EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
all Nunavummiut will continue to have a high quality of life
those most in need will have a better standard of living
families and individuals will be healthy and happy
communities will be self-reliant, with reduced dependence on government
and Nunavut will be recognized for our unique culture, our ability to help one another, and our contributions to the world.
As we move into this Third Legislative Assembly with our priorities straight and our vision clear, we are celebrating our accomplishments on many levels. And in that celebration, we recognize that as Nunavut, we are making progress.
We are becoming our vision by working together as a territory, Tamatta.
The vision of this government stands as a declaration of confidence in our future.
I now declare open the Second Session of the Third Legislative Assembly.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you very much, Commissioner of Nunavut.
After Ministers’ Statements, we will be taking a brief break.
We will now go to Item 3.
Minister’s Statement 001 – 3(2): Building Our Future Together (Aariak)
First of all, I would like to welcome everyone on the 10th anniversary of Nunavut.
I will be speaking in both Inuktitut and English.
The 10th anniversary of Nunavut as a territory and the Government of Nunavut as a public government is truly a cause for celebration.
In Iqaluit, on April 1, 1999, I can remember the scent of excitement in the air, the whole city was buzzing with activity, the events at the celebrations were profound, and the unveiling of the Nunavut flag was very moving.
And for my son, who was just fives years old at the time, his moment was watching the fireworks on the ice that evening.
That day was truly historic for Nunavummiut, for Canadians, and for Inuit of the circumpolar regions.
(interpretation ends) The 10th anniversary of Nunavut as a territory and the Government of Nunavut as a public government is truly a cause for celebration.
In Iqaluit, on April 1, 1999, I can remember the sense of excitement in the air.
The whole city was buzzing with activities, the events at the ceremonies were profound, and the unveiling of the Nunavut flag was very moving. And for my son, who was just five years old at this time, his moment was watching the fireworks on the ice that evening.
(interpretation) As Premier, I am very proud to be in this Chamber today to be with my colleagues, our federal ministers, our Inuit leaders, especially our elders, and through television, all Nunavummiut to celebrate our 10th anniversary.
(interpretation ends) As Premier, I am very proud to be in this Chamber today to be with my colleagues, our federal ministers, our Inuit leaders, especially our elders, and through television, all Nunavummiut to celebrate our 10th anniversary.
(interpretation) We celebrate today as a young territory, but like a young person, we have a family history as well.
Nunavut carried over from the former territorial Government of the Northwest Territories in 1999. It emerged from decades of advocacy and negotiations, and then the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement in 1993, and our government carries forward into 2009 from the first two governments.
We celebrate that history and recognize with gratitude those who provided leadership through those prior years.
And, Mr. Speaker, within this year, we will formally recognize the individuals that have made this movement possible, and I am very pleased that we will be able to do that with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.
(interpretation ends) We celebrate today as a young territory, but like a young person, we have a family history as well. Nunavut carried over from the former territorial Government of the Northwest Territories in 1999.
It emerged from decades of advocacy and negotiations, and then the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement in 1993, and our government carries forward into 2009 from the first two governments.
We celebrate that history and recognize with gratitude those who provided leadership through those prior years. And within this year, we will formally recognize the individuals that have made this movement possible.
(interpretation) The governmental challenges in 1999 were far greater than those that we face today.
We assume the administration of a functioning government with a bureaucracy of men and women who have chosen public service as their careers dedicated to Nunavut and Nunavummiut.
We celebrate them today.
(interpretation ends) The governmental challenges in 1999 were far greater than those that we face today.
We assume the administration of a functioning government with a bureaucracy of men and women who have chosen public service as their careers dedicated to Nunavut and Nunavummiut. We celebrate them today.
(interpretation) The structure of government is in place in 2009.
We celebrate the work by all those that brought us to this day.
(interpretation ends) The structure of government is in place in 2009.
We celebrate the work by all those that brought us here today.
(interpretation) Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to stress that we have been guided to our early work as a new government by Inuit societal values, including the principles outlined in Pinasuaqtavut by the previous government.
We have adopted those guiding principles as the basis for building our future together.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to stress that we have been guided to our early work as a new government by Inuit societal values, including the principles outlined in Pinasuaqtavut by the previous government.
(interpretation) So this is not just about change as a new government assumes the governance of Nunavut as it completes its 10th year.
There is a lot of work still ahead of us to do, there are still opportunities to seize, and there are still challenges to overcome.
The work continues. We are first and foremost still building Nunavut.
(interpretation ends) So this is not just about change as a new government assumes the governance of Nunavut as it completes its 10th year. There is a lot of work still ahead of us to do, there are still opportunities to seize, and there are still challenges to overcome. The work continues, Mr. Speaker.
We are first and foremost still building Nunavut.
(interpretation) Our agenda and our style may be different but our goal remains a stronger Nunavut.
(interpretation ends) Our agenda and our style may be a little different but our goal remains a stronger Nunavut.
(interpretation) We need to work together as Nunavummiut, Inuit and non-Inuit; we need to work with our partners; and we need support from our federal partners and from our Inuit organizations.
We need to engage our citizens in contributing to that work - elders, parents, and especially children and students. There are responsibilities for all of us today and in the years ahead.
(interpretation ends) We need to work together, Mr. Speaker, as Nunavummiut, Inuit and non-Inuit; we need to work with our partners; and we need the support from our federal partners and from our Inuit organizations.
We need to engage our citizens in contributing to that work - elders, parents, and especially children and students. These are responsibilities for all of us today and in the years ahead.
(interpretation) The opportunity, the dream that Nunavut presented to Nunavummiut in 1999 is within our reach. We, as individuals and as communities, need to respond.
In the years ahead, we need again to adopt a change, something that Inuit are very adept in doing.
We need to work towards self-reliance and to reduce dependence as citizens, as communities, and as a territory. Our strength is in our history. The future is in our hands.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, the opportunity, the dream that Nunavut presented to Nunavummiut in 1999 is within our reach. We, as individuals and as communities, need to respond. In the years ahead, we need again to adopt a change, something that Inuit are very adept in doing.
We need to work towards self-reliance and to reduce dependence as citizens, as communities, and a territory. Our strength is in our history. The future is in our hands.
(interpretation) This is an exciting anniversary. The promise of the land claims agreement and the potential of the partnership of Inuit and non-Inuit remain as vibrant today as they were in 1999.
(interpretation ends) This is an exciting anniversary, Mr. Speaker.
The promise of the land claims agreement and the potential of the partnership of Inuit and non-Inuit remain as vibrant today as they were in 1999.
(interpretation) Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my fellow ministers, we are proud to be the new team that takes Nunavut into the next decade and we look forward to working with our colleagues in this Chamber in addressing the challenges and fulfilling the promise that is Nunavut.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my fellow ministers, we are proud to be the new team that takes Nunavut into the next decade and we look forward to working with our colleagues in this Chamber in addressing the challenges and fulfilling the promise that is Nunavut.
(interpretation) We are building our future together, and we believe in Nunavut.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, we are building our future together and we believe in Nunavut. (interpretation) Thank you.
Minister’s Statement 002 – 3(2): Notice of Budget Address (Peterson)
On behalf of the Government of Nunavut, I am pleased to notify my colleagues that on Thursday, June 4, 2009, I will introduce the 2009-2010 Budget.
This budget will outline our government’s financial priorities for the fiscal year 2009-2010.
If there are no more, we will take a break at this time. I invite everyone to go to the foyer for the unveiling of the photo of the previous Speaker, Mr. Peter Kilabuk.
We will come back once the bells ring.
>>House recessed at 15:09 and resumed at 15:59
Member’s Statement 001 – 3(2): Reflections on 10 Years in Government (Okalik)
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, and all Nunavummiut.
We are celebrating ten years of Nunavut government and we can now reflect on what had happened in the past.
For that reason, I have two people to thank from my office. I was fortunate enough to work with these individuals. When I was going through many challenges, they supported me and I would like to extend my appreciation to them.
We can reflect on what we enjoyed and there are so many things to mention.
I thank my fellow Inuit and I don’t want to thank only some of them but all of them.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my two ministerial colleagues of the previous cabinet and they should be acknowledged and not forgotten.
(interpretation ends) I shall start with the western corner of our territory and the first Minister for the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth and now a lifelong friend. Mr. Donald Havioyak was a stranger to me when he first joined the cabinet, but his humble and friendly nature quickly made me do things for his community of Kugluktuk that are there today and will be there for some time.
If I had my way, Mr. Speaker, the healing facility that’s in operation in the western part of our territory of Nunavut will be called the Donald Havioyak Centre.
Minister of Justice, maybe you can take that as advice. Koana, Donald, to you and your family for sharing you with our territory.
In the neighbouring community of Cambridge Bay, we also had our first Minister of Finance and my first Deputy Premier. This little man looked a lot like us but had roots in another part of the world. Mr. Kelvin Ng, you brought much needed ministerial experience to my first cabinet, which we really required for the first few years of governance.
Xie xie, as you say in China, for your service to Nunavummiut.
(interpretation) Jack Anawak, who has been a Member of Parliament for many years, used his experience at the cabinet level and his beliefs that Nunavut needs a good government.
Speaker (interpretation): I’m sorry, Mr. Okalik.
Your time is up. You must ask for unanimous consent of your colleagues to conclude your statement. Mr. Okalik.
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I almost forgot as I am very happy today, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent of my colleagues to conclude my statement.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. The member is asking for unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays?
There are no nays. You may proceed, Mr. Okalik.
Jack Anawak is somebody who kept encouraging me and I would like to thank him for that because that helped me give our previous government strength, and he still provides his support to us.
I am very pleased for that and thank him for that because he truly is helpful in his belief.
As an Inuk, I would like to state my forgiveness to him.
Manitok Thompson was an experienced cabinet minister.
Her experience was very beneficial to the first cabinet.
Her beliefs were very strong and she was able to encourage us. I learned a great deal from her about needing to encourage and push people with your whole belief.
I would like to thank her because she was very beneficial to Nunavummiut.
James Arvaluk, who is now here with me on this side, had experience with the previous government and was very beneficial to the new government.
He was the Minister of Education. Even though it was for a short time, we implemented all the things that he worked very hard on.
Sometimes when we are young, we tend to be followers when we face different challenges and difficulties.
Having been the youngest member, I pay attention to him when he’s facing challenges.
James is a formidable opponent at any game.
No matter where he lives, he is elected.
I was able to work with Peter Kattuk here at the Legislative Assembly and I thank him profusely.
I started working with Peter Kattuk during the land claims negotiations even before Nunavut was created.
He was able to be a member of the first cabinet.
Although he came from a small community that continually faced challenges, he pushed hard for the incorporation of Inuit societal values into government.
He would worry about us and he would advise us. Even though he was going through difficult times, he was always there to help.
Thank you very much, Katukutsuk, as I would call him.
Olayuk Akesuk, who used to be called Ulujuk through the media, was our youngest Member of the First Legislative Assembly.
I remember how he put his ministry aside and treated us like brothers and sisters.
That’s one thing that I enjoyed seeing because we are ministers but we also need to live our own lives.
He came from a small community. As their representative, he fought for the smaller communities to receive more.
Thank you, Olayuk and your family.
Our previous Speaker, Peter Kilabuk, who is from my hometown and who I knew before Nunavut was created, was very approachable and I was able to work very closely with him for quite some time.
He worked hard to make sure that our government worked well even though he was going through hardships with his family.
Even though we now have Nunavut, we visit our families all the time.
I would feel for him when he went through hard times.
We love him very much and we wish him the best for the future.
I know him well as we go fishing whenever we’re in Pangnirtung and we will do that again in the future.
I’m letting Rosie know in advance that I would like to go south with Peter very soon to play golf.
(interpretation ends) To Mr. Edward Picco, you were the ultimate teflon man in our government; you would try and avoid any real controversy. And I even caught you trying to hide from your own public event when the sign for the Iqaluit hospital was not working properly.
I wish that I had your gift so that one day, I could live without some bad press.
We thank you for your two terms in cabinet and the many accomplishments that we achieved during your tenure.
During your second term, we were joined by a new group of ministers and each brought different gifts to the cabinet table, and I would like to acknowledge them as well.
(interpretation) Also from the west, Leona Aglukkaq became a Member of the Legislative Assembly. She was young and brought in new ideas.
As the youngest member, she worked hard in her beliefs.
She is wise, intelligent, and works hard at her job.
I thank her very much. I congratulate her for being a minister at the federal level.
(interpretation ends) Levinia Brown, you served with such grace and dignity that I envy how easy it was to deal with the issues of the day. You were my Deputy Premier and we had such great success as a team, and how well we worked together.
I have never worked so closely with a minister and how wonderful the outcomes were. We were able to accomplish a whole lot for your community of Rankin Inlet and I feel for your successors for what they will have to endure for the coming months and years.
(interpretation) David Simailak wanted to be part of the Nunavut government to work diligently on economic development. However, he is being misremembered for something he worked very hard to accomplish, something we all experience as elected representatives.
I would like to acknowledge his tremendous support to Nunavut’s economy.
He was able to bring our economy up to the point where it was higher than Alberta’s economy.
So therefore, I thank him for his contributions to us as a government.
Ma’naluavik, David and all your family.
I am very proud of you.
Patterk Netser was elected during a bi-election and became a member of cabinet.
He was a very quick learner, very supportive, and encouraged us.
We now have new driver’s licences that Patterk Netser lobbied very hard for during his tenure.
When offices weren’t functioning properly, he was able to move them around.
Even though he was elected from a small community, he was able to set up an office in Coral Harbour.
We thank him for the hard work that was of great assistance to Nunavut.
Levi Barnabas was a minister very shortly as we were nearing the end of our term, but he managed to make a contribution.
We were able to negotiate a new collective agreement for our employees near the end of our tenure with him as minister, and so our government can now start worrying about other things.
He also taught me that even though he was going through difficult times, he was always willing to move forward and I would like to thank him for that.
Nunavummiut thank you and your family for the many challenges and difficulties that you faced.
Tapardjuk, you are the only member from the first cabinet.
I thank you because you worked very hard and you were always willing to provide your support. You brought your ideas of what Inuit want and you were able to put that on the government’s table.
You kept encouraging and pushing us as a government. You brought in language legislation that the government was able to pass into law.
The people of Nunavut are very proud and grateful that you were able to change legislation to better suit the Inuit.
Thank you very much and I am certain that your work will continue in the new government.
(interpretation ends) I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge all the MLAs that did so much work with all of us as ministers during our two terms.
As I have noticed in my more recent role here on this side, it can be very challenging at times.
As we turn a new page as a government, I wish our government more success than what I was able to offer to my fellow Nunavummiut.
Koana. Nakurmiik.
Thank you. Merci Beaucoup. Monsieur le Président.
Member’s Statement 002 – 3(2): Reflections on the Creation of Nunavut (Arvaluk)
I rise today on behalf of the Regular Members’ Caucus to offer some reflection on this historic and momentous occasion.
It is with a tremendous sense of pride that I sit here today as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
It is hard to believe that a number of us who are present this afternoon, especially Mr. Okalik, who just spoke, along with Mr. Hunter Tootoo, were also together exactly ten years ago when this House sat for the first time.
In those days, it was sometimes overwhelming as to how we would operate as a government.
(interpretation ends) I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the decade of service that has been performed by my colleagues from Iqaluit West and Iqaluit Centre.
It was not easy at the time; however, we survived through it.
Mr. Speaker, it is also appropriate that we take this opportunity to pay tribute to the numerous individuals and leaders who were responsible for turning the creation of Nunavut from a dream into a reality. I think my colleague, Mr. Tagak Curley, remembers very well how we were sometimes ridiculed for thinking something so bizarre.
Some of them are in this Chamber today, I just mentioned, and he was also a president before me, so he had twice as hard a job as I did following in his footsteps.
(interpretation) Mr. Speaker, it is also appropriate that we remember those leaders and elders who have passed on since the creation of Nunavut in 1999.
I wish to pay special tribute to the late Helen Maksagak, our first Commissioner of Nunavut, the late Goo Arlooktoo, who fought very hard for the creation of Nunavut when he was a member of the legislature in Yellowknife, and my immediate predecessor in the Legislative Assembly but only when he passed away, the late Jobie Nutarak.
He is in our thoughts.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, when the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada first proposed the creation of…
Speaker (interpretation): Mr. Arvaluk, you must ask for unanimous consent of your colleagues to conclude your statement.
Mr. Arvaluk is asking for unanimous consent to conclude his statement.
I want to thank my colleagues for allowing me to finish my statement.
When the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada first proposed the creation of Nunavut in the 1970s, our world was, in many significant respects, a very different place than it is today. I think we could appreciate how insignificant we felt as leaders at the time and it was very overwhelming when we tried to convincing the rest of Canada for all of their support.
The very concept of aboriginal title was in its infancy and many of us were told that Nunavut was an unrealistic and unachievable fantasy.
We were told that our people would never be ready to take on the responsibilities of government. We were told that change was impossible.
Mr. Speaker, let us look back at how far we have come and let us also look forward to how far we have to go.
In the three decades since we began to seriously push for the creation of Nunavut, we have shown that determination and perseverance are qualities that lead to accomplishment and achievement.
(interpretation) Our elders and leaders never gave up on their dreams.
They treated every setback as an opportunity to learn and move forward.
They worked together with a shared sense of vision and purpose.
Their efforts have led us to where we are today and we must never forget the sacrifices of those in whose footsteps we walk.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, since the creation of Nunavut ten years ago, we have accomplished much together.
Important legislation has been passed.
New schools have been built as investments in our children’s future.
Actions have been taken to strengthen the vitality of the Inuit language, which was mentioned, while respecting the rights of those who speak our other official languages. That’s also very important to us, to Nunavummiut.
We are seeing more of our young people graduate from school and we are seeing more of them earning the post-secondary qualifications that will enable them to succeed in today’s world.
The aspirations of our constituents have been articulated at the national level and beyond our borders.
Mr. Speaker, as we look forward to Nunavut’s next ten years and beyond, we must draw on our strengths in order to build our future.
Although we have much to celebrate today, we cannot lose sight of the challenges that confront us in such areas as education and economic development.
All of us in this House were elected to serve our people and Nunavut as a whole. We must never lose sight of that accountability.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, if we work together in the spirit that led to the creation of this territory, we will accomplish much together.
Member for Hudson Bay, Mr. Rumbolt. No?
Okay, I’m sorry.
Member’s Statement 003 – 3(2): Arviat, Nunavut’s 2nd Largest Community (Shewchuk)