Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to take time to focus on the pandemic recovery of our people. While there are many areas that we need to recover after this pandemic, today I want to focus on our men; and, more so, our young Indigenous men in the territory.
Mr. Speaker, social limitations and isolation affected us all but I'm very concerned with the impact COVID-19 has left on our young men. I'm concerned, Mr. Speaker, that our young men face addictions, depression, loss of hope, and in the worst case scenario, overdose suicide take the grips of our young men.
Mr. Speaker, we have already lost too many young men. What can we do as a government to offer hope as we emerge from this pandemic? One thing, Mr. Speaker, is jobs. Jobs create a sense of worth.
Mr. Speaker, the GNWT provides employment for 6,249 people. The GNWT has made the vision clear that GNWT wants a public service to reflect its population. Of the 6,249 employees, 1,832 are Indigenous. Indigenous people represent nearly half the NWT population and 29 percent of the GNWT employees.
I've said this before, this gap grows significantly however when you look at Indigenous males. As of March 31st, 2021, only 527 Indigenous males work for the GNWT, a mere 8.4 percent of the total workforce. Mr. Speaker, this statistic needs to change.
The GNWT should be proactively working to recruit and develop Indigenous young men to fill positions across the NWT to ensure that this is a representative government. The Indigenous Career Gateway was established in 2018. This program was created to target Indigenous candidates for entry-level positions. Mr. Speaker, what has been the success of this program? How many new Indigenous applications have been added to the GNWT payroll? Which communities?
When I've asked questions to the Minister on the use of this program, I'm told it's used when requested by the hiring manager but I've also heard that it's the responsibility of the HR staff to ensure that it's used. I'm confused, Mr. Speaker. If there's no policy to provide clear guidance, no reporting requirement, no accountability, then it won't be used, Mr. Speaker. We need policy teeth to actually make progress on these initiatives. Mr. Speaker, we need HR professionals in place to ensure that any Indigenous applicant to the NWT has extra support to ensure that their resume checks the boxes for screening, to ensure the resume gets considered in programs we have in place, and to ensure that entry-level positions are filled across the NWT, provide first consideration to P1 candidates by utilizing these programs every time.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We need to put authority and accountability on to HR staff to ensure competitions and hiring decisions are run accordingly to the vision of the GNWT, to have a public service that reflects our population. I will have questions for the Minister of Finance later today.