EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
We the Inuit had a tradition where guns were used to provide food on the table and for survival.
The gun legislation of today is totally against our traditional life style.
I asked this question to the minister in October and he said that he would take this as notice and provide us with the information at a later date.
Mr. Minister could you provide the information that you were going to provide us.
I’m not quite sure what the question is but what I can say is this is not the responsibility of the Nunavut Government.
There was no agreement signed between the two governments.
The Federal Government, through the use of the RCMP is working on the gun control legislation and they had a community tour but I had no opportunity to meet with that person.
I apologize and I don’t know exactly what came about in regards to gun control regulations.
There were going to be community consultations and I apologize that I could not have a meeting with that person.
Possibly what I could do is get in touch with that person and give you the information afterwards.
The reason I’m asking this question is because in October I believe you made a statement saying that you would have a meeting with the minister in Ottawa.
That’s why I asked you about what happened at the meeting you had in Ottawa.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you Mr Kattuk.
We had that meeting with the Minister of Justice of Canada to talk about the gun legislation and how it can be improved for Nunavut, for example filling out of forms that are just in English for those Inuit who don’t write the English language.
I can use an example of where the people of Nunavut could have exactly the same rules and regulations but it has to be made easier because we buy guns for hunting purposes and not for anything else.
This is the example that I gave at that particular meeting that I had with the Canadian Justice Minister.
I was trying to find out how he could make it easier for the Inuit when were trying to get our guns from the RCMP.
To put a supplementary to the Minister of Justice, in the land claims agreement it states that the Inuit of Nunavut do not require a license or have to pay fees and that’s specific in the land claims agreement.
My question is did you know that there was such a clause in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and how is it going to be implemented by the Nunavut Government rules and regulations.
I believe that this was going to be one of the questions that would be posed to the person when he was doing his community tours.
I will make that one of the questions when I talk to them.
He was going to be talking to the people of Nunavut about the fees and so on.
Again in our ridings there are a lot of people out there who don’t know about the gun control regulations and the legislation.
There was one particular person who wanted to buy a gun through a retail outlet and the manager just told him that he would have to call Yellowknife first and that he would have to pay a 25 dollar fee if he’s going to be ordering a gun.
When he was told that by the manager he just didn’t order the gun anymore and then when he tried to order one from a southern province he was still told he would have to pay a 25 dollar fee in order to get his gun.
What is this 25 dollar fee used for.
Hon. Jack Anawak (interpretation): The 25 dollar fee is used for the administration done by the retailers or whoever is administering the process.
The RCMP member who was going to the communities said it doesn’t have anything to do with what the RCMP did, it’s something that the Hudson Bay Company does or the retail outlet that administers those types of things.
It doesn’t have anything to do with the government, it’s an administrative fee charged by the retail outlets.
Question 184 - 1(3): Decentralization of Arctic College Positions
Mr. Speaker, my question is back to the Minister responsible for Education and also Arctic College.
Mr. Speaker, in the fall session the minister made a commitment to myself and other members in this house that on July 1st 13 jobs would be decentralized to my home community of Arviat.
These would be Arctic College jobs.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the minister if this commitment is still as promised and stated in the fall session.
Minister responsible for....Mr. Okalik.
We’ve been doing very well in Arviat on decentralization.
We don’t have office space right now to transfer any more positions so what we’re trying to do is find alternate arrangements and we’re still fully committed and we’re in the process of waiting for additional office space at the moment.
Once those are ready then we will transfer Arctic College positions to Arviat. Thank you Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we’re more than pleased with the support and the effort on behalf of the Premier in reference to jobs that have been decentralized and promised to our community.
I think it is important that we keep sight on what is committed, that we keep following up so it does actually occur.
My second question to Mr. Okalik is, can you give me a time frame that I can relate back to the people of my community so that I can have an idea.
When do we expect the accommodations to be ready or found.
Hon. Paul Okalik: Thank you Mr. Speaker. We’re looking at renovating a building that’s currently being occupied at the moment and once the new budget is in place and we can renovate the old Health Centre to an Arctic College facility then we'll be in a position to transfer the positions.
So hopefully next year, but a lot of it depends on the construction of the new Health Centre in Arviat.
Right now it’s scheduled to be completed this fall and hopefully we'll be in a position to move into the facility early next year.
I want to ask the minister or the Honourable Paul Okalik rather, if the Hamlet were to find available space to accommodate temporary offices over the next year until the permanent office is ready, would the Premier consider this possibility.
We’re open to any suggestions that might be put forward and we'll see.
We have to wait to see the options and we’re open to suggestions.
Mr O'Brien: Thank you Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the response from the Premier.
I can assure him that the Hamlet will provide some options for the Premier and his staff for their consideration to place those jobs in the community as early as possible.
There’s no question.
Question 185 - 1(3): NTPC Cut-off Process
My question will probably come out in two parts Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister responsible for NTPC.
I believe there’s a rule or regulation coming from the NTPC where after 48 hours late payment their power will be cut off.
Looking at the north and extreme conditions it’s very, very serious if the water pipes break because the costs go way up.
Is the minister going to be making a change to that 48 hour late payment cut off.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question so we can clarify the situation around that notice.
What happens Mr. Speaker, is the notice is sent out from headquarters in Hay River and it still gives the consumer or the customer six weeks to pay.
On that notice it says if it’s not paid in a certain amount of time their power will be cut off.
As we know Mr. Speaker, we do not cut peoples' power off in December or January when it’s 40 below.
The customer has the opportunity to go in to the NTPC office when they receive their bill to explain the situation to the payment agency in their community, to the power plant operator, to the NTPC employee in their community, who will explain when the payment date will be and so on. Also they can contact Hay River who will not allow the cut off of their power supply.
So there are options Mr. Speaker, available to the customer after they receive that notification. Thank you Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Speaker. It’s probably like that from your vantage point but when you're at the community level it's different.
Will your headquarters employees follow through with the orders and all that you have mentioned.
When the bill finally arrives into the community, it's already overdue.
Is there something you can do Mr. Minister.
Mr. Speaker, just give me an opportunity to maybe clarify the situation.
When the customer receives their bill and they hadn't paid it the month before, they will now get a notice from the Power Corporation saying you have a certain period of time to pay your bill.
When you receive that notice you have the opportunity of going in and speaking to the person on the ground within your community to speak to them about the payment, the payment agency about paying the bill at a proper time, at a prompt time, so that your power would not be cut off.
You have that opportunity to do that before any power is cut off.
Then the notice is referred back to the community itself, to the power plant operator who would contact the customer and say, look your bill has not been paid, and then that's the third opportunity that the customer has to make representation to pay the power bill.
It's not that you receive the bill in the mail and then the power is cut off.
So there are considerable opportunities to do that.
After saying that Mr. Speaker, the NWT Power Corporation is a Crown Corporation.
We have 33% ownership as the members know.
The NWT Government has the rest, 67% of the ownership of the Power Corporation and this is a business decision made by the Power Corporation.
It is not a decision made by this government.
You still have not answered my question.
Mr. Speaker, your staff, as you have just stated earlier across Nunavut, will you be educating your staff in regards to power cut off in Nunavut.
Speaker: Minister responsible for the Power Corporation, Mr. Picco.
Mr. Speaker, the staff have already been consulted on the way to deal with arrears on people's accounts.
There is a format in place to deal with that.
That has been there before this notice came up.
Two weeks ago I had an opportunity to meet with the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, Mr. Ootes and explained and spoke to him about some of our frustrations in Nunavut that this notice did come out again.
That was not a decision made by the Government of Nunavut, that was a decision made by the corporation itself, at its Hay River head office.
But what I will do Mr. Speaker, is commit to the member and to this House and to the people of Nunavut that we will endeavour to ensure that this system is fair, as fair as possible, that it's in place and we'll have to re-look at this latest move by the NWT Power Corporation on the collection of its arrears.
Question 186 - 1(3): Interviews Regarding Fuel Prices
Mr. Tootoo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister Responsible for Public Works and Services and Petroleum Products.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to mention here that the Bathurst Mandate that this government put out states that one of the principles that guides us is to develop an open, responsive and accountable government.
I'd like to ask the minister if she and her department are committed to going along with that principle.
I think the whole government is.
Mr. Speaker, in a document that I tabled last week in the house there's an article from the newspaper entitled "Gas Increase Hits Hunters".
The minister indicated in there, it has indicated that the minister refused to speak on the issue stating that she had already given enough interviews on gas prices.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the minister if she could explain how those comments fall in line with being open and responsive to the people.
I wasn't at my office when the phone call was made so I couldn't make any comment.
Mr. Speaker, then is the minister indicating that as the paper states, and I'll read it right from the paper, it says, "Minister Thompson refused to speak on the issue stating that she had already given enough interviews about the gas prices."
If she wasn't in her office, then this is in fact something that did not happen.
I never spoke to the interviewer at the time, Maria Canton, according to the News North article.
I have never spoken to her, so in that case, I never said those words.
It was her interpretation when I didn't pick up the phone I guess.
Sorry Mr. Speaker.
Question 187 - 1(3): Baker Lake Community Freezer
Mr. Speaker, in the return to my question from the Minister of Community Government and Transportation regarding my community freezer, Mr. Speaker, I think there was some miscommunication there because the letter says there has been some uncertainty about the departmental responsibility for the replacement.
Mr. Speaker, I did not ask for a replacement of the community freezer in Baker Lake, I asked to have the compressors replaced.
Mr. Speaker, you don't replace a house when the furnace breaks down and I'm wondering if the minister can commit to having my community freezer fixed up because we're getting into that season again when it's starting to get warm in a few months and the community depends on that community freezer for the country food.
I will give the commitment that the appropriate department will work on your community freezer, knowing Mr. Speaker, how important it is to the community.
Question 188 - 1(3): Polar Bear Hunting Regulations
I would like to ask a question of the Minister responsible for Sustainable Development.
When there are Polar Bear defence kills or if a female with cubs is killed the disposal of the hide is the responsibility of the Hunters and Trappers.
In my community of Taloyoak, there are now two polar bear hides as a result of these types of situations.
Unfortunately these hides cannot be sold.
I'm wondering if the government would be willing to look at the regulations and policies regarding these situations.
I believe he is asking if we are going to be reviewing the policies.
We agreed in the past and we made this announcement about the Hunters and Trappers regulations and policies within our department.
The Hunters and Trappers in the communities and the Sustainable Development Department have an agreement in regards to dealing with polar bears.
The policy that you have just questioned has been reviewed and once we have consulted other communities, then we will review the other policies that affect all the communities in Nunavut.
Mr. Puqiqnak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Sustainable Development had mentioned that they will be reviewing these policies and consulting the communities.
We do not wish to put our traditional and cultural knowledge aside.
We want to enhance our skills.
Would the minister be willing to review all the traditional skills once the policies and regulations have been reviewed.
How will you be consulting the communities.
If you can give me an answer.
The Wildlife Management Board will probably be working on their mandate for two to three years and they have a lot of issues that need to be implemented, they will be consider all issues seriously.
Question 189 - 1(3): Budget Surplus
This is to the Minister of Finance.
According to the media, we've heard the surplus would be between 30 – 40 million dollars.
I'm just wondering if this is true.
Mr. Speaker, based on a preliminary report passed down on February 1st, it is expected that the Government of Nunavut will have approximately 30 – 40 million dollars of unexpended funds by March 31st of 2000.
Question 190 - 1(3): Cost of Medical Travel
Regarding the newspaper, there is about a 20 million dollar deficit in the health boards combined and accumulated over 2 years, and we know about the high cost of fuel and transportation in Nunavut.
Can the Minister of Health tell me what is the total cost of medical travel in Nunavut this year.
Mr. Speaker, I can't give him the actual cost for this year because this year is not finished yet.
This year won't get finished until March 31st but what I can say is that approximately 20% of the Health Boards' budgets go toward the expense of medical travel.
Our best guess at the present time is that should be around 20 million dollars.
Twenty million dollars.
I appreciate his estimate there.
Has the minister considered tendering out all medical travel on regular flights and also has he considered tendering out the medivac flights.
Hon. Ed Picco: Thank you Mr. Speaker, as the member knows right now, we still have all our health boards in place until April 1st.
They are doing the arrangements.
For example, the Baffin Regional Health and Social Services Board has worked out an agreement with First Air.
They are doing some agreements like that.
What we're doing as the Department of Health and Social Services and myself as minister, is we've contracted with consultants in Audit Canada to do a major review of our travel, of the policies surrounding travel, to see if there are economies of scale.
To see where we can save some money from that budget.
I'm hoping Mr. Speaker, to be able to bring that policy forward over the next couple of weeks to get it to the Standing Committee on Health of this Assembly for discussion and hopefully if it's approved at that time, we'd bring it forward possibly after April 1st.
I appreciate the minister's responses on that.
Even a 20% savings in medical travel will work out to about 4 or 5 million dollars.
So the minister is saying that he is going to have this policy worked out for us before the budget session is over, in Iqaluit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, no, what I said was that we were working on a draft policy and as soon as the draft policy is complete I will bring that forward to the Assembly to the appropriate Standing Committee of this House for discussion and then hopefully have that implemented.
I'm looking at a time line of the next four to six weeks that is why I said after April first, because that is when the health boards would have been integrated into the Department of Health and Social Services and then that policy, if approved, would become the policy of the Nunavut Government.
Before I recognize the next questioner, I would like to recognize the grade eight class who is attending school here and their teacher is Alan Everette.
Question 191 - 1(3): Staff Housing Policy
Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister responsible for Public Works, Government Services and Housing.
Mr. Speaker, I hope the minister has taken some action to correct the incorrect statements in the News North article.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the minister, I believe it was some time last spring, that the Minister responsible for staff housing referred to a copy of the staff housing policy.
I would like to ask the minister if their new policy on staff housing has been developed and would she refer a copy.
Hon. Manitok Thompson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will table the policy from the department, I know the staff have been working on one.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the minister tabling that document in the House, however Mr. Speaker, would the minister indicate if in that policy they have continued an old program of the GNWT which was a buy back policy for employees that either were leaving or transferring from one community or another, or leaving the territory.
Is that buy back policy in the new staffing housing policy.
Speaker: Minister responsible for Housing, Ms Thompson.
Hon. Manitok Thompson: Thank you Mr. Speaker. As with all the policies with the new government, we are reviewing all the policies and we are not implementing the buy back policy as of today.
Mr. Speaker, I guess the minister stated she would be tabling the policy in the House, indicating there was a policy in place and that it was complete.
She also just indicated that they are reviewing it, so I would like to know if it is something being planned or looked at adding into the policy or not.
Hon. Manitok Thompson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can table whatever policy is available right now which may be the old one.
We are reviewing all policies in this government, so it's in process.
We have not been implementing the buy back policy for some time, since we became the new government.
If the member wants the old policy tabled then I will do that.
I don't have a new policy right now because we are reviewing it.
Final supplementary, Mr. Tootoo.
Mr. Speaker, it was last spring that I asked about the staff housing policy and at that time it was indicated to me that it was under review, and they were going to have it done fairly quickly.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the minister when do they ever eventually plan on getting around to completing that review and having a new policy.
I will get back to the member as soon as possible, I don't have the details in front of me.
Mr. Speaker, I'll take that as notice.
Question 192 - 1(3): Consultation with MLAs
Mr. Speaker, this is directed to the Premier. Many times we as MLAs have heard about what the government is doing through the media and sometimes we are usually the last people to hear the news.
I think that we have a problem.
I think that we should have a first hand look at it before anything else is published and as MLAs we should take action in how the statements are worded and what is being taken to the news media.
Can you involve regular MLAs more on this.
Hon. Paul Okalik.
I'm glad when MLAs come into my office to come and discuss with me any of their concerns and they are very welcome and it makes it a lot easier.
Do not to hesitate to come and see me in my office as we deal with these issues on a daily basis.
Some of them may have to be taken as emergency measures but sometimes we usually never know what is being said outside, sometimes we have to work on emergency cases, we usually try and let our staff know and the community know what is going on around the communities.
We all have staff and our officials, we have our workers in our own constituencies.
You can usually give information to our staff in our communities.
If we can work closely together I would prefer that you work and look at this more closely so that we don't blunder.
This is fine and we all have different constituents in Nunavut and if you inform us whenever you are at any type of meeting you are holding then you can contact us at any time.
Question 193 - 1(3): Extra Funding for Housing Authorities
I have a question for the Minister of Housing.
My question is, Mr. Speaker, the Housing Associations in the communities have limited funds and they always encounter this problem each year and some community members are in arrears.
They are in arrears because some of them aren't employed and Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to collect rent from people who are having trouble finding jobs.
It is difficult to maintain housing inventory which is getting older and older, housing authorities have to put their operating and maintenance money into temporary repairs but budgets for preventative maintenance and major repairs are getting smaller and smaller.
My question to the minister, has the minister been able to find extra funds to help local housing authorities with operations and maintenance in the current year.
We will deal with this issue in the budget session Mr. Speaker.
I can respond to that question at that time.
I have a supplementary question for the Minister of Housing.
I understand the Government of Nunavut is forecasting a significant surplus this year, which is 30-40 million dollars.
Will the minister use some of the surplus for housing Mr. Speaker.
As I said earlier Mr. Speaker, once we start on this item of the budget then we can address this issue at that meeting.
I am aware that there are some funding problems in the communities and I am also aware that there are some issues that have to be addressed by the Housing Associations.
But, as I said earlier, I will submit options during the Budget Session, so at this point I can't really make any statements on this issue until later Mr. Speaker.
On the issue of the finance budget discussions…
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In terms of this program, he's going on to a different question Mr. Speaker, the question of renovating some of those older units.
Can he expand on his question Mr. Speaker.
Speaker (interpretation): Can you re-phrase your question Mr. Akesuk.
Mr. Akesuk (interpretation): Regarding these housing units, regarding Hamlet budgets, will you add money to the Hamlet budget or to the Housing Corporation.
Speaker (interpretation): Minister for Housing.