EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
With those, Mr. Speaker, I don’t want to just state my concerns anymore but would like to deal with it by motion.
Member’s Statement 253 – 2(4): Government of Nunavut Not Using Inuit Traditions & Culture (Kattuk)
In Members’ Statements at times I talk about issues that are close to my heart and also close to Inuit hearts and what Inuit value.
I know that our government system, the way it operates, sometimes have sensitive feelings towards Inuit, for example, the way the Nunavut Government treats social issues is not using Inuit culture and traditions but Inuit sometimes don’t use wildlife management ways.
Perhaps, some time in the future these issues will be resolved, and that’s what I expect to see when I’m no longer around.
The way I look at it is that the Inuit values, cultures, and traditions should be used by the government.
The Inuit are very caring and sensitive to others, and for that reason, the government needs to go through that route so that they can use Inuit values and beliefs.  I also would like to state how proud I am that when I am walking out there in Iqaluit people tell me how proud they are of me to say these things that we value the most.
Member’s Statement 254 – 2(4): Act of Bravery by Gjoa Haven Teacher (Aglukkaq)
I would like to inform the members about an act of bravery that may very well have saved a five year old boy. This incident took place in the community of Gjoa Haven in September, and involved a young boy and the fast actions of one of our new teachers.
The new teacher, while taking photographs, Mr. Elwood Shantz, happened to notice a young boy and a dog playing together. Mr. Shantz noticed that while it looked like the two were playing he could hear the young boy crying and decided to investigate further.
Mr. Speaker, by the time Mr. Shantz was close enough to assess the situation the dog had dragged the boy around the side of the house.
Mr. Shantz was able to see that the dog was biting and chewing on the young boy’s leg, so he grabbed the child and pulled him away from the dog.
The dog again tried to attack the boy so Mr. Shantz threw a stick and a rock at the dog in order to distract him.
He then carried the boy to a neighbour’s house and attempted to get help.
Mr. Speaker, one of the neighbours had seen what had taken place and rushed over with an ATV to take the boy to the health centre.
The little boy, unfortunately, had to be medivaced to Edmonton with his family. Mr. Speaker, the boy’s life was saved by the fast actions of Mr. Elwood Shantz, and by the neighbour that transported the boy to the health facility.
I would like to thank Mr. Shantz, a schoolteacher in our community, for his quick actions, as well as Troy Beaulieu, and Hannah and David Qirqqut for providing transportation and support to the young boy. The young boy is now back with his family. As a result of this incident the boy lost his leg.
I would like to thank the community of Gjoa Haven for the support they have given to the young boy, and to his family, and to the quick actions of the schoolteacher.
Member’s Statement 255 – 2(4): Concerns with the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation Audit (Curley)
I rise today first of all, along with the Premier, I would like to send my condolences to the family of the RCMP Officer, and we send our love for them.
And also to my colleague from the Kitikmeot, from Kugluktuk, who talked about Peter Kamingoak, I would also like to congratulate them. Also, in regard to Peter Kamingoak, if it was me, I would recommend that this individual get a Long Service Award for Public Service from the Nunavut Government.
He started the Inuit organizations and he was also a member of the original committee when ITC was getting started. (interpretation ends) Peter Kamingoak is quite a guy. He is an elderly man now.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express some of my concerns with respect to NBCC as well.
I note that the Member for Iqaluit Centre already expressed some of the shocking situations that are occurring.
I just want to let the members know that not long ago the Nunavut Government took over the role of providing financial services by creating NBCC, to be exact, it could be about seven years ago. That’s not a long history.
Mr. Speaker, the NBCC was also part of the ones that we acquired from the Regional NWT/Nunavut Business Development Fund, which also is regionally administered, if I may say so, old Eskimo Loan Fund, which was a category of its own, that provided funds for Inuit owned businesses.
Since then, all of these services seem to appear today that they disappeared, eventually suspended as of today.
That’s a terrible record, Mr. Speaker.
I believe the minister responsible for that fund was responsible to administer and have an oversight responsibility to ensure those legal requirements, as well as properly managing the fund, and the accountability that are established by legislation and policy are fully accounted for.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude my remark and ask for an extension.
Our business community, Inuit applicants, as well as the ongoing clients of NBCC continue to need these services.
It’s not possible when the service is suspended that they are properly being served.
The government has failed; they did not have to wait for the Auditor General to say, “I can’t certify this institution’s financial records because I can’t find any record to act.”
They had all the time in the world since 1999 to ensure proper accounting practices, as well, management guidelines are in place, and the management of that group is fully monitored.
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Speaker I mean, I’m sorry, I believe our members of the business community require effective services, that the services are needed today, nor should it be suspended.
It should be transferred to some institution that are properly administered and funded.
There are many. We have Atuqtuarvik, a business loan corporation for Inuit people.
You could have transferred them immediately over so that the applicants are not waiting forever until eventually, who knows, whether or not we’re going to get a proper institution.
So I’m asking the minister to consider transferring that service to some group instead of suspending it.
Member’s Statement 256 – 2(4): Expectations by Nunavummiut of the Government of Nunavut (Arvaluk)
I think the Member for Hudson Bay and I shared the same thoughts.
I think of this quite a few times how a great many Nunavummiut are increasingly unhappy about our government.
They are becoming dissatisfied because they expected that after we got our Nunavut Government, once we got the Nunavut Act, that the government would be closer to the people.
They thought that their opinions would count and to better ensure the future as they would like to see it.
That’s what they expected because that’s what they were told.
They were told to vote yes to the land claims agreement
Now, they are starting to believe that the government is becoming increasingly remote from them. And the projects people wanted in the communities are going very slow. Sometimes they don’t even get off the ground.
Sometimes the projects are just cut even though they’ve been planned.  As Members of the Legislative Assembly, we have approved the Five-Year Capital Plan but after a year has passed, those plans have been drastically changed; so much so it appears our constituents had the wool pulled over their eyes.
The point I’m trying to make, Mr. Speaker, is that we are reviewing capital estimates and make them into law.
Laws have to be abided by the government and cannot be broken. We are already raising our expectations with the new supplementary appropriation which will change what is already law.
What I’m trying to say is that the Premier and the three Members of Cabinet recently visited Pond Inlet to hear from the people, and we welcomed and thanked them for coming to the community.
Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mr. Arvaluk.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, my colleagues.
They were in Pond Inlet and the public met with them and they were going to be in Pond Inlet for a short period of time so they split them into two groups and they met with hamlet council; Minister Brown met with them and the Premier met with the others along with the Transportation Minister where they voiced all of their concerns.
Only the people who had prepared their submissions were allowed to give their submissions at this meeting.
We still haven’t heard responses from the ministers that were at those meetings.
What they are trying to say is that the people from the community would like to receive some help in initial stages and after the initial stage we’ll try to operate our own. For example, if it’s going to be a small craft harbour, like anything to keep the community to govern themselves, but they don’t want to be just begging from the government.
They don’t want to be given handouts but they want some assistance to initiate things and govern themselves.
For example, let’s look at the Co-op. There are over 100 employees in Pond Inlet and it is all run by Inuit.
What I’m trying to say is let’s look into our community and find out how the communities can start governing themselves this winter so that we can find out how cost saving it is to govern by themselves.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Arvaluk. Please remember to look at your time when you are going to do your Members’ Statements.
Going to the Orders of the Day. Item 3. Members’ Statements.
I am happy to recognize and everybody knows this person in Nunavut.
He came to the North in 1947 to the Hudson’s Bay Company and we honour him. Although he is a non-Inuk, he understands and speaks Inuktitut, and used to be in a high position.
Us Inuit believe that saying but he’s my constituent and he tells things from the past, things that he went through, and I want to welcome him: Mr. Gordon Rennie.
I want to ask him if he could write a book.
Welcome to the Gallery in the Legislative Assembly.
It also gives me great pleasure to introduce a long-term northerner and a Nunavut resident involved in the business community as a loans person, helping facilitate new entrepreneurship throughout the territory. It gives me great pleasure to welcome to the Assembly a constituent of mine, Mr. Bob Long.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Picco. Welcome to the Legislative Assembly.
Question 326 – 2(4): Dissatisfaction with the Performance of the Minister of Health and Social Services (Curley)
Mr. Curley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
The Kivalliq is dissatisfied with the lack of progress on a number of issues. The list is lengthy: agency nurses, lack of housing for medical staff, 24-hour care, the boarding home, problems also in the Baffin region with medical travel. Also, Mr. Speaker, it includes the minister’s failure to allocate capital funds for fiscal year 2008-09.
Mr. Speaker, it clearly shows the minister has failed to deliver programs for Nunavummiut.
I believe that I have made it clear, Mr. Speaker, that I am dissatisfied with the minister’s performance as Minister of Health and Social Services. Will the minister voluntarily resign from her position, and if not, why not?
The member mentions a number of issues; housing, 24-hour care, boarding home and so on.
The member is aware that the Housing Corporation has announced a number of programs for housing in the region.
The member is aware that we opened a 24-hour facility in the Keewatin region. The boarding home situation is a Health Canada negotiation process that we are working with.
We have presented our strategy for boarding homes to Health Canada in September.  So, there are a number of fronts that we are moving forward in, and this week I will also be tabling the Nursing in Nunavut Recruitment Strategy that will address the issue with agency nurses.
That does not convince me at all that the minister should remain as the Minister of Health.  There is no 24-hour care, for instance, at the hospital that opened two years ago in Rankin Inlet.
Just the other day, Mr. Speaker, a terminally ill individual says it’s getting more and more difficult to go down to Winnipeg for chemo every month. Why can’t we just do it here in the hospital? We have one in Rankin Inlet.
It is not possible. They don’t have that service, and it’s therefore not possible.
In light of her department’s lack of upcoming capital projects for Kivalliq, can the minister explain why the Kivalliq region and its representatives should have confidence in her?
Chemotherapy is a function that is carried out in Ottawa and in Edmonton.
So far we don’t provide chemo or cancer treatment in Nunavut.
It is a costly process to set up the infrastructure in delivering the chemotherapy services to cancer patients in our territory. In terms of the capital plan, the Five-Year Capital Plan, there is a process in place that we follow as a government.
The projects are identified through CG&S through technical assessments for facilities, and that process then provided to the department is what we work with in moving forward for capital projects.
In the last few years we have delivered a number of programs for the Keewatin region, and in fact this year, from last year, is double the capital amount; 21 percent of the capital budget for this government is going to the Keewatin region as opposed to 11 percent.
The project that we have been trying to move forward in the Department of Health is a commitment that was made in 2003. If you look to the capital plan in 2003, there are two projects that are outstanding from the 2003 commitments that I have committed this department and this government to work toward in achieving, and that relates to the health facility in Repulse Bay and in Taloyoak.
Those two projects were sacrificed as a result of the priorities set by Full Caucus in Arviat.
You were part of that.
So in terms of trying to move forward in the capital planning process, the decisions are made through the FMB where there are three Keewatin MLAs at the table, then we go through the standing committee process, and the process is here.
The project for Repulse Bay is in the Five-Year Capital Plan if you look to the back of your books.
So I don’t make this stuff up. It’s in the books and we are moving forward on a number of those capital projects. The process we follow is the process established by this government and we will continue to do so.
Before the supplementary, I want to caution the members; your questions have to go through the Chair or the Speaker and do not point at each other.
I think we’re following the Rules quite effectively.
Mr. Speaker, the minister’s response completely ignored the question that I raised earlier. So the Kivalliq region has no confidence whatsoever with the performance of the minister.
She has not effectively addressed the first ones that I indicated earlier. There remain concerns and problems.
Number two, Mr. Speaker, Rankin Inlet continues to have concerns with respect to the issue of finding doctors for the communities and we’re at least two years behind from the opening of the regional hospital facility. What specifically is being done to address this issue?
Again, getting feedback from members from the Keewatin, I stood around the table with three MLAs from the Keewatin to get the feedback that are important to the Keewatin region. I also get feedback from Member Mapsalak as well as Alagalak on issues important to the Keewatin.
So in terms of trying to address this situation in Rankin Inlet related to doctors, we just released a Physician Recruitment Strategy that’s been out now for the last year.
This week I will be tabling a report related to the Nursing Recruitment Strategy.
It’s a first-ever strategy produced by this government to address the shortage of nurses in Nunavut.  The number of training programs that we have put forward in building our own capacity is also on the government records in supporting building capacity in the regions.
The two doctors in the region are in place presently and we will continue to try and deal with the implementation for the three facilities in the Nunavut Territory. I had committed to providing implementation plans to the member, if you will recall last session, and I’m still committed to doing that. So there has been progress.
The member should be accountable to the responsibilities that we have given her. A number of Members of this side of the House have given her the job to be our Health Minister, as well as a Cabinet representative.
The minister should not be hiding behind the three ministers from Kivalliq.
She’s responsible completely for the health budget as well as the O&M for that department. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I’m not convinced that she should remain as the Minister of Health.
Rankin Inlet continues to have concerns with respect to the issue of a boarding home she promised two years ago. What specifically is being done to address this issue?
No one is hiding behind the other MLAs from the Keewatin region.
All I’m trying to state here is that there are other members from the Keewatin region I work with.  There are other MLAs from the Keewatin region I work with on a regular basis.
Three sit around the Cabinet table. If there are issues from the region, it’s up to all the members to raise those issues. I’m accountable to this House, I recognize that, and the direction comes from the Members in this House, including the members around the Cabinet table, not from one member.
So Mr. Speaker, in terms of trying to address the situations with the boarding home, the information I shared in committee, I had stated that the department has presented to Health Canada a comprehensive Nunavut-wide plan for boarding homes and the rates are being addressed through that process.
It takes time and we’re looking at negotiating the rates to develop the boarding homes for the Keewatin, as well as the Kitikmeot, and constructing a new one in Ottawa as well as here.
The plan is in place and we continue to work with Health Canada to move forward on those projects.
Question 327 – 2(4): Audit of the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation (Tootoo)
I would like to direct my question to the Chairman of the Financial Management Board and the Minister of Finance.
Mr. Speaker, the last Annual Report for the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation was tabled on March 16, 2006 for the 2004-05 fiscal year.
Its annual reports for 2005-06 and 2006-07 have yet to be tabled.
Yesterday’s Report of the Auditor General clearly reveals that there are extraordinarily serious problems with this Crown Agency.
The failure of the NBCC to prepare and submit its annual reports must have been a warning signal to the government.
Mr. Tootoo: When did the minister first become aware that there were problems with the NBCC and what action did he take at FMB to address them?
The Office of the Auditor General has, in past years, identified some weaknesses, particularly in her reports of 2001-02 and 2004-05. In terms of the 2005-06 annual report, it was finally delivered to the Department of Economic Development and Transportation at the end of last week.
We learned the further problems with the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation in November 2006, when the office of the Auditor General advised the Department of Finance about the seriousness of the 2005-06 fiscal year financial audits.
And, what has been done to address these ongoing problems? A number of things were done in December 2005.
The deputy minister wrote to the CEO providing a written warning that the corporation failed to meet it’s obligations regarding the time of submission of the January report.
In April 2006 a second formal letter from the deputy minister reprimanding the CEO was issued, following a report which identified numerous problems with the loan files and administrative systems.
Then on November 25, 2006, when it was reported that the OAG had discovered that key documents was missing, and that electronic back-up documentation had been erased, the deputy minister, again, wrote to the CEO to say that if his performance is not dramatically improved within the next six weeks, additional action may be taken, including dismissal.  In December 2006, the Internal Audit Division of the Department of Finance was tasked to assist the Office of the Auditor General.
As I said earlier today, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Accountability issued a news release on our upcoming hearings on the Auditor General’s Report.
Will the minister assure the House that he will cooperate fully with the committee in ensuring that witnesses with pertinent information to provide to the committee comply with our invitations to appear and give testimony?
Staff from both the Department of Finance and the Economic Development and Transportation is looking forward to taking full part in those hearings.
I thank the minister for that. I also believe that the other people besides staff members for those departments would be called as witnesses.
Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General’s denial of opinion on the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation’s financial statements is unprecedented. I actually think it’s the second time in the history of the Auditor General’s Office to have actually happened. However, for a number of years, I have been raising concerns about the corporation.
In 2006, our standing committee hearings on the Auditor General’s Report raised concerns with NBCC. The government has known for years that there were problems, other than writing letters, as the minister had indicated, and say, just fix things, why was action not taken any sooner than now?
A number of actions have been taking place over the last year.
We first became aware of how serious the situation was in November. Starting at that point, both the Departments of Finance and Economic Development and Transportation have been working with the Office of the Auditor General, and also with NBCC to bring all of their books and files up to date, and start taking it to where it should be.
So for almost a year now, we have been working very closely with both organizations, as I mentioned, to rectify as many of the problems as quickly as possible.
The government’s public accounts and audited financial statements for 2005-06 have not yet been tabled in the House even though the fiscal year ended over 18 months ago.
Can the minister indicate if the Auditor General’s denial of opinion for the Business Credit Corporation is responsible for this delay and tell the House when the public accounts will be tabled?
Hon. David Simailak: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The 2005-06 public accounts are currently in the final review stages with the Office of the Auditor General, and I will be backdoor tabling those as soon as they are available.
Item 6. Oral Questions. Member for Cambridge Bay, Mr. Peterson.
Question 328 – 2(4): Qulliq Energy Corporation’s Mandate to Own & Operate Telecommunications (Peterson)
My question is for the Minister responsible for the Qulliq Energy Corporation.
Mr. Speaker, the other day I tabled the court order between the Qulliq Energy Corporation and the Nunavut Business Development, or the Nunavut Business Development Corporation, Broadband Development Corporation. I am tongue-tied again here today.
There are too many acronyms in the government.  Mr. Speaker, I reviewed the court order with great interest and reviewed the minister’s replies to my colleagues earlier in this session.
I remain totally confused about why QEC blocked the Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation from their facilities across Nunavut. To me it didn’t make any sense last summer and it doesn’t make any sense now. It occurred to me that perhaps QEC is thinking about getting into business for themselves.
Now, I need the minister to clarify to me what the role and mandate of QEC is to the House as it relates to telecommunications, and specifically, Mr. Speaker, is it within QEC’s mandate to own and operate telecommunications infrastructure and equipment?
I apologize to the member if he is confused; but very simply, the Business Development Corporation or the corporation, or the QEC...