EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Those communities will work with our departments of Community and Government Services, Education, Economic Development and Transportation, and the Liquor Commission.
Working together, they will find a workable way to protect the environment from the by-products of our modern lives.
Mr. Speaker, we have talked at length about how we are creating a stronger economy, a stronger society, and a healthy environment. We are also taking a close look at the ways in which our government works toward these goals.
Under the leadership of our Premier, we are preparing a report card. It will highlight our strengths and our weaknesses. It will help us to improve our structures, our programs, and our spending.
A central idea in Tamapta is to understand what is working well now and what must be improved. We will publish an interim report this fall, Mr. Speaker, and we will include the lessons learned as we plan for our next fiscal year.
Of course, Mr. Speaker, we need not wait for that report card to begin improving what we are doing now.
In my department, our most important job is to manage money better and we are meeting this challenge in many ways.
First, we are working to improve financial management training across the government. This will help our managers and employees to make better decisions about spending public money. We will also improve how we report to Nunavummiut so that we can produce financial statements on time.
Second, we will improve our planning methods so that we can use our funds more effectively to support government priorities.
We have been using a system of annual plans, but we need to think forward further than one year. Starting with our next business planning cycle, our strategies will look ahead by three years.
By looking beyond the current year, we will anticipate developments earlier and improve our ability to deal with them. Through better planning, we can deliver better programs and services to Nunavummiut.
Third, our improved financial management will ultimately help us take control over the royalties that flow from our natural resources. The better we can manage our government, the better we can negotiate a devolution agreement with the federal government.
Devolution means that we will manage our natural resources for the benefit of Nunavummiut, just like all the provinces.
Prudent financial management helps us to unlock a better future for us all.
Mr. Speaker, we have covered a great deal of ground today. I think you will see from our budget documents that this government is moving forward prudently in building a sustainable territory.
We are on the right path. In fact, we have already come a long way and we should take a moment to acknowledge our progress.
Today, ten years old, we are meeting our challenges, taking appropriate actions, and building for the next decade, and again the decade after that. And we are doing it in the spirit of Tamapta. We are doing it together.
With the support of this legislature, we are creating the better future that we want to build for all Nunavummiut.
Speaker: Thank you, Minister. (interpretation) Going to Item 3.
If there are none, Members’ Statements.
Member’s Statement 013 – 3(2): Health Care Concerns in Akulliq (Ningark)
I am very pleased that I am able to meet up with all of the Members of the Legislative Assembly.
Around April and May, there were respiratory illnesses in the community of Kugaaruk, especially affecting children, Mr. Speaker, to the point where some had to be medevaced to the hospital in Yellowknife and I believe they were also brought to Edmonton.
I would like to congratulate and also acknowledge the nurses in our communities who work not only with sick people but also in the prevention of sicknesses in the communities.
We thank them for their efforts, but unfortunately, we had a couple of incidents related to respiratory illnesses.
The father, Mr. Speaker, of one of the children who was medevaced stated that his child was not even one year of age and when he brought his child to the health centre, the nurse indicated that there was nothing wrong with the child.
They ended up going to Repulse Bay by snowmobile and went to the health centre there. The child was found to have respiratory problems and had to be sent out for medical reasons.
It seemed that this case was not treated with the attention it required in Kugaaruk and the child’s illness was finally diagnosed in Repulse Bay.
Additionally, I was told by an elderly widow who also went to the Kugaaruk community health centre only to be told that she was perfectly fine.
When she travelled to Iqaluit to attend meetings in April, she went to the hospital where she was diagnosed with pneumonia.
This occurred even though there’s a health centre in Kugaaruk and medical services available to the people.
At the appropriate time, I will be asking the Minister of Health and Social Services why a child younger than a year and an elder over 60 years of age requested medical services in their home communities but were only properly diagnosed when they went to another community.
So at the appropriate time, I will be asking the Minister of Health and Social Services to conduct a review as to why this occurred to those two patients.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Ningark. (interpretation ends) Members’ Statements.
Member for High Arctic, Mr. Elliott.
Member’s Statement 014 – 3(2): Support for Nunavummiut with Disabilities (Elliott)
Mr. Elliott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to once again urge the government to take a stronger stand in addressing the needs of people with disabilities.
Mr. Speaker, the government’s own vision statement, Tamapta, speaks of helping those Nunavummiut who are “most in need.”
I strongly encourage the Premier to establish a special portfolio that deals directly and sympathetically with this issue.
Mr. Speaker, many Nunavummiut with disabilities are in dire situations. They and their families need professional care and professional support in order to be able to live their daily lives without unnecessary difficulties and barriers.
Mr. Speaker, the Nunavut government is not very old but already its history of addressing the needs of people with disabilities is a poor one. In 1998, a meeting in Iqaluit brought together a number of Nunavummiut with different disabilities. At this meeting, the Nunavut Council for People with Disabilities was formed.
The government’s support for that council ended in 2001.
Mr. Speaker, in 2004, a new disabilities society was formed through the Inuit land claims organization with funding from the government. But still, the support is not there.
The disabilities society does not even have its own office or any realistic means to help anyone, let alone its members and their families.
In 2008-09, the Department of Health and Social Services’ budget included a contribution of $90,000 for the disabilities society.
I recently had the opportunity to ask the minister and his staff what this funding was spent on.
At the time, no explanation was available and I have still not received an answer. To me, this is a clear indication of what level of support, care, and attention that people with disabilities in Nunavut really get.
Mr. Speaker, in April, I had the opportunity to travel to Ontario and visit with one of my constituents who is deaf. This youth is under 18 and attends a residential school for people who are hearing impaired.
I find it appalling that a government which represents Inuit who have lived through the pain, suffering, and cultural loss of identity as a result of attending residential schools puts one of its own youth through the same terrible experience.
I cannot understand why this government would not learn from past mistakes made by the church and the federal government.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge the Premier, the Minister of Health and Social Services, the Minister of Education, and this government to look at how we provide service to our residents with disabilities.
Attention to this issue is urgently needed.
All Nunavummiut should have the ability to participate in society equally without any unnecessary barriers.
Member’s Statement 015 – 3(2): Pangnirtung Students Upinngijut (Komoartok)
I rise today to inform the House of recent events in Pangnirtung, where the students were taken out on the land over a three-week period from April 27 to May 15. They camped just outside of Pangnirtung and I believe it was about 10 miles away from the hamlet.
There were six cabins that were occupied by these students, including their cook. When the cabins weren’t enough to accommodate all the children, they were housed in tents over this three-week period.
All students undertook this course, from kindergarten students who were out on the land for a day, to the high school students who were able to stay for several days and this was very beneficial.
During their time at this camp, the students were taught survival skills, seal and caribou skinning, fishing, and various camp activities.
They were also taken down to the floe edge to see marine mammals such as bowhead, narwhals and beluga whales.
We had many students who experienced this course during this year.
Over 270 students were taken out on an outing as part of their orientation and approximately 50 teachers were able to escort these children. They requested support from various entities, in particular the Kakivak Association, the GN departments of Environment and Education. They also raise their own funds in order to have adequate funds to cover this course.
This year, they spent approximately $70,000 to $90,000 over these three weeks.
They employed three elders, drivers, eight instructors, and three cooks.
It is a self-sufficient camp run by the instructors and teachers, and our community is very pleased that they are keeping our culture strong and alive, even though it is quite difficult in this day and age.
We are also very pleased that this year, the past director for Isuma was able to...
Speaker (interpretation): Mr. Komoartok, you must ask for unanimous consent to conclude your statement.
Mr. Komoartok (interpretation): I would like to conclude my statement, it’s very short, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Komoartok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated earlier, an individual filmmaker, who is originally from Igloolik, travelled to Pangnirtung to film this cultural inclusion program.
Further, we also had a manager from the Department of Education in Pond Inlet, Trudy Pettigrew, who also came to observe the program.
The community also invited the Minister of Education and me, but we unfortunately had a session at that time and were unable to attend to this event.
However, this program which promotes our culture and way of life is one that should be experienced personally.
I thank all of my colleagues for allowing me to conclude my statement, Mr. Speaker.
Member for Nunalik, Mr. Ningeongan.
Member’s Statement 016 – 3(2): Condolences on the Passing of Victor Sammurtok (Ningeongan)
Mr. Ningeongan (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to extend my condolences to the Sammurtok family over the loss of Victor, who recently passed away. We share your grief and empathize on your loss of a loved one.
Victor was a well-respected elder in the community of Chesterfield Inlet. I travelled to Chesterfield Inlet and had an opportunity to visit Victor while he was staying at the Naja Isabelle Home.
I knew a little of his history, both as a worker and as a community leader.
I recently had the opportunity to pay tribute to his accomplishments and I know that his wisdom will be missed in the community.
Mr. Speaker, when an elder passes away, that is a lifetime of knowledge and experience that just disappears.
We know our elders reflected on many challenges and if these experiences were written up, it would encompass many chapters and categories. It reminds us of the importance of their experience and wisdom and I urge communities to utilize this valuable resource.
Keeping our elders’ depth of knowledge in mind, and in this case, Victor’s, he was able to pass along his experience and wisdom to later generations in his community and we are immensely grateful for that.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending condolences to the Sammurtok family and the community of Chesterfield Inlet over this loss.
I apologize for acknowledging you as the Member for Nunalik instead of Nanulik.
Member’s Statement 017 – 3(2): Nunavut Member of Parliament Moving Federal Concurrence with the Official Languages Act (Okalik)
I would like to welcome the Members of the Legislative Assembly to our community and I hope that we have a successful meeting.
Today, I would like to make a statement in regard to a motion introduced by our Member of Parliament in Ottawa, while our Premier and ministers were in attendance.
I would like to thank her for efforts in trying to get federal concurrence for our Official Languages Act.
It’s very exciting and it’s good to see that our representative is working hard to have the Act passed and I thank her for that.
Once the Act receives concurrence from the federal government, it will greatly assist all of our constituents in Nunavut.
However, we have heard that the Senate seems to be having a little bit of a problem and will not be able to pass the Official Languages Act at this time, which is regrettable. Perhaps our government needs to lobby the Senate to ensure that the Act is passed and implemented in Nunavut.
As Inuit, we will be very proud to have our language fully recognized in our land. If that day comes, we will always remember it and that is why I urge the federal government, especially the Senate, to concur with the Act.
So I thank the ministers and the Premier for making sure that the legislation proceeds to the next step.
If there are no more, we will go to the orders of the day. Item 5.
If there are none, I would like to recognize some individuals.
I would like to take this opportunity to recognize a group of visitors who are in the Gallery today.
Joining us today is a group of parliamentary interns from the House of Commons. These young Canadians from across the country are participants in the national Parliamentary Internship Program.
They are in Iqaluit this week for their annual study tour to Nunavut.
I ask all members to join me in extending a warm welcome to our guests.
If there are no more, Oral Questions.
The first one to ask questions will be the Member for Akulliq, Mr. Ningark.
Question 001 – 3(2): Health Care Concerns in Akulliq (Ningark)
I apologize as I made an error about the patients I alluded to previously; I will provide the minister with the names of the individuals.
An elder told me that he brought his child to the health centre in Kugaaruk, where he was told that the child was perfectly fine but I’m not sure whether that was over one or two visits. Only when they travelled to Repulse Bay, where he brought the child to the nursing station, they were informed that the child had respiratory issues.
There was also another case of an elderly widow who was told that she was fine in Kugaaruk but was diagnosed with an illness here in Iqaluit.
It is not because they cannot get a medical appointment, but they were misdiagnosed for some reason. So I would like to ask the minister why a child and an elder who were suffering respiratory illness were not diagnosed in their community.
They had to go out of their community in order to receive the proper analysis. Can the minister look into these issues and see what the problems were?
I will be giving you the names of these individuals via a written note.
I would like to thank the Member for Akulliq for posing those questions.
First of all, I would like to inform him and Nunavummiut that the health centres are open to the people in the communities and are there to help individuals to the best of their abilities.
We are aware that not all patients are diagnosed immediately, but I would like to thank the medical practitioners of Iqaluit and Repulse Bay for seeing those patients and giving them the proper diagnoses.
I wish to inform the member that I held a meeting with our senior health officials where I asked them to increase their efforts to appreciate Nunavummiut, and particularly to ensure that smaller communities and elders are respected.
Our language is diverse, which may cause some communication problems, so we have to make sure that we respect the people in our communities.
For that reason, I would like to thank Mr. Ningark and after you have submitted the names, I will have these two cases looked into and will provide an update.
My first supplementary is that there are many people who were diagnosed properly and medevaced out of Kugaaruk.
We appreciate the work of our nurses, but for about a month or two, it seemed as though they weren’t able to diagnose those two patients with respiratory illnesses.
I have written the names of the parents of the child and also the elder.
I wonder if the minister will really look into these two cases. If I have made an error on this matter, his staff can provide a briefing on what actually transpired over the visits. Perhaps he can direct his staff to look into the issues these two patients faced in Kugaaruk.
I would like to assure the member that our department will definitely look into those cases and I wish to thank him for providing the names of the individuals.
I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that I will look into those issues. I would like to take the question as notice and I will provide a response at a later time.
Question 002 – 3(2): Letter from Iqaluit Housing Authority to Minister (Okalik)
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) My question is to the Minister of Housing.
I understand that the minister was given a letter on May 15 of this year from the Iqaluit Housing Authority.
I would like to know when the minister became aware of the need for a workshop and warehouse for Iqaluit housing here in Iqaluit. I would like to know if he had prior notice of this letter. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to thank the member for raising that issue.
I think that the member is quite aware that this has been an issue that has been going on for a number of years now. The Iqaluit Housing Authority has been hoping to have a new warehouse in the capital plan for the last three years now at least, I believe, it may be longer than that.
The corporation became aware of the current situation that they are facing right now late this fall and have been working with the housing authority to try and assess the actual situation and the extent of the problems that they face over there.
We hopefully look forward to coming up with a solution that’s satisfactory for everybody.
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) In accordance with the letter, the employees in the housing authority are being put at risk for their safety and part of their workshop is no longer available for working.
We have the largest housing inventory in the territory and the ability to repair the units will be impaired according to the letter.
We just went through a capital projects exercise last month.
Why wasn’t it on the capital budget?
I’m sure the member himself is very much aware that this is a project that was not only in this year’s capital tasks from the corporation but it hasn’t been included and at least in the past three years, it’s always been something that has been kept out of the capital budget due to the limited resources and priorities that we have to work with.
So it is something that has been brought forward and unfortunately, with the priorities and resources that we have this year, and I’m sure that the member is quite aware of the same situation in the previous years, it was just a matter of resources.
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I believe this is the first time I have been provided with information on this matter, so to refer to prior years at this point is a bit pointless.
Housing is a major issue, we just heard it on the budget, but how are we going to repair the units that we have now? We don’t have a facility to repair and fix some of the units that may need repair.
So if there’s no facility to repair them and no places for employees to work to fix up those units, how are we going to maintain our units here?
I just referred to prior years’ capital budgets and the member is quite aware of how that process works, where every department is given targets and they have to work within those targets. And I do agree that it is unfortunate and this is the first time he has heard of it, but I know this is something that the housing authority has been hoping to have included in the capital budget for at least the past three years.
Mr. Speaker, I know the member indicated that the warehouse that the housing authority is operating in right now is 40 years old. It was initially designed when there were nine people working for the housing authority and only 200 public housing units that they had to look after.
Since that time, Mr. Speaker, there are over 458 public housing units now and there are over 20 employees working for the housing authority and on top of that, the housing authority here in Iqaluit is also responsible for looking after 635 government staff housing units.
We know that this is an issue; some of the space that they have has been deemed unusable.
We have been able to obtain additional warehouse and storage space from a warehouse that the Department of Finance had obtained a lease on. In the interim, until we can come up with a viable solution, the housing authority is being able to have access to the Department of Finance warehouse in the West 40.
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I asked earlier if this was proposed in the capital plan that we just approved in our Assembly. Why wasn’t it on the budget for the coming year’s capital that we just approved?
Like I mentioned earlier and I’m sure the member is aware from past experience, each department is given targets that they have to work with as far as capital goes and the Housing Corporation is no different than anyone else.
We had targets that we had to work with and had to prioritize projects that were in there.
There are a number of communities that we have on a list as far as dealing with warehouse issues. If the member would recall, there’s some funding in this year’s budget to deal with warehouse issues in Baker Lake. This year, we’re able to have enough funding to deal with issues there.
Iqaluit is the next community on the list as far as prioritizing where the resources or which warehouses need to be addressed.
There’s a list of communities with warehouses that are prioritized for funding, but given the limited resources that we have, we were only able to have enough funding to deal with the Baker Lake warehouse this year and that one was in the budget this year.
Because of lack of resources and funding available to the government as a whole, as far as the capital budget goes, unfortunately, the warehouse replacement project for Iqaluit didn’t make the cut.
Question 003 – 3(2): Reimbursement for Medical Travel (Komoartok)
Mr. Komoartok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
Sometimes in the smaller communities, individuals go to the health centres and some nurses don’t believe the patients’ sincerity about their illness.
Just recently, I learned of an individual who paid his own airfare from Pangnirtung to Iqaluit and was immediately admitted to the hospital upon presentation.
I know that it’s very difficult to diagnose individuals at the local level and as we were informed, not all diagnoses are immediate.
However, these patients are sincere when they make appointments at the health centre because they can no longer tolerate their illnesses.