implementation of the Nunavut Agreement would be something front and foremost of any election platform," said Kotierk. "It's a matter of living up to commitments made 24 years ago."
