Nunatsiaq News: While there has been a slight increase in Inuit working in government in Nunavut, there has also been a decrease in the amount of Inuit language used in government workplaces, according to a survey released by Statistics Canada. “It’s kind of good news … but we do have a long way to go,” said Jimi Onalik, deputy minister for Nunavut’s Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs.

The survey, which was released May 27, examines information such as Inuit employment in government, how much Inuktut is spoken at work, and challenges to Inuit employment.

It covers territorial and federal government employees in Nunavut, comparing results from 2016 and 2021.

In 2021, it found, 57 per cent of government employees in Nunavut were Inuit, compared to 52 per cent in 2016. However, as a part of the Nunavut Agreement, the goal is to reach a level of Inuit employment in government that is representative of Nunavut’s Inuit population aged 15 or older, which Statistics Canada lists as 80 per cent.

In terms of language, 42 per cent of all respondents were comfortable using an Inuit language at work in 2021, up from 36 per cent in 2016.

But in 2021, only 33 per cent of all respondents said they use an Inuit language at work, which is a decline from 38 per cent in 2016. For Inuit respondents, that number was 63 per cent, although the survey does not report how that number compares to 2016.

Onalik said the decline in the use of Inuit languages in the workplace might be part of a broader societal trend in the decline of Inuktut speaking. But, he said, the GN needs to do a better job at encouraging its use, as language is a factor in making the government a more comfortable workplace for Inuit. “Part of that is the ability to communicate in the language in which you are most familiar and which you are thinking,” he said.

Onalik also wants the GN to hire more permanent employees. According to the survey, approximately two in five government employees did not hold permanent jobs. “It’s hard to ask employees to commit to you if you’re not willing to commit to them,” Onalik said. One solution is to speed up the hiring process to ensure more people are hired, he said.

Child care was also a significant challenge cited by survey respondents, as 22 per cent indicated their current child-care arrangements were not good enough. Onalik said he wasn’t able to work for a year after his son was born, so he understands the need for better child care. But, he added, under the $10-a-day child-care agreement signed with the federal government, those conditions should be improving soon.

He added that the territorial government’s sixth legislative assembly is also focusing on other areas, such as elder care and construction, as a way to improve Inuit employment rates.