Decolonizing Employment by Shauna MacKinnon

Author:Shauna MacKinnon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Manitoba Press
Published: 2015-09-23T04:00:00+00:00

Source: CETWG Retrospective Report

It is also notable that it was much easier to meet the affirmative action goals for employment requiring short-term training than those for the higher-skilled trades. This was in part due to the longer-term education requirements of high-skill positions, but an additional problem was that contractors did not hire as many apprentices as they were allowed to under the regulations. Concern was expressed that some job orders placed unnecessary emphasis on previous work experience over and above LTEA graduation. This effectively compromised affirmative action goals and discriminated against LTEA participants.

This concern led to LTEA-led criticism of the Canada Employment Centres (CECs) that acted as the referral mechanism for workers. The LTEA felt that the CECs showed preference to employer needs and were less concerned with the placement of trainees. This created conflict between the two parties, and it was seen by the LTEA to be in violation of objectives laid out in the Canada-Manitoba Limestone Project Employment Agreement. The LTEA felt that the spirit of cooperation in meeting affirmative action goals was compromised. As will be further discussed, similar challenges occurred with the more recent Red River Floodway expansion and Northern Hydro Training projects, which suggests that there is a fundamental flaw in the framework that has yet to be addressed in spite of very clear lessons learned.

Notwithstanding the challenges described above, it appears that the LTEA was successful in providing a series of short-term and long-term training opportunities for Aboriginal Northerners who would have otherwise had difficulty accessing such opportunities. While follow-up with LTEA graduates indicated a much higher rate of unemployment compared with those in other parts of the province (25 percent compared to 7 percent in October 1987), the CETWG noted that when compared with unemployment in many northern First Nations, employment outcomes were significant (CETWG 1991).

The LTEA, while less than perfect, was the first model of its kind in Manitoba, and it made a significant contribution to skills development for Aboriginal people. There are many lessons to be learned from the successes and failures of the LTEA. In particular, the CETWG argued that an important benefit of the LTEA was that “in the process, many of the complexities which have contributed to the difficulties of mainstream education programs and employment initiatives were identified and in many cases remedied (CETWG 1991, 50). In general, evaluations found the “LTEA to be a cost-effective method of training Northerners for the hydro site” (CETWG 1991, 50). The average cost per student per year was $13,336 (simulated training), $3,963 (community-based), and $24,927 (institutional).8 From 1984–85 to 1989–90, Manitoba expended an estimated $41,313,100, recovering a total of $11,509,700 from the federal government. The Northern Resident Employment Committee also concluded that the project was an important model to be further developed in future years. It stated that “significant progress was made on the Limestone Project in respect of the training and employment of Northern Aboriginals” and that “further improvements over the Limestone experience can be achieved on the next major project” (1993, 3).

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