EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
If that is the wish of the member and the House, I will do that.
Question 096 – 2(3): Inuit Language Protection (Barnabas)
Under Minister’s statements, the Minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth made a statement in regard to the Made in Nunavut priority hiring.
Will this be igloos, kamiks, kayaks, or the dogs? How are these protected so that they won’t be used by anybody to promote their things?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): First, we are going to use the languages services guidelines that will be used for Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English, and French and the other one being the protection of the Inuktitut language.
So, for, how can I put this? Within our department, there are always people asking; “I wonder what we could call this in Inuktitut, or how we say it.”
So, we’re trying to accommodate those questions but, I don’t know the real language, the real Inuktitut language; how it can preserved, conserved.
We don’t want anybody out there to use it but, those are the things that we would have to consider and as I stated last spring in 2006, the guidelines, we are going to get feedback and consult with the communities as to what they think about the guidelines because we will have to include them and the other things that we need to protect.
If we hear that from the public, then we can surely include that.
I believe there are about 23-26 communities in Nunavut and our dialects are different. So, for example, if I say I’m sorry somebody from Northern Quebec would understand it differently. I wonder how those differences in dialects will be included in the guidelines.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): We have the studies and we have met with several adults on how we can put these, for example, the services that the government provides, for example, within the office.
If an Inuk person comes into an office, the receptionist, the frontline worker, would have to be fluent in those languages. The health services, education services, the RCMP, justice services, those different services that they provide have been identified that they will have to work in that language, but I don’t know exactly how we will put these in the guidelines.
After community consultations, we will have a better idea. These two guidelines are being worked on presently and we will be going to the communities in 2006 to get more information as to what the contents should be of those guidelines.
I wonder if his officials or staff and those people who are translators or interpreters, they have to be used by the hospitals and lawyers, and sometimes within this House, we have to switch to English if we don’t know it in Inuktitut.
I just hear, for example, technical words; I don’t know what the word is in Inuktitut.
They will be standardized so that everybody understands. So, at the time when Jose Kusugak was working on the computer terminology to fit to the keyboard for the computer, we had to eliminate one way of syllabics in order to do that. So, will those kinds of things be used?
Those are already in the computers. There’s a website, I believe it was made by people in Pond Inlet, ‘Living Dictionary’, where it’s a dictionary and it has always been updated as to how it should be in Inuktitut, how those Inuktitut words should be translated.
So, we are currently working on these. We are thinking from April to October of next year we will be consulting with the communities in regard to what the contents of the guidelines should be and to promote Inuktitut in Nunavut.
We are forgetting a lot of our original Inuktitut words and how will that be protected through this department.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): We are trying to use different ways and if we are going to promote Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun and our laws, every single policy, especially when we are serving the public, those will have to be translated.
We know it will be difficult but once the language services guidelines surface...presently, in our Acts because we are using the Languages Act which we got from the Northwest Territories and if we have the exact dates that we will be producing our guidelines.
So, we are thinking in the fall of 2006 that we might be able to bring these.
Question 097 – 2(3): Patient Accommodations (Peterson)
Mr. Speaker, in July 2005, thirty of my constituents, including mothers, fathers, children and infants traveled to Iqaluit by charter for dental treatment. It was a long trip and when they arrived they didn’t have accommodations. They sat at the airport and many were crying, and the kids were tired and distraught.
Can the minister explain to the House what went wrong with her department’s plans to accommodate the dental surgery patients from Cambridge Bay here in Iqaluit last July 2005?
Mr. Speaker, the patients from...there were two trips. The first trip was from Cambridge Bay and the second trip was from Kugluktuk.
The situation that happened in July from Cambridge Bay, the casual travel clerk forgot to make travel arrangements for the patients traveling to Iqaluit for dental treatment. The casual travel clerk was a summer student and Saturday afternoon the member contacted me and we dealt with the department and staff to organize the hotel arrangements for all the patients that arrived into Iqaluit.
The individuals had to wait at the airport for about three or four hours, but the arrangements were made for the patients’ accommodations. The casual clerk did not communicate that information to the hotels in Iqaluit, which resulted in individuals having to wait at the airport for their hotels.
In fact the patients that ended up staying at the hotel had a better deal because the patients staying at the boarding home when there were some put in there, they had a very difficult experience.
The biggest complaint I got when folks got home was about the local boarding home; they told me the boarding home condoned many extra-curricular activities including gambling and disruptive visitors late at night. They were very worried about their stay there.
My question for the Minister, could the Minister tell me if the Department of Health and Social Services has standardized criteria governing the operations of boarding homes where ever Nunavummiut patients and escorts stay to guarantee peace and enjoyment during their stay.
Those standard policies across boarding homes from Edmonton to Yellowknife to Manitoba are in the works.
The procedures are being developed and the information packages will also be presented to each patient traveling as to what to expect from each centre in terms of services, food and what not are all being developed to communicate to boarding homes, or the users of the boarding homes on what services to expect.
Those were never in place before and that initiative was started earlier this summer to try and standardize the level of services in each centre.
That is good information to know because my constituents have told me in unequivocal terms that they don’t want to come to the Baffin again to Iqaluit if they have to stay in that boarding home. So I hope that standardized criteria will improve that situation.
With that in mind Mr. Speaker, can the Minister assure my constituents and me that future patients and escorts from Cambridge Bay will receive care and treatment from boarding homes that will decrease the natural stress of dental travel.
Mr. Speaker, at the rate we are going within the department to try and address the issue around dental services for Nunavummiut and having sent patients from the Kitikmeot to the Baffin, we were able to reduce the waiting list for those patients by one year.
The average waiting list is now is two months to a month to receive dental care and there is a backlog.
In terms of the services from the boarding homes there are many boarding homes that have different procedures for operating and we are trying to standardize that so Nunavummiut patients can expect the same level of service from Alberta right down to Ottawa to Nunavut. That is in the works recognizing there are some differences and we are trying to streamline that and address some of the concerns the Member has raised also.
You mention the backlog for dental patients.
Can the minister tell me how large the backlog is for dental patients in Cambridge Bay and if there are any plans to send them to Baffin for surgery?
The exact number for Cambridge Bay I don’t have that available.
The backlog for Nunavut was over 1,500 patients in the last year. That has been reduced significantly and the waiting list now from a year has been reduced to two months.
And yes in the future we will most likely be sending patients to Iqaluit for that service.
The Kitikmeot residents in the past have been going to Yellowknife for that service.
The Yellowknife services are so backlogged that a Kitikmeot patient can expect to wait for over a year, and to try and address that we tried to utilize the services in Nunavut, and in Iqaluit in particular so patients will be sent to where the services are available.
Question 098 – 2(3): Clarification on Article 23 and Priority Hiring Policy (Tootoo)
Mr. Speaker, I want to first off, thank the minister for providing me with a written response for information that I asked on cancelled positions, that was provided to me last week.
Mr. Speaker, in that response, the minister had indicated one of the reasons for cancelling positions was Article 23 considerations.
Could I just ask the minister for a little more clarification on exactly what is meant by that?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Yes, for the answer that I gave to the member, what they do for people to get a job is, like for a job that doesn’t need a certain certificate, the first people that are hired are Inuit beneficiaries, and if you can’t decide, if it’s not decided, the job would be cancelled and we would try to get someone that is most qualified for that position.
Or, the department that is requesting a position can get somebody that is already working there, but the departments request a position to be filled and then sometimes they cancel it because of a policy that we have and I gave the deputy minister of my department the authority to do that.
We have to abide by Article 23 as well. So, what we do is we consider the priority hiring for the Inuit beneficiaries, although they don’t have a diploma to do that job.
As long as they have the assets to do something like that.
I know an issue I brought up in the past around this position that had been cancelled was one regarding a position for the liquor warehouse in Rankin Inlet, where they went through the applicants, interviewed six, five or six, the minister had indicated on the record, and the beneficiaries applied, and none of the people they had interviewed passed the interview.
However, in the minister’s response they said that they felt that that was a position that a beneficiary should hold. So, they cancelled that competition and put it out as an intern or a training position.
Mr. Speaker, I know there was a similar position that was advertised here in Iqaluit for the liquor warehouse here, and that position, however, was cancelled and there was a non-beneficiary appointed into that position.
So, my question to the minister is: how do they monitor this, where it seems to be okay in one case to change it for Article 23 considerations, but not in another?
There was a position for the liquor warehouse advertised but that was cancelled because it was going to be a job to be done for a year.
But, the department responsible for liquor felt that it should be cancelled and another one called for a person that has had dealings with warehousing.
So, that’s the information that we had.
I know, in this particular case, there are already, I believe, two beneficiaries working at the liquor warehouse here and it’s also my understanding that there were beneficiaries that had applied for the position.
So, I guess my question is: how could the department allow something like that to happen if they use the Article 23 excuse in one area, but then ignore it in another?
The message is almost going out there by the department, is that the Priority Hiring Policy; it seems to be a policy of convenience of this government; that they don’t take it seriously and it seems to be used when it’s convenient for them to use it and not used when it’s not convenient.
So, maybe I would like to ask the minister if he could explain exactly how something like that has happened.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps if I could clarify something; starting April 5, there have been eight positions cancelled that were advertised since Nunavut became a reality.
Yes, I hear your concern, but different departments in the Iqaluit Liquor Warehouse, there was a job posted that would be a one-year term position and they have to have the qualification of having to have worked in a warehouse previously.
The question the member is posing; I don’t have the information on the Rankin Inlet Liquor Warehouse, but if the member wants to get more clarification, I understand what he’s asking; I know that we have to have the same rule for everybody; I realize what he’s saying.
What we have done now, a little while ago on October 13, 2005, my Deputy Minister for the Department of Human Resources wrote to the deputy ministers of each department in the government saying that if they want to have those kinds of qualifications for those individuals that they would like to hear from the deputy minister of my department.
I think, in the minister’s response, he had indicated that because this is only a one-year term position is why they didn’t apply Article 23.
Is that what he’s saying; that Article 23 considerations are for things that are only taken into consideration for indeterminate jobs or other jobs that opt for term positions?
In regard to the comments that I made earlier, each department has their own directives and hierarchy. If there are going to be any changes...we were having some problems with the system that we were using.
So, our department, on October 13, 2005, sent recommendations to the deputy ministers and there was another letter written to the deputy ministers that if we’re going to be placing a job, that the Deputy Minister of Human Resources has the right to turn down that request, or if necessary to make changes so that we don’t go through those same problems.
With those problems we had last year, we are doing something and making some changes in order to not go through those again.
Tabled Document 050 – 2(3): Auditor General’s Report for Qulliq Energy Corporation as of March 31, 2005 (Picco)
Tabled Document 051 – 2(3): Response to Letter of Expectation – Qulliq Energy Corporation, June 30, 2005 (Picco)
Tabled Document 052 – 2(3): Nunavut Education Act (K-12) 2005 Public Consultations (Picco)
Tabled Document 053 – 2(3): Nunavut Early Childhood Development Update Report 2003-04 (Picco)
Tabled Document 054 – 2(3): Schedule for the Student Loan Fund - March 31, 2004 (Picco)
Tabled Document 055 – 2(3): FPT Ministerial Meetings (Picco)
I would like to table the following documents: The Auditor General’s Report for Qulliq Energy Corporation, as of March 31, 2005; the response to the Letter of Expectation to Qulliq Energy Corporation on June 30, 2005; the Nunavut Education Act, (K-12) 2005 Public Consultation; The Nunavut Early Childhood Development Update Report, 03-04; Schedule for the Student Loan Fund, March 31, 2004, and the FPT Ministerial Meeting.
Speaker (interpretation): Please pages, if you would bring up the papers please.
Tabled Document 056 – 2(3): 2004-05 Public Service Annual Report (Tapardjuk)
Tabled Document 057 – 2(3): Annual Report on the Delivery of Services to the Public in Nunavut’s Languages, 2004-05 (Tapardjuk)
I wish to table the two following documents: 2004-05 Public Service Annual Report, and the Annual Report of the Delivery of Services to the Public in Nunavut’s Languages, 2004-05.
Tabled Document 058 – 2(3): Activities Report Crown Agency Council of the Government of Nunavut Sept 1, 2003, through October 31, 2005 (Simailak)
I would like to table the Activities Report of the Crown Agency Corporations of the Government of Nunavut September 1, 2003 through October 31, 2005.
Tabled Document 059 – 2(3): Victims Assistance Fund 2004-05 (Okalik)
Tabled Document 060 – 2(3): Minimum Wage Annual Report 2005 (Okalik)
I wish to table the following documents, Victims Assistance Fund 2004-05 and Minimum Wage Annual Report 2004-05.
Tabled Document 061 – 2(3): Fire Safety Colouring Book (Brown)
I wish to table the following document, Fire Safety Colouring Book.
Motion 005 – 2(3): Rescinding of Motion 011 – 2(2): Mid-Term Leadership Review of the Executive Council – Notice (Curley)
Mr. Curley: Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, December 1, 2005, I will move the following motion:
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Member for Cambridge Bay, that Motion 011 – 2(2), titled Mid-term Review of the Executive Council of Nunavut, be rescinded.
Motion 006 – 2(3): Mid-Term Leadership Review of the Executive Council of Nunavut – Notice (Curley)
I give notice that on Thursday December 1, 2005, I will move the following motion.
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Member for Cambridge Bay, that the Mid-term Leadership Review of the Executive Council of Nunavut be conducted prior to March 31, 2006.... (inaudible)...
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. Notices of Motions.
Bill 10 – An Act to Amend the Nunavut Elections Act – Second Reading
I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Cambridge Bay, that Bill 10, an Act to amend the Nunavut Elections Act be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Nunavut Elections Act to make improvements identified from the experience gained during the 2004 General Election. Most of these changes were recommended in the 2005 Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, which was tabled in the Legislative Assembly.
Other changes include raising the limit on contributions to $25,000 and requiring financial agents to be residents of Nunavut. A minor error is also corrected in the Plebiscite Act.
I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 67(2) and have Bill 10 moved directly to the Committee of the Whole.
Speaker (interpretation): The member is seeking unanimous consent to waive Rule 67(2) so that Bill 10 can be moved directly into Committee of the Whole.
Bill 10 has had its second reading and is referred to the Committee of the Whole.
Bill 1, Bill 2, Bill 3, Bill 4, and Bill 10. With Mr. Evyagotailak in the Chair.
We will take a 30-minute break.
>>House recessed at 15:28 and Committee resumed at 16:05
Chairman (Mr. Evyagotailak): I would like to call the committee meeting to order. In the Committee of the Whole we have the following items to deal with: Bill 1, Bill 2, Bill 3, Bill 4, and Bill 10.
We wish to commence the review of the Capital Estimates for the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, followed by the Department of Environment.
Are we in agreement that we first deal with the capital estimates for the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth?
I would now like ask Minister Tapardjuk of the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth to make his opening remarks.
Bill 01 – Appropriations (Capital) Act, 2006-07 – Culture, Language, Elders and Youth – Consideration in Committee
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee of the Whole, good afternoon.
As the Minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, I thank you for the opportunity to present my department’s plans for the 2006-07 capital estimates.
The Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth makes an important contribution to the lives of Nunavummiut by providing Nunavut communities the opportunity to preserve and enhance language, culture, heritage and to promote healthy active living.
Mr. Chairman, the 2006-07 plans are very positive with two major increases in funding and some new funding in key areas.
The department’s capital budget of $3.183 million is allocated to four capital projects: office renovations in Baker Lake and Igloolik in the amount of $60,000; capital contributions to non-profit, community based individuals, and organizations for heritage, Elders’ and youth centres, in the amount of $968,000; and capital contributions to non-profit community based individuals and organizations, for recreation facility projects in the amount of $655,000.
Nunavut Heritage Centre is in the amount of $1.5 million.
Capital funding for office renovations in Baker Lake and Igloolik will enable my department to renovate and purchase office equipment for the operations of Sport Nunavut and community programs.
As part of my department’s commitment to community capacity building, we have increased capital contributions funding by $136,000 for renovations and minor capital of Nunavut’s many heritage, elders’, and youth centres. In addition, we have increased capital contribution funding by $265,000 for recreational facilities capital projects to foster healthy active living opportunities for Nunavummiut.
New funding of $1.5 million for the Nunavut Heritage Centre reflects a major commitment to the preservation of Nunavut’s heritage.
Mr. Chairman, a significant portion of my department’s capital budget is allocated as capital contributions to community-based individuals and organizations. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the key capital contributions funded in the 2005-06 fiscal year.
With regards to heritage centres’ capital contributions in 2005-06, CLEY provided capital contributions funding to Kugaaruk to restore the Kugaaruk Stone Church as a historic site, as well as the Hamlet of Arctic Bay to renovate a heritage centre building.
I am pleased to report that under elders’ centres capital contributions in 2005-06, funding has been provided for renovations and minor capital work for an elders centre in Cape Dorset and the Mikilaaq Centre in Arviat.
In terms of youth centre capital contributions, CLEY has provided funding for renovations and minor capital work for the youth facility in Taloyoak and the centre in Cape Dorset.
To ensure that the 2005-06 capital contributions funding will be expended by the end of the 2005-06 fiscal year, a second call for capital proposals for community heritage, elders, and youth centres was advertised.
Under recreation facilities projects capital contributions funding has been provided to communities Nunavut-wide. To date, 13 facilities recreation projects have been funded across Nunavut for a total of $290,000.
Mr. Chairman, the $1.5 million allocated towards the establishment of the Nunavut Heritage Centre is a step forward on this exciting initiative.
As you are aware, in 2004-05 my department established a Trilateral Working Group to develop a strategic plan for the Nunavut Heritage Centre.
The Trilateral Working Group has commissioned Lord Cultural Resources Planning and Management Inc. to prepare a capital financing plan for the heritage centre.
In closing, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to provide an update on CLEY’s 2006-07 capital estimates. I would be happy to answer any questions from the committee.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Minister Tapardjuk. (interpretation ends) Do you have witnesses you would like to bring to the table?
Chairman: Thank you. Does the committee agree to bring the witnesses?
Sergeant-at-Arms, could you please escort the witnesses in.  For the record, minister, please introduce your witnesses.
To my left is David Akeeagok, he is the Deputy Minister for the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, and to my right, another David, David Kolot, he’s the Finance Director.
Chairman: Does the chair of the standing committee have any comments? Mr. Mapsalak, please proceed.
The Standing Committee Ajauqtiit has reviewed the proposed capital estimates of the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth for the 2006-07 fiscal year, and I am pleased to provide you with the Committee's comments.
The Committee notes that the department's proposed 2006-07 capital budget of $3,183,000 is approximately 135 percent higher than its 2005-06 budget, primarily as a result of the department’s plan to allocate $1.5 million in the coming year towards a new Nunavut Heritage Centre.