EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Mr. Speaker, I want to say “Happy Halloween” as well to the folks in Arviat and Whale Cove.
In Arviat, Halloween will be held in the community hall again this year as a safety against polar bears.
To everyone going out tomorrow for Halloween and trick-or-treating, please be safe and have fun that night.
Member’s Statement 078 – 4(3): Congratulations to High School Graduates (Keyootak)
I rise today to congratulate the students who have graduated in Clyde River last spring.
Nora Ipeelee,
Marybelle Innuaraq,
Leah Pallituq,
Tyler Hainnu, and
Tyson Palluq.
I would like to congratulate these students on their graduation, and I wish them well in furthering their education.
Member’s Statement 079 – 4(3): Wishes for a Happy Halloween (Joanasie)
Good morning to every one of you.
First of all, I would like to wish a happy birthday to my sister Elisapee. It’s her birthday today.
Tomorrow is going to be Halloween, so I’m wearing my Halloween tie today.
I wish all the children a safe and enjoyable Halloween, going out trick-or-treating, and just to remind them to make sure that they brush their teeth afterwards and have safe Halloween activities.
In some communities, I know that there’s a high population of polar bears, so just be aware of that. Enjoy your Halloween tomorrow.
Member’s Statement 080 – 4(3): SPOT Units in Constituency (Akoak)
First of all, I would like to say “good morning” to the community of Gjoa Haven and my family. They’re probably still sleeping right now. It’s only 20 after 7:00.
Most of all, I would like to say “good morning” to my granddaughter, who is three years old. In talking with her yesterday, she surprised me again, and while talking to her, she said “Ataata, I am Ms. Know-it-all.”
She surprises me every year.
As the Minister of CGS, there are SPOT devices that are free to take. I would like to say to my community of Gjoa Haven, it is the weekend, there are SPOT devices that you can sign out and take, it will help if you need help, and make sure that you take one if you do go out, and other communication devices.
As one of the radio operators would say at the end of her radio show, have a good afternoon, have a good day and stay safe.
Member’s Statement 081 – 4(3): Return to Inuit Cultural Roots (Shooyook)
I also congratulate Mr. Tagak Curley, Father Lechat, and one of my relatives, William Lyall, as he is a blood relative, and I take great pride in his accomplishments and for his lifetime achievement award.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about an unpleasant issue that I am not proud of, for the information of my colleagues.
I want to speak to the issue of suicides, especially in light of the Minister’s Statement, which I was pleased to hear about the moves to incorporate a hotline. I was proud of that initiative.
Regarding suicide based on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and based on my passionate protection of traditional knowledge, I seem to be the only one protecting this from my colleagues. I am committed to protecting life based on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
We gave over control of our lives, so we have to ensure that the best practices of Inuit societal values are revitalized and repatriated into our lives.
Let me start firstly by showing this letter dating back to the 1800s and further back where pictures were taken of Inuit when they were self-governing without any colonial oversight. Inuit in that era had well-managed lifestyles, using caribou skins to clothe themselves, and their lives were a lot simpler and they had a good way of living.
This is what I am committed to protecting.
Secondly, this picture shows an Inuk wearing white clothing from trading posts. From that point onwards, Inuit lifestyles started to become degraded.
I would like to start repatriating Inuit societal values and I have been urged to speak to this issue, perhaps because I am not indispensable or because of my fearlessness.
Mr. Speaker, with regard to suicide, I am deeply disconcerted as I was informed yesterday by a visitor to the gallery to keep debating this issue of suicide to ensure that the numbers drop.
This visitor related the fact that she had lost her daughter to suicide. When she was charged and a court date was set, she was overwhelmed by the process and committed suicide.
This isn’t very picturesque, at least from my perspective.
In some ways, the justice system is culpable for these suicides, at least according to my understanding.
I seek consent unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Indeed, this constitutes part of the problem when people feel apprehensive of future events.
Another matter, here I am unsure of the proper title as there is no Inuktitut name, but I am referring to programming.
Apparently, this person was told of a fearful possibility, such as being executed or beaten up by another person, so that person committed suicide.
There are some good things that I have spoken to, but in some ways, we are being impacted by non-traditional processes and this is part of the degradation and note that it can destroy you.
Due to that being the case, we are looking to see what tenets are the cause and effect for suicide.
Mr. Speaker, many residents have been impacted by suicide amongst our relatives.
This practice we are using today, which is a new one, has to be changed and use the life skill aspects of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit to counsel our communities.
Here is the tidbit of wisdom: while the children are young, once they understand the concepts including the effects of alcohol and drugs, we should teach them about the paralyzing effects that can occur so that they can make an educated choice.
This is something we need to start now.
Mr. Speaker, let us take another look at ourselves and what we want to see in the future.
If we want a better future, we have to inform our children about the pollutants and other bad effects on one’s body. We should teach our children.
Mr. Speaker, these are the types of things that are used to put fear in people, such as drugs.
I am deeply concerned about the impacts as drug users are always looking for money, especially from their parents, to support their habits.
When they experience withdrawal symptoms, they become quite angry towards their parents.
When the drug users imbibe the drugs of their choice, the result is their lives change and they are no longer apprehensive and become relaxed. Will this provide any benefits in our future?
Mr. Speaker, I am completely committed to dealing with this issue and to lower the incidence of suicide. The only way forward is to deal with the challenges we face today, Mr. Speaker.
Today, I seem to understand that my colleagues will not speak to this issue, perhaps or possibly not.
I seem to be the singular representative fighting to change the system and I am becoming stressed over this.
Starting from this point forward, I ask that you support my commitment to change the system.
Further, we have to look at the Department of Justice and the Department of Family Services on incorporating Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. As per my prior statements, you have to have faith in it in order to revitalize it.
However, we are aware that not all aspects of our traditional lifestyle will be repatriated, but we should at least incorporate the parts that work.
Mr. Speaker, I continue to work hard on this and I am committed to resolving it. I spoke about this for the second time and I believe I made my first statement the year before, and I have continued to work towards that.
Mr. Speaker, I am working on this and I am on the cusp of becoming very pushy on this and I am losing my patience, so I may start taking off the gloves to protect Nunavummiut as an elected representative. I am pushing for change.
If it’s not going to be revitalized on the third attempt, I will no longer tolerate the excuses or take it easy on ministers who are responsible for social issues, as I will no longer care about personal feelings when I speak to this issue again.
I would like to see the ministers while it’s still 2015 to work on suicide prevention. I want them to start trying to resolve this challenge.
Member’s Statement 082 – 4(3): Walrus Hunting in Hall Beach (Okalik)
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for your good statement to my colleague.
As today is Friday, we talk about lighter personal issues and experiences.
I want to refer to an experience I went through with our Speaker as we were in Hall Beach upon his invitation in the early summer.
When I was growing up in Pangnirtung, we rarely saw walrus and the areas we went hunting rarely had walrus.
Last year was the first time I saw one live in the ocean when I was in Naujaat.
That was my first sighting and prior to that, I had no inkling of what they looked like.
After our meeting in Hall Beach, you invited me to go out with your brother-in-law, Ron Pialaq, in Hall Beach along with Solomon Qanatsiaq, his son Caleb, and my executive assistant, Karen.
We were out boating amongst the ice and we happened upon three walruses on a small pan of ice.
Nonetheless, I think all of you know that I’m not much of a hunter and sometimes I don’t have a clue on what to do next.
Qanatsiaq offered me a powerful rifle with no scope. The Speaker told me to try to shoot the middle one so that when it was wounded, it wouldn’t escape into the water.
I started trying to aim as it was very close and I couldn’t find the iron sights since it had no scope. What am I going to do?
The result was that I just guessed where I was aiming and when it looked like it was in line, I fired the rifle. What did I see? The closer one I wasn’t aiming for is the one I shot.
It went into the water. The Speaker then ordered me to shoot again for the middle walrus.
He pointed out that I should try to shoot it in the head, as it would die immediately.
I tried to aim better this time, but when I fired, it went completely over the walrus I was aiming for. All I thought was, “How embarrassing!”
Mr. Speaker, I’m not finished. I ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
I didn’t hear any nays. Mr. Okalik, please proceed.
As it stood, the Speaker again urged me to try to shoot it in the head.
When I fired, I finally shot it, wounding it, and the Speaker grabbed the rifle from me and killed the walrus immediately.
He shot it in the neck and killed it.
Once we landed on the ice, the Speaker first harpooned the walrus I had shot. I was astounded by his capabilities.
He then asked me to shoot it, so I shot it in the head. It became unconscious and sank, bringing the float down with it.
I felt very sorry towards his brother-in-law as it unfortunately sank, but I was so happy to have harvested my first walrus.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate your allowing me to harvest my first walrus, but when they started butchering the walrus, I was flabbergasted by the immense size of the walrus and I didn’t know what to do. I was floored by the Speaker’s abilities.
Even though he is a small man, he is very skilled at butchering walrus and I ended up watching the butchering like a small child.
I am extremely grateful to the hunters for allowing us to participate as well as to the Speaker.
Member’s Statement 083 – 4(3): Congratulations to Recipients of Order of Nunavut (Mike)
Hon. Johnny Mike (interpretation): It’s good that someone made a statement about wildlife.
It’s always good to hear about wildlife.
I rise today to say that as residents of Pangnirtung, we would like to congratulate the recipients who received awards from Commissioner Nellie last night.
The residents of Pangnirtung congratulate the people who received the awards: Tagak, William Lyall, and Father Lechat.
We are very proud of them as residents of Pangnirtung.
Tagak is our relative. Many of us are related to him in Pangnirtung, Clyde River, and in the Kivalliq.
He has blood relatives all over.
Many of us were watching Tagak. When I was a teenager in Pangnirtung, when the Inuit Brotherhood first started, I wasn’t too familiar with what they were saying when Tagak was the leader.
When we were brought to the meeting at that time, I didn’t comprehend, but it turned out that they were designing our future.
I used to work with him personally. When Tagak was the president of NCC, I was the chairman of the board.
Mr. Speaker, he has many relatives and I would like to join them in congratulating him.
Before last night, there were recipients of awards for lifetime achievement and we are proud of that too.
Member’s Statement 084 – 4(3): Happy Birthday to Wife, Mary (Enook)
Before I say anything, Mr. Okalik, I think we have to agree to never go hunting together. It would be too scary.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to wish my wife, Mary, a happy birthday. It’s her birthday tomorrow and tomorrow is Halloween.
Have a happy birthday and I will buy candy for you.
Member’s Statement 085 – 4(3): Wishes for a Happy Halloween (Mikkungwak)
I say “good morning” to the people of Baker Lake.
Tomorrow is for trick-or-treaters and the ministers have seen that Baker Lake is now a big community.
My fellow Baker Lake community members will be trick-or-treating tomorrow. Children and teenagers are our future for sure.
Have a safe evening. There will be many vehicles on the road with many children walking about. Be happy tomorrow when you are trick-or-treating.
When Minister Okalik was talking about when we went up the river, he said that he could shoot very straight if the rifle has a scope. He shot a bird in the fall.
Go ahead and try. When he shot at it, he shot it in the head and I was proud, yet he keeps saying that he is not a hunter.
At the investiture ceremony for Father Lechat and the others, I can say that I’m happy as a person from Baker Lake and Kivalliq when I went to school at Kivalliq Hall. When I was a teenager, Tagak went to speak at Kivalliq Hall.
When he was given the award yesterday, he wrote me a note. He asked me for a pen and wrote a note on his comments.
I gave him this pen and he used it just before he received the award. He used this pen when he received the Order of Nunavut, which is the highest honour in Nunavut. I will take good care of it.
I celebrate with Tagak Curley and his relatives.
Member’s Statement 086 – 4(3): Congratulations to Recipients of Order of Nunavut (Quassa)
My wife is going to be celebrating her birthday tomorrow on Halloween Day. I send my best wishes to my wife.
I think that there are quite a number of people who have the same birthday.
I would also like to congratulate the Order of Nunavut recipients. Father Lechat was in Igloolik for 25 years and he also provided services in other communities.
He said that he was going to speak in English and then he ended up speaking in Inuktitut again.
Again, I would also like to congratulate Tagak, who made a huge contribution, as well as congratulations to Bill Lyall.
They were the Order of Nunavut recipients.
I felt very strongly when they were making their speeches. For example, during Tagak’s speech, he focused on young people, listening and talking to the youth.
We should do that because over 50 percent of our population is youth. Work with them, listen to them, and talk to them. That is something that I heard yesterday.
During Father Lechat’s speech, he said to think of others and to be thoughtful of others. (interpretation ends) Think of others. (interpretation) That had a profound effect on me.
During Bill Lyall’s speech, he talked about working together and cooperation. That was his focal point.
These three individuals made very powerful messages to us and I was very proud of them.
Member’s Statement 087 – 4(3): Wishes for Happy Halloween (Ugyuk)
Again I would like to congratulate the recipients of the Order of Nunavut. I would like to congratulate Uqittuq’s parents and his family.
They are role models because of the way they were brought up. I thank them all. I would also like to thank William Lyall’s parents, Nipisa and Tusaajit.
If my grandchildren are going trick-or-treating tomorrow, I wish them and the people of Kugaaruk well.
When they receive candy, it lasts a very long time.
When I go home, I will be giving them candies.
I would like to recognize the following individuals and welcome to the gallery Suicide Prevention Coordinator Tana Nash, who is here, and also from the Kamatsiaqtut Help Line, Sheila Levy, Lorne Levy, Charlotte Borg, Jean Vander Velde, and Beth Healey.
I would also like to take this opportunity to recognize Lorne Levy and Sheila Levy.
Lorne annually talks me into participating in the Rotary Fall Fair, making sure I had a shower that day with the balloon toss. Sheila Levy, both of them are very hard volunteers under many organizations across Iqaluit. Even in my previous career, I have always helped promote the help line and I think it’s a very strong initiative and I wish it all its continued success.
Mr. Speaker, earlier in my Member’s Statement, I spoke of a now famous photographer in Nunavut regarding the stamp that was recently picked up by Canada Post.
I would like to welcome Mr. Frank Reardon to the gallery.
I rise to welcome some of my constituents that are in here today, Charlotte Borg and her husband, John Vander Velde, and also to recognize Beth Beattie, and also Sheila and Lorne Levy.
I have known all of you for a long time and I hope you feel welcome here today.
Speaker (interpretation): Welcome to the gallery. Thank you.
I have no more names on my list. Moving on.
Question 096 – 4(3): Federal-Territorial Relations (Angnakak)
During the recent federal election campaign, the Premier formally wrote to all of the leaders of the major political parties. In his letter, the Premier raised a number of important issues on behalf of the territory, and I thank him for doing so.
Can the Premier tell us when he will be tabling a copy of the response that he received from Prime Minister-designate Trudeau?
Mr. Speaker, as soon as it’s ready for tabling, I’ll surely do that.
Perhaps he hasn’t received it yet.
Mr. Speaker, in the Premier’s letter, he raised the issue of the ongoing devolution negotiations with the federal government, which formally began in the fall of 2014.
Can the Premier confirm what the government’s current timeline is for concluding an agreement in principle?
Premier, Mr. Taptuna.
Our negotiations were going very well until the election was called.
Of course, the negotiations had to be suspended for the elections.
We have no set time and date and we don’t know which federal minister that we’re going to be dealing with.
They have yet to name a chief negotiator for this, but once we put all of that into place, I’ll let the members know.
I look forward to hearing more about that.
In the Premier’s letter, he pointed out clearly that we need federal investment to address what could fairly be described as a housing crisis in Nunavut.
Can the Premier tell us what kind of commitment he’s looking at receiving from Ottawa?
Speaker: The Hon. Premier, Mr. Taptuna.
Mr. Speaker, as members are well aware, in Nunavut, there is a major housing shortage in public housing. At this time, there are around 3,500 units that are needed immediately for Nunavummiut.
With the number of units, just to keep up with growth in Nunavut, there’s a need for 100 new units per year.
We’re seeking a major investment from the federal government. As members are well aware, this territorial government cannot do it on its own. We’re seeking investment from the federal government.
Once I have a discussion with the Prime Minister-designate, I’ll certainly be bringing that information to the House here.
Question 097 – 4(3): Ship Refuelling in Nunavut (Shooyook)
I would like to thank the minister for working on behalf of my three communities.
My question is in regard to petroleum products.
Last year, we were not able to get our tanks filled. Over the summer, we had made a request to get our fuel tanks topped up.
Why is it that we cannot fill up the tanks on the Kiviuq in the High Arctic communities?
The fisheries coalition president and I had discussions regarding the Kiviuq fishing vessel and why they cannot fuel up the High Arctic communities.
At this time, there are regulations that prevent us from fuelling up the fishing vessels. I had discussions on this issue with Lootie Toomasie about why we can’t fuel up. I know exactly where my colleague is coming from, especially for fishing vessels and trawlers.
It has been approximately 25 years that they have been fuelling up in Pangnirtung. I’ve had discussions on having the Kiviuq fuel up, but they weren’t able to do so.
Mr. Shooyook (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also thank the member for his response.
I was directed by my constituents to ask this question in the House because we have benefited a lot from the fishing boat.
Why is it that the Kiviuq has to go to Greenland, which is very far away, to fuel up when there are petroleum products in Canada?
Because they have to fuel up in Greenland, it takes additional days and prevents them from fishing.
Why is it that they have to go fuel up in Greenland?
As I indicated earlier, we’ve had the same problem in Pangnirtung. It has been approximately 20 years that we have been fuelling up in Greenland.
It’s the regulations that prevent this. As Pangnirtung has been doing so, I had this discussion with Lootie Toomasie, who is the chairman of the fisheries coalition.
I can say that all fishing vessels go to the nearest port to fuel up and it’s not the only fishing vessel that goes to fuel up in Nuuk. A lot of fishing vessels go to Greenland to fuel up.
Pangnirtung now has a port, which is very good for the larger ships, but whether it’s an outfitter, owner of a fishing boat, or a business, they can fuel up in Pangnirtung. The outfitter can carry the gas from the land to the ship and fuel up the ship that way.
That’s how we have been doing it in Pangnirtung for the past 25 years.
I don’t know why they can’t do that up there in Arctic Bay.
Maybe there was no request to do that or it was the wrong circumstances with the Petroleum Products Division.
They have to follow Coast Guard regulations and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is involved there as well.
Nuuk has a real port. It’s called an actual port and it’s got all the facilities that are in a port.
We don’t have anything like that in Nunavut.
There are no ports in Nunavut like the one in Nuuk.
There is nothing set up like that in Nunavut.
In Iqaluit, there are plans to build one like that. It will be a port and it will have all the facilities for offloading and refuelling in the future.
We will finally get a real port if the project goes ahead and that’s the only thing we can expect right now.
Mr. Shooyook (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the minister for clarifying my question.
I completely understand now.
I would like to ask another question. Before the port in Iqaluit is completed, the fishing vessel, the Kiviuq, will never be able to refuel in Canada. Is that true or not?
It’s a yes or no answer.
Before the Iqaluit port is built, is there no way for it to refuel in Canada?
Let me explain it again.
We have been using the system in Pangnirtung for a long time, the way we refuel fishing vessels in Pangnirtung. I told Lootie Toomasie that you can do it the same way we have been doing it in Pangnirtung and the Kiviuq could be refuelled in Arctic Bay.
I don’t know why they didn’t refuel up there.
The member is asking why it wasn’t refuelled. I tried to tell them that there is a way to refuel it.
Lootie Toomasie, the President of Arctic Fishery Alliance, who runs the Kiviuq, I told him that this is how we refuel fishing vessels in Pangnirtung.
I don’t know why they didn’t do that in Arctic Bay.
Question 098 – 4(3): Departmental Positions (Enook)
People of Pond Inlet, good morning, as well as our fellow Nunavummiut.
First of all, I thank her for providing an answer to the question that I had asked about the status of the vacant transportation programs officer position in Pond Inlet. It’s good to hear that the position may be filled shortly.
Let me first ask: can the minister confirm that staff housing is available in the community for the position?
Hon. Monica Ell-Kanayuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also thank the member for that question.
Right now, the prospective candidates were interviewed and in the coming weeks, we should be able to announce who is hired for that position.