EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
To my knowledge, they are not CSA approved nor are they required to be CSA approved. They are an engineered product and they have been certified and stamped by engineers, and therefore, satisfy the requirements in that manner.
Originally, a couple years ago, there was supposed to have been a SIP unit and a stick built unit shipped to Arviat. The purpose of this was to erect both of them side by side to see what the difference is in timing for completing them.
My understanding is that those units were shipped over there but they’re not built. Why weren’t they built?
The main reason they haven’t been built so far has been a capacity issue. There have been a number of staff changeovers both in the head office and in the district office.
My understanding is that they are currently out for tender.
In terms of the timing, when that project was initiated and designed and the house material ordered, that timing occurred around the same time that the $100 million announcement for Canada’s Economic Action Plan came out.
So that’s when the decision was made back in the spring of 2009 or so to proceed on a larger scale with the SIP houses.
My understanding was that this was going to be an experiment to see what the difference is in timing for these two different methods. Once they did that, then they were going to determine if they were going to go with more SIP units.
So if there was going to be an experimental process to see what the timing is, why wasn’t that done? They waited and then they set up the first SIP unit in Morrisburg there, but they never, ever completed these and that was the whole purpose of these two units being shipped to Arviat.
The main reason that the decision was made to go forward, in my understanding on the SIP houses, had to do with energy efficiency and speed of construction.
It was not a new technology, but the intent, as Mr. Schell has noted, was to do a comparison of two basically identical houses to have a more detailed measurement and comparison.
However, this is not brand new technology and it is a decision that was made at the time, but this was proven as energy efficient and quick to build.
It doesn’t seem like it is going to be all that quick right now because we are short of money, but that is not the issue with the SIP units.
My question is: was Kott Lumber the lowest bid? How did you determine which was the best company to do these SIP units?
Through a request for proposals, the cost is one of the factors that are looked at but there are also a number of others as well. Some have to do with quality control that has to do with satisfying the performance specifications that were identified.
There are quite a number of things included.
As part of the process, the Housing Corporation, when they put out the request for proposals, actually received 12 proposals and of those, they were reviewed and short-listed down to five.
A technical team then did an assessment by doing site visits to the top five rated proposals and that added to the assessment.
It was quite a lengthy, in-depth process that resulted in the selection of Kott Lumber Supply.
The Nunavut Housing Corporation’s 2007-08 annual contracting report indicates that the corporation awarded a $3,309,000 contract to Illamar Marshalling of Ontario for marshalling. This contract was awarded through a public tender.
As of today, what is the status of the NHC’s contract with Illamar Marshalling, and has it been renewed for 2010-11 and 2011-12?
The Illamar Marshalling contract had been given a one-year extension as part of the provisions of the contract for the 2010-11 fiscal year and, as such, is expiring in December of this year.
The contract does have allowances for an additional one-year extension.
However, as the corporation has no additional funding to be bringing more material to the north, there is no reason at this point to extend that contract.
In June of this year, members asked questions about the NHC’s policy concerning conflict of interest. Has the Nunavut Housing Corporation’s new management been able to determine if there is any form of family relationship about the past president of NHC and the president of Illamar Marshalling?
Through the only means that we do have available, we have verified that after those suggestions have been made.
To the best of our knowledge, there is no relation. We have been told outright by those parties that there is none, so we can only take them at their word.
Other than that, we have done a legal search in terms of ownership.
As a private incorporated company, there is a limit as to what a legal search will disclose.
So we have taken the steps that are available to us. Moving forward, all of our contracts for the last few months have included a disclosure clause whereby we do not award to any contractors unless they sign a disclosure clause first stating if they have any relations whatsoever with former and current NHC employees.
Does the corporation, at the present time, have any engineers, or architectural engineers, or any employees in place, or is it all contracted out?
We have a combination of things that we do in terms of design.
We have an architectural technologist who is working for the corporation at the moment as an employee.
Structural design is done by contract.
We have as well a number of employees and contracted staff who have extensive northern construction experience.
In regard to the NNI bonuses that are paid out for units being constructed for exceeding the Inuit content that is required, what do you use for a method to determine that actually extra money has been spent on the contract?
We follow the NNI Policy as well as general conditions that are included in all of the GN contracts.
Following those provisions, we require, and that’s part of the progress claims as well, employee verification forms.
We can also request as needed payroll sheets and even T4 slips, if need be, to determine the payroll.
Part of the process is we do ensure that we get the required documentation.
I want to go back to maybe 2006 when this Nunavut Housing Trust began. There was a lot of emphasis on training aspect towards this program.
I wonder if the minister or officials can explain why there’s no mention of the training aspect of this program mentioned in the reports.
Chairman (Mr. Schell): Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, maybe the member could perhaps clarify exactly which report that he’s alluding to because I think there are a number of departments involved.
Certainly the Department of Education is responsible for certifying certifications and all that, and the minimum hours required by our apprentices.
But if he’s alluding to the audit, is that what you’re talking about?
When the Nunavut Housing Trust was first announced, the minister of the day announced there was going to be a joint venture with the Department of Education to train apprentices during the building of these houses.
I’m assuming there would be costs associated with that, but there’s no mention in any of these reports of anything to do with the training program that was initiated back in 2006.
That’s what I’m getting to.
The audit report, I believe, includes all costs related to apprenticeship under the labour component of this.
Possibly Ms. Kimball, I don’t know if you have anything additional to add to that, but in general, my understanding is that all costs are rolled into the labour analysis.
Ms. Kimball: There are actually some funds that were paid to Nunavut Arctic College and those were treated as O&M, so they are a part of the expenses recorded in the year.
The cost of the labourers who were putting in their hours is associated with the labour cost of the house. So, just to clarify, there are kind of two streams across.
Mr. Rumbolt: With regard to funds that went to the Arctic College, how many dollars do we know that went to the Arctic College for this fund?
Off hand, I don’t have that figure. I know that in the final year of the trust, it was between $600,000 and $700,000. I’m not sure about the prior years, but those are the figures I saw.
Does the Nunavut Housing Corporation or the Department of Education have any kind of records on the success of this program?
I believe we have reported on a number of occasions and actually I’m just looking up a more current number for you.
As of January 26, 2010, there had been a total number of 54 apprentices registered through the housing trust program. As to where they are within their apprenticeships, that would be a question that would have to be deferred to the Department of Education.
If you could ask the Minister of Education if he has these figures.
The Department of Education, as the officials have pointed out, does track the apprentices.
As far as finding out exactly, I need to know the exact names of those 54 people and go through the registry that they keep at the trades component of it that would be able to identify exactly what level each one of those individuals are at.
That’s not something that I carry around with me on a regular basis, but if that’s what the member is looking for, we could probably provide that.
The only thing, Mr. Chairman, is that I don’t know if we would be allowed to put names to it. We would say, “Apprentice 1 is at third level.” I mean, there would be various levels of, you know, between first and fourth year apprenticeships and exactly what trade.
There are different trades too.
But if that is what the member wishes, we could provide that information to him.
I guess one of my questions would have been, yes, what stages are people at in their training under this program.
The main point I’m trying to find out is how many people have actually completed the apprenticeship program under the Nunavut Housing Corporation trust program.
Again I don’t have the specifics as to the 54 separate apprentices. I am aware, though, of at least one journeyman who has completed his training.
I think that during the initial stages when they announced the training program, there was a much bigger number than one who would complete this program by the time it was done.
So I was just wondering what specific reasons why there was only one so far who has completed this program.
I can’t really comment on individuals. People would have their own reasons and different circumstances as to why they are at different stages in their apprenticeship.
I do know that the Housing Corporation did try to work with the Department of Education in terms of scheduling to allow apprentices to get their required hours to attend the courses. From there, there may have been some scheduling issues in terms of timeliness of courses based on when apprentices received their hours, but again I can only be guessing at this point.
So there would be a number of reasons as to why people are progressing at different rates.
Just to change the question a little bit, in the Deloitte report, they mentioned that theft is one of the reasons for over-cost, but the report does not mention anything about excess material or leftover materials. Are you finding that you have too much of certain kinds of materials in the communities?
There have been instances of insufficient materials supplied and there have also been instances of having material remaining at the end of the job.
Each year, the material take-offs are attempted to be more fine-tuned, but sometimes the construction methods used by whoever is building it will result in more or less wastage or better usage of materials, so that is a factor as well.
Yes, there have been instances of material remaining after the work and we have been attempting to identify that to use it in work going forward or to make it available for LHOs for their use.
I have noticed that there are some materials that there’s an abundance of leftovers and I’m talking crates of plywood in some cases.
You mentioned it’s turned over to the LHO for their use and sometimes the amount of material is beyond what they need.
Rather than overburden the LHO with materials that they may never use, has the Nunavut Housing Corporation considered trying to resell this material that’s in the communities, whether through a public tender or through some sort of auction within the communities so the material can be put to use rather than rotting away?
We’re currently trying to get a handle on what is out there right now. There have been five years of construction with material supplied, so there’s quite a bit out there. A lot of it is in sea containers and some of them are in LHO yards.
That is definitely a possibility that we will consider once we get a better handle as to what is required and what can be used, but that is very much an option that we will consider.
Just a comment, I guess. At this point in time, every piece of lumber you can sell and make a dollar might come in handy towards this $110 million. At that, I’ll end my questioning.
Mr. Barriault: Was that just a comment or was there a question attached to that? My apologies.
Generally, yes, any dollars we can get back and reinvest is definitely a dollar needed and that can be used.
Mr. Ningeongan: He had his hand up first.
Chairman: Well, normally, we have to go through the minister if he wants, but I’ll let you go ahead, Mr. Tootoo.
That’s something you learn, the discretion of the Chair.
You’re the boss.
Mr. Chairman, just going back to Mr. Rumbolt’s question, they don’t have a breakdown of specifically Nunavut Housing Trust apprentices by level, but I do have overall. Right now, there are 191 apprentices in all of the different trades.
In carpentry, there are 88; 47 of those are at level 1, there are 21 at level 2, 13 at level 3, 4 at level 4, and then there are two NEAT ones, whatever “NEAT” means. I’ve got to look it up. Oh, early apprenticeship training, there are two in that.
For electricians, there are a total of 20. We have ten in level 1, four in level 2, three in level 3, and three in level 4. Oil burner mechanics could be involved in there.
We have a total of 10; six in level 1… I’ll say a total of 11. Six in level 1, four in level 2, and one in level 3. We have one painter in level 1.
We have, I think, 18 plumbers. No, there are more than 18; 20.
There are ten in level 1, five in level 2, two in level 3, and three in level 4. That is what I have for the current breakdown of levels of which apprentices are at.
It is important that the government’s RFP and tender documents are written in a technically accurate manner that is appropriate for professional contractors and construction companies.
Can Mr. Barriault explain how the Nunavut Housing Corporation and the Department of Community and Government Services work together to develop requests for proposals and tender documents?
The Nunavut Housing Corporation uses the GN contracting manual and the CGS-developed terms and conditions for RFPs and for contracts, so we do use the same forms that have been developed by CGS.
What technical qualifications are required for staff to be able to develop requests for proposals and tender documents for construction projects?
There are standard documents that we use, which are the front ends, and there are standard technical specifications for different building components as well and those are standardized throughout the industry.
In terms of assembling the documents and preparing contracts, usually the technical expertise required is one that is achieved through experience.
As such, we have people who have experience acquired through northern building experience as well as working in contract administration.
Who signed off on the requests for proposals and tender documents for projects undertaken through the Nunavut Housing Trust?
Some tender documents and requests for proposals were issued through the directorate office of the Nunavut Housing Corporation, while some labour and tender documents were issued through the district offices of the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
As such, those who would have signed off on the documents would have been based on their signing authority levels. Typically district directors and technical managers would have signed off on district-awarded contracts, unless their signing authorities were exceeded, at which point they would have been signed off in the directorate office.
Were any RFP or tender documents for projects undertaken through the Nunavut Housing Trust modified by the Nunavut Housing Corporation against the advice of the Department of Community and Government Services?
That’s something that I really can’t comment on; I have no knowledge of that having occurred.
Is the Nunavut Housing Corporation currently involving any litigation concerning projects undertaken through the Nunavut Housing Trust?
There is no litigation at this point that I am aware of, so I believe the answer to that is no.
The accounting firm’s report states that “NHC’s decentralized organizational structure may not be appropriate to enable the achievement of its objectives.
NHC’s processes and responsibilities are currently decentralized among its different office locations, all of which are geographically separated.”
I think it was some time last week that the minister alluded to the fact that there were going to be some positions moved from Arviat to Iqaluit.
Have there been any other options discussed, for example, perhaps moving the positions or people from Iqaluit into Arviat instead?
Have we considered responding to the audit report that creates capacity issues that continue to be problems with the current arrangement?
The short answer is yes, there have been a number of discussions on that.
Certainly discussions will continue with the Financial Management Board on whether or not we respond quickly to that.
In my view, as the minister, it would alleviate some of the continuing accounting challenges at the directorate, where they should belong because that’s where many of the budget formulation for all district offices is normally shaped in terms of the number of projects as well.
These are ongoing options we’re looking at.
Currently we have not considered whether or not the directorate should move back to Arviat because that’s the decision that has already been made by, I think, the last two mandates of the Assembly.
I wish to also ask that… . Since the auditing firm has indicated that there are several changes that have to be made in order to be able to look after a magnitude of this kind of housing construction, any idea as to how long it’s going to take the Nunavut Housing Corporation to finally get to the point where you have full capacity?
I am just curious, Mr. Chairman, because it indicated that if there was nothing done in the next little while, then we could potentially go for another round of possible over-expenditures and so forth, if we didn’t attempt to correct the situation now.
That’s partially why I am asking the question. What sort of timeframe are we looking at in order to finally get to full capacity that would then be able to enhance programs accordingly?
Hon. Tagak Curley: Yes, I think the member’s questions are very important.
The corporation and certainly the cabinet have felt the magnitude of the problem.
Without having an adequate financial team, there is a possibility of some of the problems that we have recurring.
The challenges are real. I think the sooner we allow the directorate to have full access to the financial expertise required, in my view, it will solve more than 50 percent of the current problems that we see, at least historically, particularly with the housing trust experience.
If I may use the word in terms of suggestion, the ideal time to have changes put into effect within the government is normally the fiscal year. We look at April 1 as the target date. In my view, that would be the best arrangement because it would allow for all of the other consultation requirements as well as the decisions that have to be made done within that day.
Certainly the construction companies operate that way. There is sealift time that is a good time.
When you work backwards, you pretty well know that you have to make the decision today.
But in terms of the challenges with respect to financial positions, I think it’s important to hear from our financial officer exactly what we are facing right now.
Since I arrived at directorate, it was interested to me that all of the financial positions are in Arviat. As a CFO in directorate, I have one AP clerk basically at my disposal in the org structure, so I have no resources in the office for budgeting and preparing reports, etcetera.
With the current IT structure of the GN, the files cannot be shared if they are more than 2 Megs.
The database that I’m working with for the tracking of these projects is 170 Megs. So I can’t share it with Arviat, other than to put it on a stick and mail it to them.
Trying to coordinate financial reporting that way is just not working, so we need some reporting tools.
Right now, the tools that I’m using is Access database and Excel. We have no software. Free Balance cannot handle multi-year projects; you can only pull reporting on a one-year-at-a-time basis.
So if you have a three-year-long project, you have to pull three separate reports and then merge them manually.
It also cannot handle, the way it has been configured currently, tracking the budget for the projects at more than an overall budget level.
So I can’t have a separate budget for the land, for the lot prep, for the materials, for the shipping, so all of those budgets are now manually outside in Excel, not in the software tool itself.
So there are definitely some opportunities here where we can definitely streamline the process and make it more efficient, but it’s going to require some planning and some supports to acquire the software and the tools that we need and to get the infrastructure issues resolved between ourselves and Arviat or relocate the positions.
I’m getting a bit nervous here. It was actually going to be my next question; you are starting to read my mind now.
I’m going to recognize the clock. It’s pretty well two o’clock.
Mr. Ningark: I recognize the clock.
I rise now to report progress. And actually, yes, I guess we need a… .
There is a motion on the floor and it can’t be debated. Is everybody in favour?
We will get the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort the minister and the witnesses out from the witness table.
Your committee has been considering Tabled Documents 207 – 3(2), 209 – 3(2), 210 – 3(2), and 212 – 3(2), and would like to report progress.
The motion is in order. All those in favour, raise your hand. Opposed.
Clerk (Mr. Quirke): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a reminder, there is a meeting of the Standing Committee on Legislation at nine o’clock on Monday.
This House stands adjourned until November 1 at 1:30 p.m.
>>House adjourned at 14:02  Appendix – October 29, 2010
2009-2010 Annual Report of the  Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nunavut
Moses Aupaluktuk, MLA
Jeannie Uguyk, MLA
The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nunavut is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly who is required under section 68 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act to prepare and submit an annual report to the Legislative Assembly on her office’s activities.
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act provides for the Commissioner of Nunavut to appoint, on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly, the Information and Privacy Commissioner for a five-year term of office.
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and regulations were inherited from the NWT on April 1, 1999.
While the Act has been amended on a number of occasions since the creation of the new territory, there have been no fundamental changes to it.
The minor changes that have been made to the Act consist of amendments to address conflicts with other territorial Acts.
The changes that have been made to the regulations have been housekeeping in nature.
As the Information and Privacy Commissioner has noted, her office is mandated to:
Since her initial appointment in 1999, the Information and Privacy Commissioner has submitted a total of eleven annual reports to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.
Since 2005, the Government has tabled an annual report on the administration of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.