I arrived in Inuvik for the first time at sunrise on Jan. 12, which is to say, I arrived around 1 p.m. local time.
I had done my research, and I knew daybreak would be in the early afternoon, but I was still in awe of the fuchsia Arctic sky SA国际影视传媒� as I have been every day since.
The skyline is just one of many things about the North that have left me in wide-eyed wonder.
ISA国际影视传媒檝e been in Inuvik for almost two weeks now, and what has struck me the most is both how friendly and how small this town is. ISA国际影视传媒檓 from Toronto, so it is practically unheard of to meet a new person and then run into them days later, completely unplanned. Here, this seems to happen to me all the time SA国际影视传媒� in the grocery store, at the Arctic Market, and even just on the street.
In Toronto, I am anonymous. Here, I already seem to be known.
Inuvik is quickly becoming home.
ISA国际影视传媒檓 so excited to be here, and ISA国际影视传媒檓 thrilled by the warm welcome ISA国际影视传媒檝e received. I didnSA国际影视传媒檛 think ISA国际影视传媒檇 ever end up living 200 km North of the Arctic circle, but ISA国际影视传媒檓 so glad to have the opportunity to do so.
If you have any story ideas for me, or if your organization is holding an interesting event SA国际影视传媒� ISA国际影视传媒檇 like to hear from you! Feel free to send me an email at inuvikdrum@old.nnsl.com, or call me at 867 SA国际影视传媒� 777 SA国际影视传媒� 4545.
Targeting women for LPN program doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 makes sense for NWT
On Jan. 16, Michael McLeod announced two new projects in Inuvik under the Skills Partnership Fund. In the announcement and press release, it was stated that one of the programs will allow SA国际影视传媒�18 Indigenous womenSA国际影视传媒� to take part in a two-year Licensed Practical Nursing program at Aurora College.
Since this announcement, ISA国际影视传媒檝e heard and read much talk on and offline about why it seems that only women are eligible for this program SA国际影视传媒� after all, men can be nurses too, so is womanhood really a fair prerequisite to participate in an education program?
The initial call for proposals was seeking applications from Indigenous organizations that were interested in improving opportunities for Indigenous youth and women, which explains the stipulation. However, men can still apply for the LPN program, but the project will SA国际影视传媒渢argetSA国际影视传媒� women.
When I first heard this, it made sense to me. I know that Indigenous women have historically been underrepresented in the Canadian workforce.
But then I looked at employment rates reported by the NWT Bureau of Statistics and found that targeting Indigenous women for an employment program doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 make sense, at least not in the Northwest Territories.
Every single year from 2007 to 2016, Indigenous women in the Northwest Territories have had higher employment rates than Indigenous men in the territory overall.
In fact, according to 2016 census data for Inuvik, the exact same number of men and women were employed - 785. The unemployment rate for women in Inuvik in 2016 was 7.7 per cent, whereas for men, it was 9.7 per cent.
In the context of the Northwest Territories, it makes more sense to target both men and women for employment programs. Employment rates for non-Indigenous people in the Northwest Territories are consistently and significantly higher than both Indigenous men and women.
For example, in 2016, non-Indigenous people had an overall employment rate of 81.2 per cent, whereas Indigenous people had an overall employment rate of 56.1 per cent.
I understand that in many places, Indigenous women are still significantly underrepresented in the workforce. In those places, employment programs should absolutely target women first. However, in the Northwest Territories, especially in Inuvik, the real issue is the gap in employment rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
