EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I imagine that it is appended, so I will have it looked at.
Although I didn’t give the hon. minister advance notice regarding the other question I was going to ask, it seems as if he read my mind because I was going to ask if he was going to review that matter.
Even though I had not given him advance notice, he seems to have read my mind, so I’ll raise the question anyway.
He spoke about an agreement, but whenever you’re talking about large contracts, does he know whether or not there are stipulations for purchasing materials from the communities that they’re working in?
The contractors ought to be utilizing more of the communities’ resources to ensure that the communities’ commercial operations can also benefit from the influx of construction workers.
So I urge the minister to encourage these contractors to use as much of the communities’ resources as they can.
Hon. Lorne Kusugak (interpretation): I doubt that I could have read your notes even if you had given them to me.
However, with respect to contracts, it depends on the contract.
As we all know, they can have an impact on a community, especially in a smaller community. Whenever they’re working on larger construction projects, it’s quite obvious that a lot of people also want to benefit from them.
So I will ensure that my officials look into this matter, as well as whether they are following the conditions that are included in these contracts, and whether or not we can have a set agreement outside of these contracts.
Since this is my second supplementary question, I want to ask this question, but I would like to thank the minister for his responses.
On behalf of the Repulse Bay mayor and the residents, I thank him.
As we are sitting in this session that is supposed to end on March 9, can he task his officials to discuss this matter with the mayor and council of Repulse Bay?
Sometimes MLAs don’t always make sense when we are trying to voice our constituents’ concerns.
Perhaps he can ask his officials to check into this with the hamlet prior to March 9, 2012.
I believe some of my officials are watching and listening. If one of the officials hasn’t already sent a text message or called, then as soon as it’s practicable, they will get to that. Again, our officials have a myriad of tasks and they’re quite busy, but I will ensure that it’s included as one of our priorities.
Once the time is available to do that, they will proceed.
Question 293 – 3(3): Safety and Security of Students (Curley)
Mr. Curley (interpretation): Good afternoon, residents of Rankin Inlet.
I would like to direct my question to the Minister responsible for Nunavut Arctic College.
When students, actually quite a few students, arrive into Iqaluit to attend courses at Nunavut Arctic College, their sole purpose moving to Iqaluit is to complete their education, but this includes families and children.
When students move to Iqaluit, they have to stay at Nunavut Arctic College residences.
Based on some of the events, it’s quite obvious now that the students have to be looked after. They should never be put at risk or put into dangerous situations.
Can the minister report on how they offer security or how the security is looked after to ensure that students are not put at risk here in Iqaluit?
Hon. Daniel Shewchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the member for the question.
The security that the college gives to students who come to Iqaluit to take courses is different in different properties that we have.
At the old residence and the single facilities, there’s 24-hour security there with security guards.
In our main campus and our new campus that we have, there are security cameras in some buildings.
Also, all the tenants who come into all Arctic College facilities go through an orientation process, with emergency phone numbers, contact information with the hospital and police, and obviously, each one of them have their own security keys for their own residence.
So the orientation session goes on.
Most of these people are adults. It’s up to them to be responsible for living in Arctic College residences too.
That is a response that is understandable as it relates to the schools and institutions with facilities specific to single students, such as the old residence, which is called Ukiivik.
It’s quite noticeable, as well as at the main campus, that we could provide better security as some facilities have good security while others don’t.
However, with respect to the accommodations for the students, it’s too lax as people could drink all night with access to firearms. In my opinion, any firearm shouldn’t be readily available to anyone at the college.
Perhaps the minister can elaborate on the types of safety precautions people should be observant of in order not to be in a risky situation when they are attending courses at the college.
Yes, it’s very important that when the students come in, they understand the rules of Arctic College of living there too.
The member is absolutely correct in saying that there is no alcohol or drugs allowed in college premises. However, we do encourage that anybody who finds out or has information about that happening in our college residences, they make the college aware of that and we will take action.
It is very hard to enforce that as we just cannot go and do random searches of college residences.
As far as firearms, again, we understand that in a lot of these family residences, they come here and hunting is a practice and part of what they do, going out on the land. We do have secure facilities where the students can lock up their firearms and their ammunition, so that service is provided.
We will ask that question upon people coming if they wish to have a firearm and outline to them how they can secure that firearm.
Yes, I am happy to hear that.
Some of the more noticeable issues indicate that perhaps Arctic College administrators aren’t aware of which students or units have firearms, although the administration has to be fully aware of these details, especially in light of the minister’s statement about secure firearm checks that can be viewed digitally.
From my perspective, it would be advantageous if the minister agreed to conduct a thorough review specifically related to security and whether or not security is appropriate for their facilities. We don’t want any of our students to be placed in a dangerous situation and in particular, to strengthen and enforce these existing rules.
I know for a fact that many students would be traumatized if they heard a gunshot. It would impact not just the residents of the units, but it would put at risk all people within the vicinity of the units.
Due to that reason, I want to reiterate my request to the minister to initiate a review of the security details pertaining to the college.
I can commit to do that. In fact, I’ve had conversations already this morning about reviewing our security in all of our college facilities, but I think all of us are striving and learning to make the college residence a safer place to be and the safest place to be that we can.
So yes, we will always be reviewing this, especially when it comes to the education and the rules we have for drugs and alcohol, and the firearm issue too. We will review it and see how we can maybe do business better.
Question 294 – 3(3): Affordable Housing and Nunavut Trust (Elliott)
My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation. I want to follow up on some of the questions that I was asking the minister last week regarding the Nunavut Housing Trust and the affordable housing initiative. I never had a chance to actually ask for an update on those programs.
So my first question would be, in terms of the Nunavut Housing Trust program, if the minister could provide us with an update as to how many houses have been turned over to the local housing authorities and whether the project was within budget.
Obviously it was not on budget, but if you take the over-expenditures, it will be within the extra $60 million that was allotted for it.
As of the end of March of this year, we will have all the units completed and ready for occupancy, except for 30 units that won’t be completed by the end of March.
In terms of the affordable housing initiative, if he could give us a number of how many houses were completed and when they will be completed.
Of the 285 units, they will all be completed by the end of this March, except for 10 units.
A lot of times, one of the things that kept coming up was supplies getting to the community and having extra pieces and parts, maybe two boilers or extra toilets.
What is going to happen with that extra stuff? Will that be turned over to the housing associations as part of their stock or will they be sold?
Yes, there is quite a bit of material left over and there are 880 containers in the 25 communities.
They don’t all have material, but a lot of material is there. What we’re going to do is look and see what the LHOs can use and the other material that they cannot use will be put out for sale.
Of those 880 sea cans, I know I had asked in the past, a specific dollar value of around $3,000 was allocated to them.
At one time, it was said that those sea cans would be sold and people were allowed to contact the Nunavut Housing Corporation or the local housing authority to work out an agreement to purchase them.
Since that time, I’ve had individuals tell me they have tried to purchase those sea cans and were not allowed to.
Maybe the minister could explain what’s happening with those sea cans and whether people will be able to purchase them.
At the present time, the reason they can’t purchase them is because most of those containers are filled up with material, but once we do a complete inventory and find out what the LHOs can use and what other material we’re going to sell, once those containers are empty, the communities will have the first option to purchase them.
Question 295 – 3(3): Total Allowable Harvest of Polar Bears (Rumbolt)
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the minister for the information he provided today in a return to an oral question.
However, I do have a couple of other questions.
Mr. Speaker, the minister stated in his return to an oral question that the GN representative was planning to attend the upcoming polar bear hearings in Nunavik.
Mr. Speaker, the hearing dates are scheduled for April 17 through 19 of 2012 in Kuujjuaraapik, Northern Quebec.
The public hearings notice indicates that the board invites all interested parties to file written submissions and supporting documents concerning the establishment of a total allowable take for polar bear harvesting.
Will the GN take this opportunity to file a written submission regarding the outstanding transboundary issues with other jurisdictions?
I had stated that I felt my previous response was adequate. Apparently, it wasn’t adequate enough in this case.
With respect to the hearings that were scheduled from April 17 to 19, it was changed and delayed due to the fact that the aerial survey results weren’t available for that area.
Once the report has been completed and in the hands of the departmental officials, we will reschedule the hearing at that time.
As per my earlier response, the government will have a representative from Nunavut at these hearings.
The appointed representative from Nunavut is Sandy Akavak, who will represent our territorial interests.
I’m aware, from his return to an oral question, that he stated in there that there was a participant from the Nunavut government who is going to be attending these hearings.
My question was if the government was going to be doing any written submissions concerning transboundary issues that they have with Quebec.
I also thank the Member for Hudson Bay for raising that question.
Sandy Akavak will be the representative for Nunavut.
If we have to do a written submission, we will do so, but Sandy Akavak will be the representative for Nunavut.
Again, the purpose of these hearings is to establish a total allowable take for polar bears in the southern Hudson Bay subpopulation.
It’s my understanding that the GN and the Government of Nunavik have a voluntary quota system in place right now.
Can the minister indicate whether or not this quota system is being followed and how it is being enforced?
As a matter of fact, we have been in discussions with the representatives of Nunavut to come to an agreement and these discussions are progressing to the point where we’re almost in agreement.
We had to comply with the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. However, the total allowable harvest for bears ranged from 60 to 64, which was the minimum, and it could be surpassed on occasion and they have surpassed it a number of times.
We’re negotiating with the parties on polar bear issues, such as establishing seasons for polar bear harvesting in the region.
We’re still negotiating with the parties via face-to-face meetings, correspondence, and other means to come to an agreement.
This is progressing slowly.
Our expectations are that after the hearings, we will be able to lay further groundwork towards an agreement.
During consultations and meetings in the spring of last year, it was my understanding that the communities in Northern Quebec agreed to take only 30 polar bears out of the Hudson Bay subpopulation.
I was asking the minister whether or not they are following this quota.
If he could answer it.
If there happened to be an agreement previously, it may have just been a verbal agreement as I haven’t heard about any prior agreement on this matter.
The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement establishes the number of polar bear harvests, which is not subject to limitation, and it is rather high. Additionally, in the past year in 2010-11, Northern Quebec residents harvested 74 polar bears in their region.
Question 296 – 3(3): Alberta Curriculum and Entrance Exams (Oshutapik)
Up to today, many of us have personal experience with students on the verge of graduation. Those students who graduate from grade 12 do so because of the dedication of the parents, who continually work hard to have their children or grandchildren graduate.
In my case, it would be grandchildren as I am past the child-bearing age now.
As parents, we share this challenging work by continually encouraging and pushing our children to attend school and to graduate from high school.
Even after the students complete their high school education and apply for further courses at a college or university, many of them experience challenges due to the higher entrance requirements.
Our high school education system follows the Alberta school curriculum.
My question to the minister is this: does the Alberta curriculum we currently follow also show that the Alberta students who follow this curriculum have difficulties trying to enter institutions of higher learning?
I don’t have any information pertaining to the question that the member just raised about whether or not students from Alberta experience these same issues related to institutions of higher learning. We haven’t received this type of information from the Albertan government.
I believe the member asked whether or not Albertan students also experience difficulties when applying to these institutions of higher learning, but we haven’t heard back from the system administrators.
Speaker: Thank you, Madam Premier. Your first supplementary, Mr. Oshutapik.
Yes, that’s the response I was expecting.
However, we want more concrete answers as we debate educational issues related to a curriculum from outside of Nunavut and that was why I asked a question about the Albertans.
When the curriculum is implemented in our schools here in Nunavut, perhaps we’re not utilizing the courses relevant to people who wish to continue their education.
I wonder if the minister or her officials can look into my question further so that when we understand the systemic barriers in the future and if they also experience these issues, then we can outline the reasons for our students experiencing these difficulties.
We have to revise our educational system if we want our students to succeed in post-secondary educational courses. We want them to succeed.
If we’re aware of the current barriers, then we can fix the system. We really have to improve our education system today.
Can the minister look into whether or not Alberta experiences these same issues with their students?
I have no idea whether the Albertan government would want to provide that information to another government associated with their student post-secondary entrance success rate.
In our case, we have been using the Education Act here in Nunavut upon passage of the legislation by the legislature over two years ago now.
We’re trying to implement the sections related to curriculum specific to Nunavut’s education system and more relevant to the daily lives of our students.
As I stated in my Minister’s Statement earlier about the display on education, the display on curriculum development is in the foyer and members will be free to peruse the display to see curriculum development in Nunavut developed by Nunavummiut for Nunavut students, as per the Department of Education’s mandate.
With respect to school operations and to facilitate student attendance, there are several initiatives being researched to encourage attendance. Data is available showing the importance of attendance to student success.
As another example, within the student body, boys tend to miss more school than girls and this challenge is being reviewed as to the options we have to encourage boys to attend school regularly in order to complete their required courses for graduation.
Moreover, it has been proven that attendance is very important and when students miss too many days, it impacts their grades and required credits, which can also affect their ability to pursue post-secondary education as some students end up with incomplete credits.
This is also part of my earlier statement today.
My senior officials are currently writing letters to our colleagues identifying the course requirements for students who graduate from grade 12, with the type of requisite academic courses they need in order to advance their education.
We currently have three levels of courses for the different streams.
The letter you will receive identifies what a student needs to include in their accredited courses.
As I was asked to provide more details in the recent past about this issue, I will be moving forward with that request for more information. So this letter details out what is required and it will outline the types of courses they need for graduating grade 12. This includes the shared responsibility of the parents, schools, and students.
I certainly hope my response is understandable.
My question was with respect to the Alberta curriculum we face and your response was fairly long.
I think most of us are aware of the issues affecting our children and the circumstances surrounding the challenges we face. I think that as parents, we all try to encourage our children, but some children don’t respond well to encouragement and part of the problem is with the parents.
I would like to ask another question. Prior to students even reaching grade 12, there should be a guidance counsellor who can help the students to review what possible courses they may be able to attend once they graduate from grade 12. So is that a possibility?
When students reach grades 8, 9 and 10, the students are canvassed as to what they want to pursue prior to moving up to the higher grades. However, at that age, it is very hard to make a choice as to what they may wish to pursue once they have completed their high school education.
Every school tries to provide assistance and support to each student.
As an example, if the student happens to be interested in a career requiring mathematics, then they are guided towards those courses that focus on mathematics all the way to their graduation.
This follows what the student plans to do after secondary school, whether it is a job or post-secondary courses.
Once the counsellors are aware of a student’s wishes, they are guided towards the courses that meet that need. Further, there is a committee that provides assistance to the students at that level for guiding the student towards a career path. That is how we try to provide assistance when students have reached these higher levels.
Question 297 – 3(3): Inuit Societal Values (Tapardjuk)
I would like to direct my question to the Premier, the Hon. Eva Aariak.
I would like to get further clarification. One of my colleagues keeps referring to the Tamapta Mandate and I feel obligated to also ask about that mandate.
It’s very good to read what you wrote in one of the principles outlined in the Tamapta Mandate because it leads to higher expectations. It states that we will follow what the Inuit goals and aspirations are, especially in trying to use the best practices of our Inuit ancestors.
It was only through the hard plight of the people before us that we were able to fight for Nunavut and when we fought for it, we thought the Inuit cultural practices would be incorporated as part of the foundation for the territory.
Within the Tamapta Mandate, it also states that and it looks like it will be implemented.
What I want clarified is what the Minister of Finance stated when he delivered the Budget Address speaking to the upcoming budget. I’m referring back to his opening comments. The Inuit language will become a very strong part of the Nunavut government and that the Nunavut government will strive to protect and conserve the Inuit language.
The recognition of the Inuit language is a primary reason. The Minister of Languages also stated that they will be working towards making it a language of operations.
The Inuit language forms just one part of being an Inuk within our culture.
You have to look at Inuit societal values and you also have to look at different ways where Inuit have best practices.
So how is the government going to best protect these Inuit societal values?
I also thank my colleague for raising that matter.
For all of us, irrespective of whether we’re employees in the Government of Nunavut or an MLA, this has to be our primary focus.
All the departments, as part of their mandated responsibilities, have to identify these values as they also believe that Inuit societal values and language are intrinsically important to this government, especially in light of the fact that the foundation for the creation of the territory was the Inuit culture and language.
When they’re trying to identify action items or when they’re trying to create a new policy, they try to utilize Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
The government has a separate department that is specific to culture, language, elders, and youth.
So that is our lead department that is working towards protecting the language and culture of Inuit.
Mr. Tapardjuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also thank the Premier for that response.
Mr. Speaker, I believe the Premier is cognizant of operations and administration challenges of any organization.
Further, if you were to look at Inuit societal values, sometimes operational values and Inuit values butt heads.
As an example, let us look at social services.
If we look at the southern way of dealing with social services, the government controls all aspects, whereas if you use Inuit societal values, Inuit have different expectations when dealing with social services. In looking at the western cultural values, although the social services worker may believe that this method is the best way, it contrasts with Inuit societal values, especially when speaking about teaching our children to be Inuit.
Let us use that example.
Mr. Speaker, the question I wish to raise is that as part of these plans for regional operations and also based upon the Minister of Finance’s Budget Address, where he identified that the Department of CLEY’s mandate was being divided up amongst the departments, he stated that language was being moved to the Premier’s Office under Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs while culture would be transferred to Nunavut Arctic College.
What about Inuit societal values and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit? Where will these be moved to?