Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to raise a concern about the way corrections services is administered by the Department of Social Services. Mr. Speaker, the corrections field can be a rewarding career for aboriginal people, who have had an interest in working with people, throughout the Northwest Territories. This field can offer them an opportunity to help others and to develop their skills in fulfilling work with offers and potentials for career advancement. But, Mr. Speaker, aboriginal people are not well represented within the corrections field. There are 254 corrections positions in the Department of Social Services.
Seventy-four of these are filled by aboriginal people. Mr. Speaker, that means aboriginal people hold 29 per cent of corrections jobs, and that Is not good enough.
What concerns me even more is that of 13 positions that are classified as management, only one position is held by an aboriginal person. Mr. Speaker, that is a very poor record for corrections services. Although aboriginal people are turning to the corrections field for a promising and fulfilling career, it seems there is a block within the system. Aboriginal people are simply not advancing to the management level. I am very concerned with the record of the Department of Social Services with respect to the representation of aboriginal people at the management level. The government must make serious efforts to improve their performance in this crucial area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.