Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories first introduced affirmative action as the native employment policy in 1985. This policy was meant to address the lack of aboriginal representation in the public services of the Northwest Territories.
In 1989, the affirmative action policy was introduced to replace the native, employment policy. This new policy included provisions for disabled northerners, women and indigenous non-aboriginals who had lived in the north for more than half of their lives or wore born here.
In 1985, the public service had about 30 per cent aboriginal employees. By 1989, however, the native employment policy had brought this figure to just over 32 per cent. This was still far short of the percentage of northerners who are of aboriginal descent; 61 per cent, according to the 1991 census. So, many northerners had high hopes for the affirmative action program.
Well, in 1994, five years later, there had been an increase in percentage of aboriginal employees in the public services from 32 per cent all the way up to 35. This was not the kind of spectacular increase that would be necessary to obtain the goals set by the developers of this policy. Meanwhile, we are losing many of our best and brightest non-native university students who grew up in the north and hoped to return, but who have instead decided to stay in the south. They can't find summer jobs here while they are at school, and they are very pessimistic about their chances of finding permanent employment with the government. Unless they have job prospects in the private sector, they will not return.
The affirmative action policy has also been a trigger for racial tension. These are tensions which I had not seen before the introduction of this policy. But now well-qualified, non-native northerners find it easy to become resentful when they cannot find jobs while less-qualified aboriginal candidates can. While there are many skilled and qualified aboriginal northerners who deserve employment with the government, it is very unfortunate that the existing policy has the effect of turning away the many skilled and qualified non-aboriginal northerners who have as much of a desire to contribute to their home as anyone else.
I seek consent to continue.