Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On September 15, the Minister of Personnel made a statement on northern hiring. The Minister commented that we have 1,902 aboriginal employees, who make up 35 percent of the government's work-force of 5,406. However, Mr. Speaker, I am sure that he must be aware that some departments, and my colleague from Keewatin referred to another department, are not making a significant contribution to the government's efforts to increase aboriginal representation in the public service.
For example, Mr. Speaker, only 10.2 percent of the employees in the Department of Health headquarters are of aboriginal descent, and not one of them holds a senior management position. My question to the Minister of Personnel is, what action is he authorized to take, within Cabinet, to intervene in departmental hiring practices that run counter to the government's goals of increasing the number of aboriginal people in the public service?