Hon. Marc Miller, P.C., M.P., Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations: I certainly won’t take credit for the latest Supreme Court appointment — I’m not such a hypocrite as to claim a victory for that. However, I think it is emblematic of someone in their mid-forties who has had an incredible career who is now in a position to shape the future of this country.

That’s a highly visible area. I think when you look at the public service you will see, whether it’s Indigenous Services Canada or Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, a significant amount of Indigenous representation, and to their credit, because these are people going to work every day trying to make things better for their people. They are probably often criticized at the Christmas party. It’s difficult to go with that weight on your shoulders, whereas someone like me showing up to work like that doesn’t bear that weight.

But clearly you’re dealing with a highly qualified constituency that needs to radiate across the public service. For example, some people might not want to work at Crown-Indigenous Relations or Indigenous Services Canada; they might want to work at National Defence. I think that’s where you see some of the under-representation, whether it’s at the core level, the basic level, or even at the managerial and the executive levels where you see some crying needs.

This is something that we have to be careful with, with an independent public service, but it’s something we can’t let other people kind of run at willy-nilly. The Clerk of the Privy Council is very well aware of what the challenges are to ensure Indigenous representation across the board, as well as racialized individuals.

You’re talking about talent that is undervalued. If you just take a value perspective, people who suffer from discrimination are people who are, more often than not, overqualified for the position they’re taking. So there is that business argument, but unfortunately it’s rooted in discrimination.