EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I have seen many occasions in the past in Cambridge Bay where I come from where children were being apprehended and sent off to other communities, oftentimes down south. It’s not a good situation.
Personally, I believe that children should remain in their own communities. It’s where they have their friends, they know their schoolmates, and they’ve got their families. I believe in that.
That’s what we’re going to endeavour to do when we start up the new Department of Family Services.  We will stick to the current legislation until we get the new legislation.
It is going to be reflected in our new operation that families, children, and communities come first. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Question 449 – 3(3): Strengthening the Public Service (Enook)
In my Member’s Statement earlier this afternoon, I spoke about human resources and in particular, hiring practices, which I want to raise questions about to the Minister of Human Resources.
Mr. Speaker, the people of Nunavut are very observant of malpractice, especially when it revolves around hiring public servants. We see too often bureaucrats simply bypassing the requirements they ought to follow.
Many southern hires especially flout the system as they only hire their family members or their friends. People note these cases.
Firstly, I want to ask this question. We have seen cases where current employees are overlooked when a new position is advertised, although they may have worked for over a year or two.
They are qualified for the position, but they hire a person from the south.
There are many cases where that happens, Mr. Speaker.
I want to ask first of all: when a position is opened within the Nunavut government, do they have to advertise that position, such as advertisements through the media?
Do all positions require that they be advertised in the media?
First of all, I will answer the first question.
The government believes that they should have qualified workers in all communities. (interpretation ends) We believe in the highest standards of conduct among public service employees and that it’s essential for maintaining and enhancing the public trust and confidence in the public service.
The GN must ensure that the possibility of conflict between an employee’s private interest and public service duties is minimized. The Government of Nunavut is committed to building an effective and functional public service that is responsive to the public it serves with an organizational structure governed through integrity and values.
If members have specific concerns, I would like to recommend that they or their constituents inform me and I will have the incident investigated.
We hear that the Nunavut government believes in my statements about this issue.
Why is it that there seems to be no enforcement of these policies? It seems the policies are continually abused.
I can cite examples, but this is not the proper forum for these types of examples, particularly when we are debating hiring practices and the lives of our employees.
However, when we keep hearing about the abuse of the system, not all of the people who complain are lying when they talk about how the system is being abused. Not all of them are lying.
I want to ask this question to the minister: who determines that a position will be opened for advertisement?
Let me get a response to this first.
Is the manager of a department responsible for determining a position is required within their sole discretion or is a hiring committee responsible for opening these positions? Who makes these decisions? I want to understand that first, Mr. Speaker.
There’s a priority hiring policy that gives priority consideration in the recruitment and selection of GN employees to Inuit beneficiaries based in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
The new policy review included a second consultation with Human Resources, coordination and consultations with the Department of Human Resources regional directors, and directors of employee relations and training and development. A final priority hiring policy was submitted to cabinet in June 2011 and was approved. The new Priority Hiring Policy is posted on the HR website.
(interpretation) Mr. Speaker, we have given responsibility to the various departments, such as Department of Education, Nunavut Arctic College, and social services, for hiring those individuals for the departments.
Qulliq Energy and other Crown corporations have their own way of hiring their employees within Nunavut.
Mr. Enook: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) Perhaps I can ask the Speaker if I can use one of my questions as a preamble.
I don’t believe the minister understood my question.
I was trying to ask a question in regard to the departments.
In departments, who decides to put out an employment opportunity?
Who decides that they need a new position or if they need to hire anybody? Who decides that?
With respect to employment opportunities in Nunavut, sometimes it can be very difficult to find out where the employment opportunity is coming from and who’s applying, so I can’t respond to that.
With respect to the human resource personnel, each department publicizes the position once it has been vacated, and it goes up the chain of command to determine which positions will be opened for competition.
With respect to other positions opened in other departments, such as the health and social services department, this is the responsibility of that department and not of the human resources department.
I can’t answer specifically that an overarching committee will deal with all opportunities, especially when it is difficult to decipher which position is being queried about.
As I stated, there are many Nunavummiut who do believe and they have seen and they perceive that hiring practices have been abused, especially when managers are hiring their relatives.
As I stated before, not all complaints must be a lie.
If Nunavut employees are concerned and if they believe that there is cronyism happening, they should feel safe to make complaints. Where would they go to make a complaint?
Hon. Monica Ell (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) The GN applies the Priority Hiring Policy to all job competitions fairly and equally. All public servants are obliged to conduct themselves under the GN Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Directive.
If a member of a hiring committee discovers that a relative has applied for a job, that public servant must [excuse] themselves from evaluating that application to be involved in the interview process.
If the candidate is screened in, the public servants must conduct themselves as required by the Public Service Act and regulations.
Beneficiaries and employees have appeal rights for job competitions through the staffing appeals process (BNC 13).
We can review any files that are brought to our attention, and I urge members that if they have heard of any nepotism going on, they must let our department heads know and/or they can let me know directly and I will have this investigated.
Members will note that the clock is indicating that the time has run out for Oral Questions.
So we will move on in our orders of the day.
Tabled Document 259 – 3(3): 2009-2010 Annual Report for Nunavummit Kiglisiniartiit (Aariak)
Tabled Document 260 – 3(3): 2010-2011 Annual Report for Nunavummit Kiglisiniartiit (Aariak)
Tabled Document 261 – 3(3): 2011-2012 Annual Report for Nunavummit Kiglisiniartiit (Aariak)
Hon. Eva Aariak: (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I wish to table three documents, Mr. Speaker.
The first document is the Nunavummit Kiglisiniartiit Annual Report for 2009-2010, as well as the Nunavummi Kiglisiniartiit 2010-11 Annual Report.
The third document is the Nunavummi Kiglisiniartiit 2011-12 Annual Report.
Tabled Document 262 – 3(3): Uqausivut Plan – The Comprehensive Plan Pursuant to the Official Languages Act and the Inuit Language Protection Act 2012-2016 (Arreak)
I am pleased to table now the Uqausivut Plan for the Implementation of the Inuit Language Protection Act and the Official Languages Act.
Mr. Speaker, there were two people who were very supportive, Virginia Lloyd from NTI and Maude Bertrand from the Office of Languages Commissioner.
Mr. Speaker, if anyone would like the copy of the report, they are also available from Leevede Attagoyuk.
Tabled Document 263 – 3(3): 2009-2011 Annual Report – Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal (Shewchuk)
I have one report to table with two years of information.
I am pleased to table the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal’s annual reports for 2009-2010 and for 2010-11.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.  Speaker: Thank you, Minister Shewchuk.
Tabled Document 264 – 3(3): 2013 Sitting Calendar for the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut (Speaker)
Tabled Document 265 – 3(3): Report of the Integrity Commissioner to the Speaker Re: The Hon. Fred Schell, MLA (Speaker)
Tabled Document 266 – 3(3): Speaker’s List of Outstanding Statutory Tabling Requirements (Speaker)
Members, I have three documents to table today. As required by Rule 3(2), I wish to table the Legislative Assembly’s 2013 Sitting Calendar.
Members will note that the sitting calendar contains information concerning the date of the next general election and the convening of the Fourth Legislative Assembly.
As required under section 44 of the Integrity Act, I am tabling the report of the Integrity Commissioner concerning the Member for South Baffin.
Also, I wish to table the Speaker’s List of Outstanding Statutory Tabling Requirements. This list is current as of the end of the October 29 sitting of the House yesterday.
Bills 41, 42, and 43 with Mr. Enook in the Chair.
>>House recessed at 15:30 and Committee resumed at 15:57
Chairman (Mr. Enook)(interpretation): I would now like to call the committee meeting to order.
We wish to continue with Bill 41, Appropriation (Capital) Act, 2013-2014, and the Nunavut Housing Corporation, followed by the departments of Health and Social Services, Economic Development and Transportation, and, if time permits, the Department of Education.
Does the committee agree to continue with the review of the capital estimates for the Nunavut Housing Corporation?
Does the committee agree to bring in the minister responsible for the housing corporation and his witnesses?
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the minister’s witnesses in.
Hon. Peter Taptuna: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On my right is Mr. Alain Barriault, President of the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
On my left, Lori Kimball, Chief Financial Officer of the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Minister Taptuna. I welcome your officials.
We’re just going to start off where we left off yesterday during Committee of the Whole. On my list, I have Mr. Ningark.
Mr. Ningark (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I apologize, I forgot what my general comments were going to be and I have nothing written, so can you go to the next member?
From the minister yesterday and on Friday’s meetings, it’s becoming evident that Nunavutmiut need to hear more, and we’d like to see the completion of the construction of the staff units.
If you can identify the location, that would be most ideal.
This $5 million was going to Nunavut various, and they estimated that there would be 14 new units with this $5 million at $350,000 per unit. If it was a five-plex perhaps there would be three of them.
Due to lack of information being provided, it was only estimated that each unit would cost $350,000, so $8 million would be used for 18 units.
The minister stated that the 22 units constructed under public housing.
We do need the assistance of the minister, especially for those of us sitting on this side.
If we’re going to be approving the capital estimates, we would like to know the location.
I don’t believe it’s just members that would like to know the location of where the staff housing units will be. I believe that Nunavut residents would like to know where the staff housing units are going to be located.
Therefore, we’re asking for the assistance and the help of the minister, but the minister stated before that he was going to have a meeting today.
Can the minister update us on what happened in their meeting today?
The meetings were conducted with the cooperation of the Human Resources department and these are preliminary agreements with the Department of Human Resources.
One of the biggest we indicated that we’re going to use the assessment needs for the staff housing most needed in Nunavut.
We’re looking at two five-plexes in Cambridge Bay.
Currently, there are five vacant staff units, nine active competitions, and 103 vacant GN positions.
According to the needs assessment, this is the highest priority.
For public units, Iqaluit, as usual, under the needs assessment, we’re looking at two five-plexes. It has the longest waiting list and the highest waiting list percentage of stock at 50 percent. The highest being two-bedroom on a waiting list in Nunavut.
The second location we have identified according to its needs assessment is Arviat at two five-plexes. It has the second longest waiting list next to Iqaluit and the second highest waiting list percentage.
So we have identified these under our needs assessment.
The third community would be Clyde River at one five-plex.
Of course, again, this would be the third highest waiting list percentage at 44 percent, again, for one- and two-bedroom units.
Mr. Chairman, this is just preliminary. There’s still a lot of work to do on this, but hopefully this will be our guide.
Having said that, this more or less takes away our opportunity and flexibility in pursuing other avenues of trying to find alternative ways to increase the housing units, but this is a list that we have come up with.
I’ll leave it at that for now, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
That is at least a bit of a step.
At the same time, it was quite clear the minister appeared to say that he needs to do somewhat more work on the needs assessment after he had stated that we need about 900 staff housing units.
I don’t know whether that figure is credible or not if you’re trying to convince us that you need to do a needs assessment to back that up or to prioritize it and whatnot.
What I’m not sure is: have you had a chance at all to consider exactly how you’re going to approach the public housing allocation? What is required to provide backup information to the Committee of the Whole in order to justify the $8 million that’s not specifically allocated?
So I think it would help the committee to know exactly what more work is required to figure out whether or not $8 million is the right figure or not.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Curley. (interpretation ends) Minister Taptuna, comments?
Again, we have used the needs assessment and we’re looking at these known estimates that have been used in the past. For a five-plex in Iqaluit, it’s approximately $2.1 million.
In Arviat, we know the estimates in building a five-plex is $1.9 million and in Clyde River, it is $2 million for a five-plex.
Again, these are well-documented facts that the housing corporation has and again, this is based on the needs assessment of overcrowding that we have this data on and the waiting lists that we use for evaluating where the next allotment is going to be.
Mr. Chairman, there are a number of locations in Nunavut, including Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Cambridge Bay, that are considered at least with a strong enough market to acquire apartment units and units for private housing.
In places like Iqaluit, there’s tremendous growth here with the apartments being built which are on the market. They’re looking for tenants. Still, the government’s only priority is to build their own units here.
The priorities appear to not be the right approach because here, you have the biggest market of surplus housing, surplus apartment units, and they’re looking for commercial. They’re not looking for individual tenants.
Can the minister or his officials explain why they were not prepared to just ask for five extra units from the private market?
As the member is well aware, in Iqaluit the housing market is one of the tightest Nunavut; in fact, in the entire nation.
We’re trying to maximize our allotted amount and as the member is well aware, we do have some identified lots that the housing corporation is able to use.
If you check out some of the prices of these commercial houses that are available out there, they’re at a tremendous cost to the housing corporation if they try to buy commercially.
Once a lot is acquired by the housing corporation from the city we do have to do something with them, build some kind of infrastructure on them, of course, the infrastructure being whether it’s staff housing or a public unit. We’re going to have to use that.
Mr. Chairman, I would like the president to elaborate a little more on the details to that answer.
The tenants and most of the clientele we have in public housing, as we’ve seen through our rent scale and the information we do have, 58 percent of all of our tenants currently pay $60 or less rent.
And so, most of our clientele are lower income Nunavummiut who do not have the means to rent on the private market, especially at some of the higher corporate rates that are currently being made available.
That being said, we do know that Iqaluit has the longest waiting list in Nunavut currently. Also, the percentage of their housing stock, they need 50 percent more housing stock on public housing to meet their current waiting list. That is the highest ratio of waiting list to housing in all of Nunavut currently.
In terms of where we can build in Iqaluit, we’re seeing building lots for multi-unit buildings being made available by the city in the order of $500,000 for building lots.
The Housing Corporation currently has some single family lots, which we are looking into the zoning restrictions to see if we can build our multi-unit style buildings, which are the most cost-efficient to build.
So subject to this we are considering building in Iqaluit as part of the limited funds available through public housing this year.
I think I understand the minister and what his official is saying.
What the minister is saying, the way I understand it, there may be a huge surplus and existing pre-market built units out there but we couldn’t rent them as a corporation and nor can we enter into an arrangement with the builder, as we haven’t built them. The government prefers to build them and say now we own it. If we supply, ship and build it or contract it, the unit complete, 100 percent unit, then it can be transferred over to local housing for public housing.
What I don’t understand is, why can’t you lease a number of units from private builder or tender it, get the cheapest price from them, at least five or ten or fifteen public housing spaces from that apartment building built on lot A or B or C and let them compete and give you the best price. What’s wrong with that kind of a scenario?
Hon. Peter Taptuna: Mr. Chairman, I’ll have the Nunavut Housing Corporation experts and the president respond to that.
Chairman (interpretation): Mr. Barriault.
The Nunavut Housing Corporation is intending to do a request for proposals for design build structures. So we will get as much private sector involvement as possible in the construction of these units.
As previously mentioned or stated to this House, we do not intend to be separating labour and material, as was done in past years. We wish to use general contractors as general contractors and take advantage of their expertise in that business to get at the best price possible.
The leasing of units, if we enter into long-term leases, will have an accounting issue and that they become deemed capital leases and have a direct impact on the debt cap of the Government of Nunavut.
We have to be careful as to what kind of leasing arrangements we do consider because that will the affect the government’s borrowing ability for other priorities. Thank you.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Barriault. Mr. Curley.
Mr. Curley: Mr. Chairman, it’s certainly going to take time to gather that information, and that’s going to take at least a couple of months to advertise, and so on, to put the RFP together, request for proposal.
In view of time, I think the other minister answers to have their budget considered by the committee.
So I do have a motion that I would like to bring before the committee which would commit the information that the committee members are seeking, allotted time for the minister to consider.
If it’s okay with you, I would like to read the motion.
Chairman: Go ahead, Mr. Curley.
Committee Motion 011 – 3(3): Tabling of Community Allocations of New Public and Staff Housing Units (Curley)
Mr. Curley: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that this committee recommends that the Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation, in the interest of transparency concerning the government’s capital expenditures, table a complete listing of the 2013-14 community allocations of new public and staff housing units on the first sitting day of the winter 2013 sitting of the Legislative Assembly.
I will give you a brief overview.
Before we proceed with the debate in motion, every member has the right to speak once to the motion for a total time of 20 minutes.
Mr. Curley (interpretation): Mr. Chairman, I will be speaking in Inuktitut.
We are pleased that the minister stated that it can’t be done overnight during the debate yesterday. He would have to have debates with the third parties and decide on where these houses are going to be built. That’s especially true with the staff housing.
Of course, they have to have a dialogue with the other departments. That will go ahead.
It’s approximately three months before the winter 2013 sitting of the Legislative Assembly, and I’m recommending that we table a complete list of the 2013-14 community allocations of public and staff housing units. There is approximately $8 million that is going to be expended, and we want to know exactly where those houses are going to be located, and I’m sure there’s a shortage of housing everywhere.
Especially and most importantly, we would like to see more details on cost; whether these houses are going to be contracted, and I’m sure that we will have further information for the 2013 winter sitting of the Legislative Assembly.
If this motion should go through, there will be more information being made available to the Members of the Legislative Assembly and the general public. We have to ensure Nunavutmiut are aware of these expenditures and these are vast amounts we are discussing, to the tune of $15 million currently under review, both for staff and public housing units.
That is the first part of my comments, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to request a five-minute break, please. (interpretation ends) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman (interpretation): Does the committee agree to take a five-minute break?
Chairman (interpretation): We will take a five-minute break.
>>Committee recessed at 16:20 and resumed at 16:27
Chairman (interpretation): I don’t know if our equipment is the problem.
Am I even on?
An Hon. Member (interpretation): We can now hear you.
Chairman (interpretation): You can hear me now? I am unsure if the bell is working to notify staff and witnesses. I don’t know at this time.
Even though that is the case, I will try to keep time for the members to ensure that the proper time limit is observed.
Alternatively, this is to ensure that I don’t keep members from speaking to the matter.
I will work with our staff here to resolve this.
To the motion. We will be dealing with this now that we have resumed our meeting. Thank you for returning.
Are there any further comments to this motion?
Hon. Lorne Kusugak (interpretation): Is it ready? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
With respect to the motion, as a government, we have no concerns with it and we support our colleague who made this motion and we urge our colleagues to support it.
The principle of the motion is not an unreasonable request. Therefore, I’m going to support the motion.
Before this motion was presented, I had some comments written that I was going to present to the housing corporation. After the motion was presented, I think my comments are still sufficient, mostly to speak towards the motion, so I will read the comments that I have.