Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I'll do a follow-up to questions that I had asked the Minister of Human Resources about Affirmative Action some time ago.
Mr. Speaker, in this budget, the government is planning to incorporate the Department of Human Resource into the Department of Finance. The Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning has expressed its concern that the newly amalgamated department will not ensure that proper attention is paid to human resources.
Mr. Speaker, the government must look at different, more innovative ways to deliver on the Affirmative Action Policy. I believe that all GNWT departments need to complete a human resources development plan to accurately plan for and track the hiring of Aboriginal people into the public service. The purpose should be to produce concrete, measurable improvements to get more Indigenous Aboriginal people into the public service and advance those who are already employed.
Mr. Speaker, we should be doing all we can to hire and advance these Priority 1 candidates. We should be giving them support and encouragement to get them on board and give them the opportunities for growth. Unfortunately, all too many Priority 1 candidates feel like they're applying for jobs for a foreign government.
For the implementation of the Affirmative Action Policy to be successful, the government should know, on a department-by-department basis, how many Priority 1 and Priority 2 candidates each department has, and the potential for those individuals to move into senior-level positions with the GNWT.
The government should know where each of its priority candidates lives, and design its Human Resource Development Plan with targets appropriate for each community.
Let's take Yellowknife, for example. We know that the Aboriginal people with Priority 1 status make up 18.5 per cent of the total workforce in the capital, yet the number of Indigenous Aboriginal people employed in Yellowknife is only 16 per cent. In order for the GNWT to be representative of the people it serves, it needs to increase priority hires in Yellowknife by 50 or 55 people.
Knowing this, the GNWT should be working to identify those in the public service who can be supported to take on jobs with greater experience, opening up more entry-level positions for new hires. This kind of analysis and planning should be happening on a community-by-community basis. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted