Preferential Hiring in the North
Preferential Hiring in the North
Inuit in the north, specifically in Nunavut, have an agreement with the government that they receive special benefits to help with day-to-day problems because of what happened to their people in the past. It is common knowledge that when explorers and traders first went to the north, they mistreated the aboriginals up there. They introduce alcohol and tobacco, they forced them to become sedentary by killing off their sled dogs and setting up trading booths for fur trades and such, and they quickly made them become “Europeanized”. This is not a proud part of Canadian history, and there have been measures taken to try and make up for the wrongs that were done. One of these measures is preferential hiring for Inuit. Although preferential hiring may seem like a fair arrangement given all that has happened, it is incredibly unjust and creates unnecessary problems.
It is a fact that in the north the government has to hire a certain percent of Inuit when they are filling job positions. I do not agree with this because what ends up happening is that to be able to meet the agreed amount of beneficiaries hired, the government then has to employ people who may not have the qualifications necessary for the job, or who aren’t as trained and competent as other candidates. What also happens in many cases is that the requirements necessary to apply for a position get watered down until they are simple enough to target a larger crowd. This results in a slow-moving government with poor decision-making skills and no proficiency nor productivity. For example, a couple of years ago, in Iqaluit, there was a position as a secretary of a school that needed to be filled. However, there were no Inuit who applied that had enough qualifications for the job, so the school board then had to change the contract, saying that the minimum education requirement was a grade 10 education. A secretary of a school has many responsibilities, and I feel that it is
Inuit in the north, specifically in Nunavut, have an agreement with the government that they receive special benefits to help with day-to-day problems because of what happened to their people in the past. It is common knowledge that when explorers and traders first went to the north, they mistreated the aboriginals up there. They introduce alcohol and tobacco, they forced them to become sedentary by killing off their sled dogs and setting up trading booths for fur trades and such, and they quickly made them become “Europeanized”. This is not a proud part of Canadian history, and there have been measures taken to try and make up for the wrongs that were done. One of these measures is preferential hiring for Inuit. Although preferential hiring may seem like a fair arrangement given all that has happened, it is incredibly unjust and creates unnecessary problems.
It is a fact that in the north the government has to hire a certain percent of Inuit when they are filling job positions. I do not agree with this because what ends up happening is that to be able to meet the agreed amount of beneficiaries hired, the government then has to employ people who may not have the qualifications necessary for the job, or who aren’t as trained and competent as other candidates. What also happens in many cases is that the requirements necessary to apply for a position get watered down until they are simple enough to target a larger crowd. This results in a slow-moving government with poor decision-making skills and no proficiency nor productivity. For example, a couple of years ago, in Iqaluit, there was a position as a secretary of a school that needed to be filled. However, there were no Inuit who applied that had enough qualifications for the job, so the school board then had to change the contract, saying that the minimum education requirement was a grade 10 education. A secretary of a school has many responsibilities, and I feel that it is