A former architect of the Yukon Aboriginal Employment Plan has criticized the territorial government's recent efforts to address barriers to Indigenous recruitment, saying the government lacks meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities and fails to establish accountability.
Dr. Rocky Dwyer, who told the News he spent years developing the original plan, argued the Yukon government's current approach provides more "lip service" than true collaboration, neglecting to build adequate educational and career development opportunities for Indigenous people.
Dwyer stated there is a potential misalignment between the government's institutional values and the cultural needs of the Yukon's Indigenous population, which could be causing barriers for Indigenous Yukoners to find work within the government.
The Yukon Aboriginal Employment Plan was developed as a requirement under the Umbrella Final Agreement, Dwyer said. He added the plan aims to strengthen relationships between the Yukon government and First Nation governments to create a representative public service.
"We're not sufficiently meeting the spirit and intent of stakeholder engagement within the Aboriginal community or minority communities in general, in the Yukon or elsewhere. Some ministers might not agree with this, but it's lip service at its very best,” Dwyer said, referring to the Yukon government’s plan to create a more representative public service.
"The Yukon should return to the grassroots and involve people experienced in working with and engaging Aboriginal people. It's essential to ask Aboriginal people to be partners because that partnership is a crucial part of the reconciliation effort that needs to be done.”
Melissa Atkinson, the adult learning and employment manager for Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, echoed concerns about potential misalignments between institutional and cultural values in a conversation with the News on Oct. 11, 2024, around the same time the Yukon government published its three-year strategy plan to create an inclusive public service.
“Talking about yourself and being competitive goes against First Nation values, so the current hiring process is very challenging. Finding innovative ways is key and should involve asking elders how they would do it,” Atkinson said.
Kailey LeMoel, the Yukon government's director of diversity, equality and inclusion, outlined the steps the government has taken to recognize and support Indigenous applicants and employees who may feel marginalized because of their cultural background.
According to LeMoel, the government launched an Elder in Residence program in October last year, hiring Elder Lori Duncan on a two-year pilot. The Elder in Residence program is available for Indigenous employees and applicants, as well as supervisors, to hold one-on-one discussions regarding cultural safety, anti-racism concepts and ways to support Indigenous applicants applying for government roles.
"We've launched a new Elder in Residence program and hired a full-time Elder in Residence on a two-year pilot. They work in the Diversity and Inclusion branch. Anyone is welcome to reach out and meet with them one-on-one to discuss cultural safety, anti-racism concepts, or ways to make the workplace more inclusive. If cultural values are misaligned, this service can be a valuable resource,” LeMoel said.
The Yukon government’s “Breaking Trail Together” 10-year strategy aims to remove barriers to Indigenous recruitment and mandates investing in Yukon First Nation talent, LeMoel said. She added that the strategy was co-created with the Representative Public Service, a branch of the Yukon government, to build a more inclusive public service.
"That is the operational group we partner with to collaborate and co-create. We designed the operational plans together and meet multiple times throughout the year to draft ideas. It's a co-creating environment,” LeMoel said.
The operational plan states that representatives from Ta’an Kwäch’än Council, Kwanlin Dün First Nation, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, Champagne and Aishihik First Nation, Kluane First Nation and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun contributed toward the plan’s development.
Dwyer discussed the "Breaking Trail Together" plan with the News, emphasizing that efforts to boost Indigenous representation in government should be guided by Indigenous communities themselves, rather than adopting a top-down, Western-centric approach led by the territorial government.
“The problem in the Yukon lies in leadership and stakeholder engagement. In Western settings, meetings start at a fixed time, whereas Aboriginal culture waits until all participants are present. In these meetings, everyone has a chance to speak using a Talking Stick, which ensures each voice is heard and recorded, practices not typically seen in Western business culture,” Dwyer said.
Dwyer further highlighted the importance of providing Indigenous communities with access to an equal level of education as non-Indigenous Canadians in order to improve Indigenous representation in the government. LeMoel said that the government's role is more focused on providing internal training programs and professional development opportunities, rather than access accredited education programs.
"For training, not formal education, the Yukon government provides opportunities through the organizational development branch. They send people into different communities once or twice a year and are committed to offering online training. However, these are not accredited programs, they're internal Yukon government training opportunities. Dwyer is likely referring to the gap in more formal, accredited programming, but the Yukon government is not a university."
Dwyer highlighted with the News that establishing community learning centres with access to the internet and online educational resources, but tailoring the content and delivery to be culturally-infused and responsive to Indigenous needs, could be a potential solution to bridging the gap in access to educational resources.
"A community or education centre could help people gain the necessary skills and the government could take advantage of that. However, this is not typically seen. In these environments, a manager or organization hiring has a predetermined set of qualifications they are looking for," Dwyer said.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
