EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Mr. Chairman, during its scrutiny of the Department of Education’s main estimates and its business plan, the committee noted a number of inconsistencies between the two documents.
This is reflected in the fact that the department’s own business plan notes that “care should be taken when linking activity presented in the Business Plan to the… Main Estimates…” The standing committee is of the view that the review process could proceed much more effectively if these two documents corresponded more straightforwardly.
The standing committee recommends that the Minister of Education work with his colleagues in the Department of Finance and the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs to ensure better correlation of information between the two documents.
Mr. Chairman, the department’s Income Support Division offers a number of programs to assist families and adult individuals in meeting their basic needs.
This program alone accounts for a significant portion of the department’s total budget.
The standing committee has noted that trends in the demand for income support services, such as social assistance, show a consistent increase and most recently from young, single adults.
In addition, benefit amounts are often perceived as inadequate to cover the high costs of living in the north.
Committee members are aware that a number of income support clients are concerned that taking on wage-earning employment will lead to a significant increase in their rent.
The standing committee recognizes the importance of ensuring that the public housing rent scale policies do not act as a disincentive for income support clients to seek wage employment.
The committee encourages the minister and his staff to work with the Nunavut Housing Corporation in reviewing the rent scale policies and in how those policies are communicated to clients.
Committee members are optimistic that once the department’s new electronic case management system is fully implemented, income support workers and Income Support Program managers will have more time to analyze trends in program delivery and to focus on addressing specific issues.
For example, committee members are of the view that greater efforts could be made to work with the business community to identify and access work and training programs for income support clients and support their ongoing training and education.
In the beginning, you were quite slow, but your speech was very good.
Before we proceed, I have a caution. I wish to take this opportunity to remind all members of the importance of maintaining order and decorum in this House.
Concerns have been brought to the attention of the Chair with respect to some members’ practice of frequently moving about the Chamber during the proceedings of the Committee of the Whole as well as engaging other members in conversations at their desks. This practice is proving to be disruptive.
I would ask that all members respect the right of all other members to concentrate while in the Chamber and to remember that the appropriate place to conduct extensive conversations with other members is in the Lounge or outside of the Chambers.
I would also like to remind members of the following: according to Rule 77(1), you have 10 minutes to speak, and according to Rule 77(2), subject to the discretion of the Chair, a member may speak more than once to a matter under discussion but not until every member wishing to speak has spoken.
I do not see any hands going up.
We will proceed directly with the review of the department’s operations and maintenance on page G-4.
Total Operations and Maintenance. $1,066,000.
Your department is planning an increase of 50 new PYs for 2009-2010.
What are these positions and how will they improve the delivery of education services to Nunavummiut?
Minister Tapardjuk, if you would respond, please.
I mentioned quite a variety in the opening comments that I made.
As I said, we are going to be implementing the delivery of education systems, we will be enhancing Nunavut-relevant curriculum as well as teacher training, and implement an electronic case management system.
We will also be training to produce skilled workers as well as implement a new Education Act. We will need to see an increased number of employees if we are going to be implementing the new Education Act. So there’s quite a variety of areas that we would like to enhance.
With the implementation of the new Education Act come an increased number of employees, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Schell, do you have another question?
How many Inuit teachers are expected to retire over the next year? How many Inuit teachers will need to be recruited to remain at current educator staffing levels and to meet the department’s bilingual language education objectives?
Which one of you would like to try and answer that question?
At this time, we have 227 Inuit teachers or 35 percent of the teachers overall.
In regard to the number of Inuit teachers expected to retire, we can’t give you a definite number.
We do know that there are approximately 10 percent, which is 22, who may be expected to retire due to age.
These are our approximate figures and estimates, but we are currently looking at the possibly of adding 22 Inuit teachers over the next five years, Mr. Chairman.
The other question that he asked was: how many teachers will need to be recruited over the next year?
If you could perhaps respond to that as well, minister.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): We can’t really give you a definite number of how many new teachers will be required.
As I stated, we have NTEP programs in the communities and we also allocate funds to Nunavut Arctic College to have NTEP delivered in Qikiqtarjuaq, Cape Dorset, Kugaaruk, Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, and Iqaluit.
There’s also NTEP in Pond Inlet and Pangnirtung.
I can’t give you a definite number of how many will be graduating, but we do have NTEP programs in the communities that I mentioned.
Mr. Schell, do you have further questions?
Okay, you’re done for now.
Mr. Elliott, you may now ask questions.
The new Education Act requires that every school have a community counsellor. What specific plans are in place to ensure that every school does have a counsellor on staff by the start of the next school year?
Minister Tapardjuk, do you want to try and answer that question?
In regard to the number of community counsellors, we follow the number of students per one counsellor.
The school counsellor program was started in 2009-2010 and it will offer on-the-job training for future school counsellors.
We have plans to have a school counsellor in every Nunavut community, Mr. Chairman.
Is that for this year?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): We’re looking at 2010-11 to have school counsellors in every community.
That was going to be one of my questions.
What was the exact date that they were going to be in the classrooms?
The new Education Act includes a new type of educator position, the use of elders.
How will these educators be incorporated into the education programs?
Which one of you would like to respond to that question?
At the schools, we are going to be setting up positions for elders and they will be considered because the principals and the teachers... we would like to see an elder…
We’re not looking to have an elder teacher with a classroom; we’re looking more at having the elders in the school to teach cultural programs or language programs.
They will be available in the schools and what we’re currently doing is figuring out how we can utilize those elders’ knowledge and what they can expect from being incorporated into the school system.
This is going to be a new initiative and one of the questions we will ask the elders is what they would like to see in the schools. However, we have not set aside money to pay for the elders.
We are going to be working with education authorities as well as the coalition.
We will make a decision on how we will incorporate these elders and what their roles and responsibilities will be in the schools, Mr. Chairman.
I’m just a little confused with the minister’s answer. He’s saying that there are going to be elders in the school but there’s no money set aside to pay them. Did I misunderstand what he said?
Chairman: The minister explained that they are working out the details on how much they will be compensated and what role they will have.
It’s still under working progress.
I just wanted to make sure that I understood what the minister was saying.
I know that in one instance, some of the elders I have spoken to in Arctic Bay, training is very important to them, obviously not training in the sense of cultural knowledge that they hold within but in terms of making known to them different resources that they could use in the classroom or possible forums for sharing ideas with other elders.
Is that factored into what the minister is talking about in terms of brining these elders online?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): If we could get this budget approved, we’re looking at $800,000 that would be used for elders to be set in the school system.
We have to have a discussion with the education authorities to see how they are going to be compensated and what their roles will be in the schools.
We have set aside $800,000 that will be used for elders, Mr. Chairman.
I guess my next question is: have there been discussions between the Minister of Education and the Minister responsible for Nunavut Arctic College in terms of setting up a program within the college to allow the elders to receive qualifications in terms of some type of a certificate or diploma that they could use as well?
We already have the aboriginal languages certificate and they should be able to obtain that.
We are also making plans so that there’s an elder in the school. The school staff should be made aware of what’s going to be available and what to expect.
Mary Simon, the President of ITK, and the DIAND minister made an agreement that will be used for Inuktitut-specific programs.
I haven’t talked to the Nunavut Arctic College minister in regard to what they expect to see in the roles of elders in the schools.
It’s ongoing on July 1. Well, it’s been a long time for change, but on July 1, we will be expecting to see something concrete, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Elliott, did that answer your question?
Mr. Elliott: Thank you Mr. Chairman.
What I’m trying to get at is for years and years, when I was teaching in the schools, you would have elders come in and they would have so much knowledge.
And really, there’s no way of recognizing that and I think it’s an excellent opportunity for us to be able to show the community the value of traditional knowledge. If there was some type of qualification or some way of recognizing it, that’s what I was trying to get at.
My next question is in regard to having these elders in the school. I know you had mentioned the training that’s going on and ongoing training with the school community counsellors.
Will these elders be in the school as of September 2009 or will it be September 2010 as with the school community counsellors?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): They will start working in 2009, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Elliott, do you have another question?
Mr. Elliott: No, thank you.
Chairman (interpretation): Mr. Ningeongan, do you have a question?
In supplementing Mr. Elliott’s question, the elders can’t begin teaching right away, not all of them anyways. They have different levels of knowledge, as you are aware and as you probably responded to Mr. Elliott, Mr. Chairman.
Before the elders are put in the school system, I would suggest that their instruction in the school for teaching the children start off at the same level in all of Nunavut. Are you making plans so that it’s standardized across Nunavut?
Minister Tapardjuk, do you want to try and respond to the question?
This is more the responsibility of the community; it’s community-based.
The education authorities are the ones who will be responsible for elders and we will work with DEAs and decide what plans will be set in place. There are probably going to be different programs going on in different communities, Mr. Chairman.
My question to the minister then is the DEA…
I realize that you will probably talk to elders to see and decide what programs they would like to see in the schools.
But if we’re going to have them in the school curriculum, are you going to be able to get them together so they can decide what programs will be in the communities and if they are going to be standardized?
Which one of you would like to answer that question?
As we stated earlier, we are setting up a guidebook that will be used in the schools which will outline how we can use our elders and how we can work together with the elders.
These are currently being worked on by the DEAs since they are the ones who will identify what programs the elders would be involved in teaching in the schools.
For example, the primary focus in Baker Lake may be caribou while the primary focus in Pangnirtung may be seal, and so on and so forth.
This program will be community-based and it needs to be decided at the community level.
What we’re trying to do through the website is set up our learning objects repository where they can make suggestions on what should be taught in schools, what they would like to see in the schools, and how this can all be accessed in a single resource. Those are currently in the plans at this time.
I’m sure that there’s going to be some communities more ahead than others.
Mr. Ningeongan has another question.
That was the reason why I asked that question and I would like your department to listen carefully.
As an example, maybe if, in Baker Lake, they wanted to teach how to skin seals and how to work the by-products…
… I know that they don’t do that over there, I’m just using it as an example and I’m not making slight of the fact that they live on the mainland.
So would that be made available?
Could caribou skinning be taught in Coral Harbour?
We just started harvesting caribou over there and that could be used to teach our students traditional knowledge. That’s what I wanted to ask the minister to consider.
Ms. Okpik, if you want to try and answer that question.
We have three regional offices. In the Kitikmeot, it’s in Kugluktuk; in the Keewatin, it’s in Baker Lake; and in the Baffin, it’s in Pond Inlet. We have employees in each of these regional offices, some for math, languages, and we work closely with all them, as well as getting the information disseminated out among each of the regions.
The regional offices can be advised of what has to be utilized in the schools and be reminded that we have to work together and make sure that this is getting implemented in the regions.
We would like to see this program go ahead smoothly.
Total Branch. $1,066,000.
Total Operations and Maintenance. $1,142,000.
Chairman (interpretation): G-6. Corporate Services.
Total Operations and Maintenance. $2,747,000.
Total Operations and Maintenance. $3,910,000.
Given the increased demand for income support, why is the budget for social assistance less than it was in the 2008-09 main estimates?
If there would be a response from any one of you.
Ms. Okpik, if you want to try and answer the question.
There was no decrease.
The monies were transferred to another line item after we were audited.
The audit stated that it would be better if we transferred that amount from this to another line item.
That was one of the recommendations by the auditors.
Did that answer your question, Mr. Rumbolt?
It’s been suggested that Social Assistance Regulations be reviewed. For some communities, the benefit amounts are being perceived as being inadequate for the need of clients in that community. Does your department have any plans to review social assistance regulations this year?
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Elliott. (interpretation ends) This is in reference to the cost of living issue that you raised before that it’s not keeping up with the actual rates within the community, so I think Mr. Rumbolt has raised it. (interpretation) If any one of you would respond.
We don’t have any plans to have a review of the social assistance regulations.
With respect to the question that you asked about, the cost of living in Sanikiluaq, we have directed our staff to look at the cost of living in Sanikiluaq specifically, the prices on the shelves, and so on.
We’re currently planning that with our department, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rumbolt got his response.
Mr. Ningeongan would like to ask a question.
Mr. Ningeongan (interpretation): Thank you, Chairman.
I would like to remind the minister that Sanikiluaq is not the only community in Nunavut.
We would also like the minister to look at the other regions as well.
My next question is not really specific to this page, G-7. Under Early Childhood, the department is also responsible for early childhood support and I don’t see much mention of it there.
In your department, there are some communities that are requesting daycare services and facilities, and so on.
I’m not talking about just the building; I’m talking about your department making plans regarding any further financial support for daycare services being given to the communities.
In Nunavut, the federal government is the only one providing financial support to the daycares and if anybody should start questioning the government about monies to build the daycare centre, your department would be the only one responsible.
Do you have any plans to include early childhood and daycare programs?
Looking at the future, is there any possibility of setting money aside for daycare facilities?
It’s very true that we are responsible for the operations but not for capital items. In regard to your question, it’s something that we can take into consideration.
We have laws and I stated earlier, if there’s going to be a new building for a cultural centre or a new school, a daycare room must be provided. So in regard to the member’s question, it’s a good one and I would like to assure the member that I will consider this issue, Mr. Chairman.
As a supplement, we are going to be building schools in the future and we will just make sure that daycares are included.
Minister Ningeongan, I mean Mr. Ningeongan.
Mr. Ningeongan (interpretation): I will then try to get a school in my community.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank the minister for stating that he would consider this item.
I would like to use an example, Mr. Chairman. We don’t want to see children’s safety compromised even before they start going to school.
Children’s safety is a priority and I know that they are entertaining the idea of building daycares in the schools.
But for some communities that are not slotted to get a school anytime soon, there is an issue of building a standalone daycare centre that needs to be addressed.
That’s a very good comment and I didn’t hear a question. Are there any other questions on this page?
Your business plan states that approximately 48 percent of Nunavut families rely on income support. Given the increased demand on income support services, how does your department plan to address the ongoing sustainability of this program?
Which one of you is going to try and answer that question?
In regard to income support, we haven’t increased the numbers. But as I stated, we’re going to be making some improvements on the Income Support Electronic Case Management System.
We currently don’t use computers and once we have an electronic case management system, it’s going to be a big improvement on the way the system works. Once we implement the Income Support Electronic Case Management System, we will then make a plan so that it’s fully utilized.
We will be working with the government departments, the Nunavut Housing Corporation, and businesses to see where we can improve the services that we provide to income support clients.
Once the case management system is ready, we can decide how it’s going to work and if we will require more financial resources, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Elliott, would you like to ask further questions? Mr. Elliott.
I guess I realize that the minister has mentioned sort of the first phase of the implementation of the case management system is in place with payments directly made for housing and whatnot.
Have any new positions or resources been assigned to operate the new income support case management system?
Ms. Okpik, could you respond to the question?
In our office, we have one additional position that will be the verification officer and we have also added $1,125,000 so that we can get an employee to work on the new Income Support Electronic Case Management System.
Throughout the rest of the business plan, there are also references to electronic school records, attendance keeping, and whatnot.
Is this all one management system that works on the same sort of pipeline or are there separate, different entities?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): They are separate.
For electronic school records, attendance records, and also for income support clients who will be receiving the… They will be separate for income support clients, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Elliott, do you have any additional questions?
A number of income support programs are aimed at supporting seniors across Nunavut.
How does your department assist seniors in accessing these programs and other Government of Nunavut programs for seniors?
Ms. Okpik, you may now respond to the question.
Within the Department of Education, we provide services to various senior support programs.
The senior citizens supplementary benefit is the first one as well as the Senior Fuel Subsidy Program.
And that’s for seniors who own their own homes.
Mr. Elliott, are you finished?
Mr. Ningark may now ask a question.
On page G-7, it states here, “These choices include community healing, education, training and work opportunities (wage and land-based).”
I have a question here in regard to land-based. What does land-based mean?
Chairman (Mr. Ningeongan)  (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Ningark.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): My deputy minister will elaborate on that.
Anyone who is an income support client or wants to get income support, they provide information of what their abilities are, like going back to school, and that they be able to help other people.
That’s what we call a productive choice.
For instance, anyone can provide services through hunting by providing country food for their family as long as that’s identified in the income support application.
I would like to thank Ms. Okpik. In smaller communities, no one is aware of this land-based program. Perhaps you can provide more information and consult with the communities so that clients of the Income Support Program will have that knowledge.
Many individuals at the community level eat traditional food and they sometimes lack it. They don’t have hunters or maybe they are widows and sometimes they go through the local radio station requesting traditional food.
That’s not a question and it’s very good to hear. My advice would be that this is known in the community.
I believe that was just a comment.
I have a question in regard to income support.
Some people don’t even know what income support is for and the clients sometimes aren’t told what those funds could be used for.
For example, the clothing allowance and home start-up is not very well known.
Most individuals also don’t know who to turn to when they are denied income support. When they’re denied, where should they go to get more support?
Those are usually the complaints we receive in Baker Lake.
Sometimes the regional managers for income support workers say that they need more support from outside their region.
Sometimes managers say that when that occurs, they seem to run into problems.
Sometimes the clients don’t really understand how they should be provided more support.
I would like to ask the minister and his officials: are they going to be reviewing their income support criteria or the income support workers?
Your department should provide more information to Nunavummiut on what income support can be used for and what kind of support is available in income support.