EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
467 – 1(5): Boat Trip Story (Arvaluk) 2719
468 – 1(5): Documentation and Letters; Grave Relocation (Irqittuq) 2720
469 – 1(5): Repulse Bay Pages (Alakannuark) 2720
470 – 1(5): Pauline Melanson, RCMP Academy Graduate (Williams) 2721
470 - 1(5): Community Land Administration Program (Arvaluk) 2721
471 - 1(5): Effect of Young Offenders’ Act for Nunavummiut (Williams) 2723
472 - 1(5): Address Staff Housing Shortage in Iqaluit (Tootoo) 2725
473 - 1(5): GN Office Closure Decisions (Nutarak) 2726
474 – 1(5): Assistance Agreement for Mine Training Recipients (Puqiqnak) 2728
475 – 1(5): Group Home to Elders’ Care Facility (McLean) 2729
476 – 1(5): Building Design/Foundations (Iqaqrialu) 2731
477 – 1(5): Support for Grave Workers Payment (Irqittuq) 2732
478 – 1(5): Homeownership Repair Programs & Eligibility (Alakannuark) 2734
479 – 1(5): Closure of Mine Plans – Little Cornwallis Island (Williams) 2735
Standing Committee Report 016 – 1(5): Review of Bills 16 An Act to Amend the Cities, Towns and Villages Act, and Bill 17 An Act to Amend the Hamlets Act 2736
021 – 1(5): Tabled Document 80 – 1(5) Be Moved Into Committee of the Whole (Williams) 2739
Friday March 1, 2002  Nunavut Hansard
Honourable Olayuk Akesuk, Mr. Ovide Alakannuark, Honourable Jack Anawak, Mr. James Arvaluk, Mr. David Iqaqrialu, Mr. Enoki Irqittuq, Honourable Peter Kattuk, Honourable Peter Kilabuk, Mr. Glenn McLean, Honourable Kelvin Ng, Mr. Jobie Nutarak, Honourable Kevin O’Brien, Honourable Paul Okalik, Honourable Manitok Thompson, Mr. Uriash Puqiqnak, Mr. Hunter Tootoo, Ms. Rebekah Williams.
Speaker (Mr. O'Brien): I would like to call on Mr. McLean to say the prayer.
Speaker: Item 3. Members’ Statements.
Member's Statement 460 - 1(5): Hamlet Council Decision re: Group Home to Elders Facility
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about an incident that happened in Baker Lake last night of which I am very proud.
A Hamlet Council meeting last night was attended by forty residents and it was regarding a decision to turn the empty, vacant group home in Bake Lake, that’s been empty for over two years.
There was a strong petition tabled yesterday with community support to turn that vacant group home into an elders’ facility.
At last night’s council meeting there was a motion made for the government to hurry up and turn that building into an elders’ care facility that is not only for Baker Lake but also for the Kivalliq Region and for Nunavut.
Speaker: Thank you, Mr. McLean. Members’ Statements.
Member's Statement 461 - 1(5): Forefathers’ Abilities
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate our ancestors.
Although today is Friday, I will be speaking about a serious issue.
I rise to recognize our ancestors.
We don’t live the same way they did which is why we have to remember the things our ancestors did for us.
For instance, in 1958 when we lived in Ukahilak, there was a starvation happening in that region and we had great hardships with my stepfather and mother.
My stepfather died in a storm and my sister died as well at that time.
This is not a statement about my personal tragedies, but I mention them as an example of a common thing many Inuit went through.
I would like to recognize our Inuit ancestors of Nunavut that survived the hardships in the north to try to feed their families.
They had great hardship in the cold weather.
Mr. Speaker, we have to recall sometimes and think about our ancestors.
As well, we can use that knowledge to try to make life better for our young people and to let the young people understand where they come from.
Mr. Speaker, the hardship that we endured a long time ago helps us survive today.
We have to try to remember where we came from, our ancestors worked very hard.
We have to try to tell our young people this is how it was a long time ago and let them realize what happened to us.
Finally, I would like to say I care very much for the children here and in all of Nunavut.
Member’s Statement 462 – 1(5): President of Nunavut Association of Municipalities Comments
I am sorry I was unable to come here because of the bad weather in Cambridge Bay although it was beautiful in Rankin Inlet.
When I was in Cambridge Bay, I was treated with great hospitality over there.
I would like to talk about something that happened while I was away, it has to do with transition pay for the Members of the Legislative Assembly.
I realize some of us may not be elected in the next term and some will have a hard time trying to find a job after we are no longer Members of the Legislative Assembly.
If we happen not to be elected again there is no job waiting for most of us.
The item talked about was transitional allowance.
I heard this morning on the radio, the President of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities, Keith Petersen, speaking against the transitional allowance for MLAs.
He was criticising our initiative.
What crossed my mind was that I heard the Nunavut Association of Municipalities was supposed to meet in Cambridge Bay.
Undoubtedly they would have brought a lot of money into Cambridge Bay with the NAM meeting for hotels, meals, shopping and so on.
I heard also that now they will be meeting in Ottawa instead.
I just wonder what Keith Petersen is thinking saying the transitional allowance for members should not be allowed, but at the same time he turns around and says NAM is going to be meeting in Ottawa instead of Cambridge Bay.
I have seen that Members of the Legislative Assembly, who are no longer members, have a hard time getting a job after they end their term.
In the past, we have seen critics go unanswered so I would like unanimous consent to conclude my statement and give a reply.
He also mentioned that this would cost 3 million dollars without saying how long a period this is for.
I know this is not over a one year period, but longer than that.
These criticisms are not fair when not all the facts are presented.
It seemed to sound like the 3 million dollars that would be expended by the Legislative Assembly for the transitional allowance will be over a few weeks not over a number of years.
What seems to be presented only are the negative sides, instead of talking about the positive sides of what our legislature to trying to do.
They should give us all the news, not just little bits of it.
>>Applause  Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Anawak.
Member’s Statement 463 – 1(5): Concerns Over Housing & Road Foundations
I will be talking today about an issue that we discussed for some time in one of my communities.
It’s about the foundations for the buildings.
They use steel pilings for the foundations on the land and a lot of times they put them into a wet area or on unstable land.
When the foundation is placed so it is not stable, it can damage the building.
I would like to see more houses built with foundations more suitable in Nunavut.
I think we should change construction methods, as the foundations are very, very, costly.
They do not seem to know most of the time where to place the foundations for the buildings up here in Nunavut.
Also nowadays, they make the driveways much too narrow and it’s very hard for the heavy equipment and the water delivery or sewage trucks.
I think they should be looking at these foundations and roads to be built more safely for everyone in all the communities.
They do a very poor job when they’re constructing the driveways for houses.
I have seen that they’re not very stable and I think we should look into those matters.
Member’s Statement 464 – 1(5): Dog Team Trip Story
I’ll be talking about something that is not really serious but today it’s really storming and I wanted to speak about something humorous.
My uncle has passed on but his son is still living.
In those days they used to use the dog teams for transportation and they used to hunt by using their dog teams.
Their way of using them for transportation was to tell their dog teams where to go.
I don’t think they had a good lead dog in this case.
The person kept saying that he would like to learn how to be able to look after his dog team.
When the dogs stood up to go ahead this person who was directing his dog team where to go was kicking the dogs, that is abusing them, but the dog did something bad to him.
The dogs were dumping on the guy. This person was looking after his dog team, but the dogs did it to him.
It wasn't very nice, although it turned out to be funny.
Also the dog teams in those days, if they were not well disciplined, they used to fight each other.
One time a hunter he shot up in to the air to get the dogs’ attention.
Once again, this dog dumped on the hunter, the dog actually owns the dog team.
Member’s Statement 465 – 1(5): Arctic Co-op’s Successes
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to share with members the results of a very successful Arctic Co-operatives Board Meeting, which took place here in our capital of Iqaluit earlier this week.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that this meeting took place shortly after the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of Arctic Co-operatives Limited.
The co-op movement is one of the great community economic development success stories of Nunavut and the Canadian North.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to share some impressive facts with the House.
In 2001, there were a total of 24 locally owned co-ops in our communities with over 8,000 members and owners.
That means that one out of every three Nunavummiut has a stake in the success of the co-op movement.
I would venture to guess, Mr Speaker, that's almost every adult in Nunavut.
Over 600 people have full or part-time work with Nunavut's co-ops.
In 2001, 12 million dollars were paid out in wages to the co-op workers.
And most impressively, member co-ops will be receiving 3 million dollars in dividends from their federation this year.
Mr. Speaker, this is a tremendous example of the benefits of success being shared throughout the communities.
Mr. Speaker, it was great to see the Board of Directors in Iqaluit this week.
People like Mr. Bill Lyall, Mr. Kunuk Tattuinie, and Mr. Solomon Miki, have a strong record of community development.
They truly exemplify the co-op movement’s mandate to create economic development in our communities and to provide our constituents with the opportunity to participate in the economic decision making process.
Mr. Speaker, I have long advocated that we need a better network of financial services in our communities, especially our smaller communities.
I am pleased to note that the Board is still committed and open to continuing to push for the establishment of a credit union network in Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, I know that I will be helping the co-ops or any other organization or department to push this issue forward.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all members to join me in wishing the co-op movement another thirty years of success.
Member’s Statement 466 – 1(5): Gratitude to Minister of Health and Social Services for Midwifery Training
I would like to express appreciation today.
My colleague here, Mr. Picco, has been working hard on the development of midwifery.
They will be soon be giving more training to individuals on midwifery. It is necessary to keep teaching so that people can learn from their elders about how to deliver babies in the old way.
In addition, I really appreciated when he was talking about programs that are continuing there.
I also appreciated the fact that I am sitting close to him and I also would like to see more opportunities like that with some interesting issues like this.
I would like to thank you, Mr. Picco, you are doing your job really well.
He has the hot seat so if other ministers were moved to his chair once in a while, perhaps they would get more questions.
Member’s Statement 467 – 1(5): Boat Trip Story
I had my hand up earlier I guess I was not seen.
Today is Friday and cold out there.
Many memories come back when it is like this, like waiting for the summer.
Some time ago Mr. Anawak and I went out in the summer time in the Rankin Inlet area and we had gone out hunting together in Coral Harbour.
Nowadays we use global positioning systems.
When we went out the last time together we were using the GPS between Cape Dorset and Kimmirut.
We were depending on the GPS during a fog and we were heading straight ahead.
There were high mountains close to deep water and the equipment told us we could go straight through the mountains, according to GPS directions.
We spent the night at the mouth of Frobisher Bay and we had to overnight due to bad weather.
There is an area where there is a strong current.
There are very strong currents and it can be very dangerous when the weather is bad.
There are big whirlpools.
So we were settling down one night in our camp.
We know the tides are 38 feet deep so we checked the depth before I put our anchor down and when we woke up the next morning the boat that we were sleeping on was stuck on the rock and it was practically toppled over.
Our equipment was falling off our boat.
We had settled down for the evening not knowing it was lunar high tide, which is bigger.
When we woke up it was low tide.
We will probably be going through more interesting trips soon.
Member’s Statement 468 – 1(5): Documentation and Letters; Grave Relocation
I would like to add some information to the issue that I have raising for some time.
I will push for this issue until I get satisfaction regarding the graves that were relocated.
Yesterday we heard from the Government of Nunavut that there aren’t any other individuals seeking compensation other than the list that I have provided.
When the minister responded, he said that there are other individuals seeking compensation for other things such as the Chesterfield Inlet residential school issue.
I know that there are people sitting in this room that went to school in Chesterfield and with the responses that we received more questions start to arise.
The minister also responded that the Premier might know some individuals but on March 5, before March 5 I’d like to get a proper response.
I think these individuals should be compensated.
All the ministers state during their selection and when they’re given their portfolios that they are aware of questions that might arise or that they will have to respond to certain questions.
Quite often we seem to be running into roadblocks and as a Member of the Legislative Assembly I think we should receive proper responses when we raise our questions.
Member’s Statement 469 – 1(5): Repulse Bay Pages
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the pages that will be leaving this afternoon for Repulse Bay.
I really appreciate the assistance and the care that they have received while they were here in Iqaluit.
I’m not too good with names so I will not attempt to state their names but I appreciate the care that they have received.
Member’s Statement 470 – 1(5): Pauline Melanson, RCMP Academy Graduate
I rise today to recognize and state my appreciation to Pauline Melanson, my niece.
I think she’s the first woman in Nunavut to complete the RCMP program.
She was in Regina taking the course and she left her husband and three children here but has completed her program and has come back.
I would like to congratulate her and welcome her back home.
Question 470 - 1(5): Community Land Administration Program
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to direct a question to the Minister of Community Government & Transportation. She stated three days ago that the students were taking a course in Cambridge Bay on land administration.
The course should have been held in Coral Harbour because there are a lot of areas that you could visit when these students are learning how to make maps.
Will there be courses in other places.
During this program are they going to be learning how to do lot surveys and learn those types of skills?
I appreciate the question from the Member for Nanulik.
I also appreciate the comment about Coral Harbour.
That work is done through the Hamlet’s land administrator in Coral Harbour, Ronnie Ningeongan.
If they were to build houses in the community he is the person that you would see in regards to lots.
He is the individual who plans the lots in the community as to where the houses will be built.
The courses that are being taught include different subjects, such as lot surveys.
So maybe he could clarify his question a bit more.
I was trying to say that in Coral Harbour the planning that was done with the land, there are a lot of access roads that are used outside the community.
There is a land administration course being held and if they are going to be teaching courses in land surveys, you have to think of the hunting access roads that are going out of the community.
For example in Iqaluit, if you’re going to the Sylvia Grinnell River you have to drive by the end of the airport and I’m just using Iqaluit as an example because it might be similar for other communities.
When you are working on a map for a community, I think you have to think of or get some input from hunters that will be using the access roads going out of the community.
Speaker: Minister Thompson
I thank the member for clarifying his question, as a government we want to be closer to local residents and we have to be open to suggestions for change.
With my department I will look into it to see how we can complement this some time in the future. I will check with my officials to make sure that they include Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
His question was very clear because perhaps there are some areas where we run into problems with the hunters where they don’t have access to hunting grounds.
I’m sure that non-hunters don’t understand the situation as well but I will consider this.
When the land administrators are taking a course they have to consider the recreational facilities, where the play ground should be, where the school should be, where the business section or downtown core is.
Everything is considered, where the industrial section should be.
However, every time the town plan is made the hunters are always forgotten.
Only as an afterthought the docks are designed or where the docks are supposed to be, or trails and things like that, or the access roads.
I’m asking the minister as part of the course, can everything be considered. Because still today our country food is brought in by the hunters to town and they have no access in most cases, easy access to the hunting grounds.
Ms. Thompson: I thank you Mr. Speaker.
We will make sure that the land administration students are aware of this problem and make sure that we implement it into our curriculum for those students that will be taking the course.
Mr. Speaker, I think there also has to be a better relationship between the HTOs in the community and the hamlet council so that they’re not doing something that might conflict with the hunters’ needs in the communities.
Mr. Speaker, that’s a very good point and I’ll make sure that we put it in our business plan under our mandate for Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit to be implemented into the department.
Just a reminder to the members, include your preamble in your first question and after that go directly to your questions with your supplementaries so as not to take time away from the other members.
Mr. Arvaluk, supplementary.
Question 471 - 1(5): Effect of Young Offenders’ Act for Nunavummiut
I will be directing my question to the Minister responsible for Justice.
As we are all aware, there is new legislation in regards to youth.
For many years, the Federal Government had been working it and a few days ago a new Young Offenders Act was passed on the 19th of February.
Can the minister tell me what implications this new Act is going to have in Nunavut?
Regarding this new Act, I know that we've dealt with it for quite some time.
In some places we had some concerns with the provisions, but we like the Act and we like the intent of it because it is trying to support the youth of Nunavut.
We will have to train our officials and we will have to get employees who will co-ordinate the various provisions.
That is one of the only concerns that we have.
It will be implemented next year in April 2003.
The federal minister of the Department of Justice and I have been working closely together on this and will continue to do so.
My supplementary question is, with this new Act, what effects will the new provisions have on Nunavut residents?
This new Act will be implemented next year in April 2003.
There will have to be probation officers in all the communities by that time and they will have to work with young people closely at the community level.
In looking at Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, we never had prisons and we don't like to see young people being incarcerated.
So we do like the Act.
But it is a fact that we will have to get additional staff and we have to start planning for that.
I understand his response and I am sure that the communities have a clearer understanding on how this new Act will affect the social services committees at the community level. Are you going to have the same committee that we use now or are you going to develop a new set of committees.
We would like to use community residents but we are quite concerned about finding additional staff.
We only have nine probation officers in the whole of Nunavut and we will have to set this up according to the Act.
So that is the only major concern that we have on the Act.
Since we have only nine probation officers in Nunavut and I am sure the communities don't have probation officers, we still have one more year for the government to start planning for this.
Can you let us know prior to April 1st, 2003 if we will have established probation officers in each community of Nunavut?
That is our goal but I don’t know if we can achieve it on time.
But we will work towards this objective and work closely with the Federal Government because we will need assistance.
Once we get these probation officers in all the communities we will need additional dollars.
So we have been talking with the new Federal Minister and we will work towards that goal.
However, I can’t tell you at this time if we can achieve the goal of getting probation officers in all the communities by April of 2003.
Question 472 - 1(5): Address Staff Housing Shortage in Iqaluit
Sorry for the delay, it must be Friday.
Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister responsible for Public Works & Services.
I would like to ask the minister, given the questions that I asked earlier this week to both him and the Minister responsible for Human Resources regarding the staff housing issue.
Especially here in Iqaluit, where he had indicated that there is no staff housing available.
I would like to ask the minister what his department is doing to try and address the shortage of staff housing here in Iqaluit.
In Iqaluit, it is true that there is a shortage of staff housing.
I know that all the ministers are well aware of this shortage, including the Minister of Human Resources.
In Iqaluit we are looking at ways to alleviate this problem.
We will probably be putting together some options this year.
Mr. Speaker, I know it’s no secret, even the Auditor General talks about the cost of us not being able to fill positions and also the potential costs of leases.
The minister indicated that they are looking at some options probably next year.
Does that mean the department is not going to do anything to address the shortage of staff housing here in Iqaluit until next year.
Speaker: Minister Kattuk.  Hon. Peter Kattuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think you misunderstood my response.
This year we are already looking into the shortage of staff housing.
At times, even when we have jobs available we can’t hire from outside of Iqaluit because of the shortage of housing.
Mr. Speaker, I apologize to the minister if I misunderstood his response and I am glad to hear that they are looking at options right now.
I am just wondering if he could share with us some of the options that they may be looking at to try and resolve this staff housing crisis that we face here in Iqaluit.
In regards to the shortage of staff housing, we are not looking at only the options, I can say that we will be providing some additional staff housing this year.
Mr. Speaker, then I guess options have been looked at and we are going to be getting some additional staff housing.