Mr. Speaker, today I am going to speak further to my statement from last week about human resources and the many structural issues pertaining to barriers for people seeking employment with the Government of the Northwest Territories.

In the four days since I delivered that statement, I was approached by at least ten people in Yellowknife whom I've never met before. These folks were Indigenous, non-Indigenous, and other minority backgrounds.

They all said that I am on the right track and encouraged me to continue with this new level of inquiry regarding human resources.

Mr. Speaker, I am acutely aware of the various human resource hiring barriers faced by people in my region. But if I'm approached by this number of people in Yellowknife alone, then this must indicate much broader issues across the board in human resources' hiring practices.

There are so many qualified and experienced people across the NWT who are routinely overlooked for any advancement in the Government of the Northwest Territories.

The Finance Minister can enlist all the programs she wants for those seeking employment with the Government of the Northwest Territories, but these issues cannot be solved by existing programs alone. How do we solve a problem with our current tools if the tools we're using aren't efficient enough in addressing these issues?

Mr. Speaker, the Finance Minister is unwilling to admit that any issues exist with the hiring practices in Human Resources. Her reluctance is no surprise, though, as governments are rarely open to admitting a failure, especially one that is ongoing and as wide-spread as this one. There are problems that are hard to measure and quantify, and this is one of those situations.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.