There was some correspondence circulated to Members of the Legislature charging racial discrimination in the Kitikmeot region a few months ago. We responded by setting up an investigation committee. During the week of December 7, we sent in a team of people to Cambridge Bay to conduct an investigation. The report on this finding was issued to Personnel and the Department of Government Services and Public Works on January 12. The investigation committee concluded that there was no evidence presented by the witnesses to indicate any overt racial discrimination on the part of the current management of the Department of Government Services and Public Works in the Kitikmeot region. However, the committee felt that there were certain management processes and practices that were perceived by native employees to be detrimental to their employment training and promotional opportunities. The committee made some recommendations to the departments.
In response to one employee in Cambridge Bay, we have made an offer to have a transfer. If the employee was interested and willing to take a transfer to Yellowknife, we would make proper arrangements to ensure the individual took such an opening at the first opportunity made available. We have set up an affirmative action seminar for the Kitikmeot region in early March. We have continued to monitor the conduct of management in the departments following the recommendations made by the committee. We will, for instance, conduct an operational review of the current management practices in the Kitikmeot as that was recommended. We have tried to do some positive follow-up to the allegations that were made, to ensure, while there was no evidence of over racial discrimination, in response to aboriginal employees' perception, that everything possible is done to ensure that those possible bases for aboriginal employees would be alleviated.