Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On June 29, 1992, this House passed a motion to give direction to the Minister of Personnel with respect to the development of a Hire North Policy. In September, the Minister responded with a statement to the effect that the government is doing all it can. If you look at the government's record within the regions, it is

clear that the government is not doing enough. In the Kitikmeot aboriginal people form 90 per cent of the population yet hold only 21 per cent of the Government of the N.W.T. management positions in the region.

My question is for the Minister of Personnel. Can the Minister advise the House what action he is prepared to take to address the serious inequities of aboriginal employment, particularly in management positions in regions outside of Yellowknife?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like other honourable Members who have spoken, I want to express my appreciation to the people of Nunavut who voted so strongly in favour of ratifying the historical claim agreement with the Government of Canada. I would like to congratulate T.F.N. for a credible job.

However, I think there are a number of points which should be made right from the start about Kitikmeot concerns with the establishment of Nunavut. First, it is important to be clear that historically the people of the Kitikmeot have strong economic ties with Yellowknife, Inuvik and Nunakput communities. Even as Nunavut evolves we will want to see these long standing relationships remain in place. Secondly, in planning for a Nunavut government the interests of the Kitikmeot communities must be given equal priority with those of our Keewatin and Baffin neighbours. For too long the Kitikmeot has been denied its fair share of government infrastructure within the existing Northwest Territories. The future Nunavut leadership should realize right now that we will not tolerate the same treatment by the new government following division.

Finally, I want to send a clear message to T.F.N. and both the federal and territorial governments. In planning for the establishment of Nunavut, commission appointments and board developments must be made in a clear and honest fashion with appropriate representation from the grassroots of our communities, rather than the political back rooms. We have struggled too long with this sort of favouritism and closed door decision-making which has been typical of this government. We will not accept it in the process which leads to Nunavut.

I hope that T.F.N. and those who will be working on the Nunavut implementation recognize this clearly. We do not want to see one "old boys" network replaced with another. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the hiring practices of this government, with reference to the hiring of aboriginal people. After serving on the Standing Committee on Finance for the past year I have seen first-hand the pitiful performance of many departments of this government in employing aboriginal people. Although some small progress has been made towards increasing the number of aboriginal people in entry level positions within some departments, the progress in hiring aboriginal people in middle and upper-management has been inadequate to say the least.

Members on both sides of this House have spoken many times about making the public service more representative of the people it serves. It seems we are not doing enough to realize this goal. I am quite concerned that we have not only failed to realize this goal, but we have discouraged qualified aboriginal people from applying for positions within the public service.

Recently I was informed of a case where a young aboriginal women had become totally discouraged with the prospect of obtaining employment with the Government of the Northwest Territories. I will not deal specifically with her case in the House, but I will raise it with the Minister later. However, I do wish to use this as an example of the problem. This aboriginal person was born and raised in the Northwest Territories and is highly educated. She has completed her Bachelor of Arts degree and is unable to obtain employment with this government even at entry level positions. It seems to me that this is the type of person which this government should be looking at hiring, and perhaps even specifically recruiting and targeting for certain positions.

Mr. Speaker, it is time that we stopped paying lip service to hiring aboriginal persons in this government and simply go out and do it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Honourable colleagues, I rise today to provide a brief comment on a matter which has been widely reported in the northern media. As most Members are aware, Mr. Speaker, I have been charged with a number of offenses under the criminal code. I have entered a plea of not guilty on all charges. Trials have been scheduled to proceed in December and January. Mr. Speaker, it should be clear that I am an accused person and not a convicted person.

However, recognizing that these matters are currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate for me to make any further comment at the present time. In the meantime there is important work to be done within the Legislative Assembly, and I will be concentrating fully on the items which come before the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to talk about affirmative action, Mr. Minister. Hidden away from headquarters in small regions of the N.W.T., is a practice of hiring northern aboriginal people to fill positions. I feel that this practice is, who you know in the bureaucracy, and who can get you the job.

Even to this day, this practice still continues. I will give you an example, Mr. Minister, if I may. Twelve ladies applied for a part-time position as a secretary. They were all graduates and yet, the guy that did the hiring, Mr. Minister, hired his own relation. There were twelve other young girls, some are single parents, yet they were not given an opportunity to advance their skills, or to prove their skills, to the people that they serve in their area office.

This has continued for years and years. For me, that is not affirmative action. Affirmative action, if I understand it correctly, is for aboriginal people, but I do not want it handed to us, we have to earn it. Slowly, I think, we are getting trained people, but give us an opportunity.

Another question I would like to ask you, Mr. Minister, of the 35.2 percent aboriginal people in the government work force, how many of these in senior management positions, or middle management positions?

I just want to see, especially in my region, people of aboriginal descent given fair and proper treatment. From what I have had people tell me, there is too much nepotism going around in my region, and I would like to put a stop to it. It is not fair, the people are hurting, and it seems the non-natives are getting all of the jobs.

It is not fair to our people. We would like to progress, like everyone else, but if we are not given a chance, how can we? I would like to see headquarters, once in a while, your staff, Mr. Kakfwi, come to our region. Send your staff up, and see how your department is working at the community level, to ensure that we have fair practice by the Department of Personnel.

I do not mean fly in one day, and fly out the next, but go around to the people who are qualified, and cannot seem to find jobs. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Honourable Members will recall that I have spoken previously about the important role that the Aboriginal Development Corporation continues to play in the emerging economy of the Northwest Territories.

Today, I am pleased to announce an exciting new development in Coppermine. An interim board has been established to form the first Aboriginal Development Corporation in that community.

Mr. Speaker, the potential for an economic expansion within the particular region is great. The promise of new resource development projects, and proposals, for capital growth in the transportation sector, fits right in with the community's plans.

I believe that it will not be long at all until the Inuvialuit of Coppermine are demonstrating once again, that successful business ventures can be planned and managed by northern aboriginal peoples.

Mr. Speaker, we will be looking to the Department of Economic Development for planning assistance and funds, and I trust that the Minister and his officials will continue to provide my constituency with full cooperation.

In closing, too, I would like to thank my honourable colleague from Keewatin Central, and the people of Rankin Inlet, for the advice and encouragement they provided during the initial planning stages for our developing corporation.

I know that the interim board hopes to continue this working relationship, and as for Mr. Todd, as a token of my appreciation, should he require assistance in having his shirts ironed, I will guarantee that he will receive perfect service "as and when" required. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Like my colleague, from Fort Providence, I too, Mr. Minister, have a concern about native custom adoptions.

Being a social worker for many years, I have assisted many parents in custom adopting children. I find it sometimes very difficult to load all of the necessary forms, so that it can go before the court system for final approval. Ten years, or fifteen years later down the road, I begin to see that many of these native custom adopted children have become victims of the law, not through their own circumstances.

Do we really look at what kind of guidelines we are using? Are the adoptive parents able to provide food, shelter and clothing? Do they have traditional skills or modern day employment like we see down south? Do we look at that, or just for the sake that it was our tradition and our custom to adopt?

I think the department, along with Social Services, should look into this matter. I think that if the social workers are put under too much pressure, knowing full well that maybe, just maybe, this adoptive home is not the right situation, or the right environment for this new baby. Many years ago native custom adoption had a very good purpose, to assist and to provide a service for your adoptive parents who may have been widowed, or may have grown old, through the aging process.

I think we have got to really look carefully at the meaning of what custom adoption is all about now, because the focus has completely changed from thirty, forty years ago, to what it is today. I could ramble on, and on, about what I have seen in the past, but I would like you to seriously look at putting, not preventative stuff, but guidelines, so that it would not make it that difficult, but just to provide the basics for these children who are being adopted. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I move that the special committee review its mandate, in light of developments to date, and report to the Legislative Assembly during its November Session with recommendations for ongoing involvement in the constitutional reform process.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I too, like my colleague from Natilikmiot, will be endorsing the recommendations. I think that it is good for all the aboriginal peoples of the Northwest Territories. We will have an inherent right to self-government. We all know that we are a distinct society, and therefore, I think that I am going to be going along with my colleague.

I think that it is about time that we show our support on this, because we are going to finally have a rightful and meaningful place in Canadian society. For too many years, we have been tossed around like a caesar salad, it just is not fair that we continue in this kind of a manner. If we look at our country, and compare it to other countries in the world, I think that Canada is a world leader, an envy of many industrialized countries that try to understand and to make native peoples a part of the mosaic of Canadian society.

When I hear belabouring about this and that, and how it is going to be done, let us just give our government and the people of Canada a chance to say, hey, this is good for us. When we question anything and everything, it confuses the situation a lot more and people sort of die by the wayside.

I really will be endorsing this because I feel that, finally, we have something to be proud of, especially this government, where the honourable Stephen Kakfwi and Madam Premier have worked so hard. Sure the final context is not yet done, but it will be shortly. With their knowledge of how the aboriginal peoples in the territories are struggling, we could put our trust in them to get us where we want to go, and what we want to achieve. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.