A job advertisement posted to the Tlicho government Facebook page Aug. 21 is causing a stir, with some people questioning the legality of the ad’s stated preference for male applicants.

The ad, which advertised the position of “wilderness safety officer or certified ranger,” specifically states that the ideal candidate would be “preferably male.”




Commentators on the Tlicho government’s Facebook page immediately took exception to this.

“Isn’t that like wrong like in human rights issue or something of that nature?” one person asked.

“It is absolutely a human rights issue, whoever is in charge of or even aware of creating and posting this content needs to be taken aside and spoken to,” said another. “Possibly even trained or put into an equal rights workshop. I know a few female wildlife monitors, rangers, and even ENR wildlife graduates/officers and they are great at their jobs!”

Two people in the thread under the ad stated that the job posting is for an on-the-land healing camp for men, but this has not been confirmed by the Tlicho government.

The ad was still posted with no alterations or comment from the Tlicho government as of 3 p.m., Aug. 22 but has since been removed.

According to the NWT Human Rights Act, no person shall circulate “a form for employment or advertisement that expresses or implies any limitation, specification or preference indicating discrimination against any individual or class of individuals on the basis of a prohibited grounds of discrimination.”

Prohibited grounds of discrimination under the act include: race, colour, ancestry, nationality, ethnic origin, place of origin, creed, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, family affiliation, political belief, political association, social condition or criminal conviction that is subject to a pardon or record suspension.

The NWT Human Rights Commission also commented on the Facebook post, asking people to contact the organization if they had a complaint. News/North was waiting for comment from the human rights commission before publication.

News/North also reached out to the Tlicho government but is still waiting for a response.