EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Of course, we want to help the MLAs out as well because I know you folks receive a lot of emails and visits from constituents about concerns. I know you forward their concerns to me, and I have to go back down to the department. It’s a very long, convoluted process.
It shouldn’t be like that. It should be a fast response in a reasonable amount of time so that people get the information they want.
I don’t quite understand the minister’s response.
Mr. Speaker, while it is not entirely clear that a “revision” and a “review” are the same thing, will the minister confirm that any new procedure will address the need for consistent standards of service and care at all territorial health facilities?
I thank Mr. Tapardjuk for the questions.
Just to alleviate his concerns, we are reviewing the process, but the intention is to come up with a new process. We have a new communication strategy to provide more focus on the program, client/patient and health professional relationships, standardize the process, and speed up the response time to people’s concerns. There should be absolutely no call for people having to wait four weeks or even longer for a response, if they even get a response.
They should get a response. Sometimes we may get concerns that we have to turn around in 24 hours.
We will have to identify that. There is going to be more accountability. I’m looking at putting a position or positions in charge of this whole process.
I also thank the minister for his response. In his statement yesterday, the minister committed to providing members with more information as they “move along.”
Now, Mr. Speaker, as Members of the Legislative Assembly, we are still asked questions about the status of this matter.
We will need to disseminate this information to our constituents as to how this program is running.
Perhaps in the future, we will finally get an update about the recommendations to improve the system currently in use.
Will we be receiving an update and when exactly can we expect an answer from the minister on the findings of his department’s review of the patient/client complaints procedure?
I thank Mr. Tapardjuk. As I indicated in my Minister’s Statement yesterday, our target completion date is December and then we will hopefully roll it out in the new year.
I know we will be gathering again in January for standing committees. Of course, we can, if necessary, have discussions with Full Caucus then.
My staff knows that this is a very urgent and top priority concern for the Legislative Assembly, so they’re working on it and I’ll keep on top of it.
Question 415 – 3(3): Conservation Officer Position in Coral Harbour (Ningeongan)
My questions will be directed to the Minister responsible for Environment.
This spring, there was an advertisement for a position of a conservation officer in our community due to the fact that the Coral Harbour conservation officer left his position.
I have been led to understand that to date, interviews have been undertaken with the candidates who applied for this position and that a decision has been made.
I would like to understand when exactly Coral Harbour can expect a new conservation officer.
I would like to get an answer on this first.
I am quite happy to respond to the member’s question. November 5 is the starting date for the new conservation officer in Coral Harbour.
Mr. Ningeongan (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker; I also thank the minister for that wonderful piece of news.
Another matter which the minister probably understands is related to the shortage of housing in our community that led to the delay of the hiring of the position.
Can the minister provide an update this afternoon whether or not our new conservation officer will have housing available when he starts his position in Coral Harbour?
Currently, due to the lack of staff housing, the conservation officer is going to be at the hotel up until a housing unit is found in his community.
At this time, we will be working with the Nunavut Housing Corporation to search for accommodations.
On October 25, we will know whether or not staff housing will be available for this position in his community.
Mr. Ningeongan (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the minister.
I understand that there was an individual currently in the Environmental Technology Program who applied for that position from Coral Harbour. This position was felt to be something they would enjoy.
With respect to future conservation officers, are there environmental programs available for Nunavummiut, especially since they are best suited to these jobs due to their familiarity with the culture and language?
Do we have students in these programs that can fill these positions in the future?
We had started making plans to have a training program available in Coral Harbour.
The individual who was going to be the instructor moved to another community, so that initiative stalled, but there are training programs available with regard to environmental technology.
Again, as I stated earlier, the incumbent is going to be starting on November 5, but he will be working out of Rankin Inlet for a while.
Question 416 – 3(3): Contracting Reform (Curley)
Mr. Speaker, it is perfectly clear that Nunavut is facing an unemployment crisis. I believe that reforming the government contracting practices is one of the mechanisms by which it can develop an effective strategy to address Nunavut’s appalling unemployment rate.
On March 1 of this year, the Premier announced that the government would be taking a comprehensive review of its contracting practices to, and I quote, ensure that “the benefits of economic development in Nunavut stay within the territory and provide opportunities to land claim beneficiaries.”
Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out to the Premier that she made that statement seven months ago.
When will this work be completed?
Following the framework for the government’s contracting practices and procurement, it’s there for a reason, and then there’s the NNI Policy that is applied.
It is currently under review with the cooperation of Nunavut Tunngavik and we will also factor in the recommendations that were made by the Auditor General.
We are also looking forward to the completion of the comprehensive review. We have not quite completed the interim report. We are looking at the completion of the comprehensive review in the new year.
Speaker: Thank you, Madam Premier. Your first supplementary, Mr. Curley.
My question was: when will this work be completed? It seems like nothing is completed yet.
Mr. Speaker, I alluded in my preamble to what I believe is a crisis of unemployment in our territory and the importance of having a system of government contracting that actually supports employment and business opportunities for our constituents.
Can the Premier tell Nunavutmiut and the House today what the unemployment rate in Nunavut currently is?
On the issue of unemployment and business opportunities in Nunavut, I don’t have the statistics in front of me, but unemployment has decreased. There has been an increase of 2 percent in the employment rate, so there has been a decrease in the unemployment numbers.
Mr. Curley (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we will want that information as soon as possible. We would like to see a statistical report.
If we don’t know the unemployment rate in Nunavut, we can say that it’s still in the backburner of the government departments.
My next question is the review of the NNI Policy was to have taken place in cooperation with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. Can the Premier tell me how many meetings have actually been held between the GN and NTI concerning this review?
Hon. Eva Aariak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have to know that there is always a fluctuation of employment opportunities made available in Nunavut.
For example, there has been a decrease in the number of unemployed since the mining started getting developed around here.
In regard to the review of the NNI Policy, we have to do a comprehensive review.
The Nunavut government has regular meetings with NTI.
I am not part of that review process, but the NNI Policy is under the economic development and transportation department.
They’re working very hard in conducting a comprehensive review and they are cooperating with Nunavut Tunngavik.
Mr. Curley (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So that’s what we have been doing.
Maybe we didn’t hear anything about the unemployment rates.
It has to be a priority of the government.
They don’t even know which department to call when they’re looking for a job.
I have raised a number of concerns about the government ignoring the recommendations of the contracting appeals board that has been established under the NNI Policy.
Can the Premier assure me that the government is looking closely at the issue of giving the appeals board clear authority to make binding decisions, yes or no?
As I said, there is a comprehensive review being done and I can’t talk about the contents prior to the finalization of this report.
However, I can tell you that our staff is working hard to make sure that the report is complete.
For our information, employment and unemployment rates fluctuate. For example, the people who want to work for the Nunavut government can enquire with the Department of Human Resources and those who want to work in regard to contracts can also try out for the tender and so on. They can get in touch with the contractors.
There are ways and means of finding out that sort of information.
Once the comprehensive review of the NNI Policy is done, we will find out the employment and unemployment rates.
Because of the importance of the NNI Policy, we gave direction to have a comprehensive review done and to find out if there has to be some adjustments or amendments made.
Question 417 – 3(3): Activities of the Public Agencies Council (Elliott)
My questions are for the Minister of Finance in his capacity as the Chair of the Government of Nunavut’s Public Agencies Council.
As the minister will recall, the Legislative Assembly’s Standing Committee on Oversight of Government Operations and Public Accounts held hearings earlier this year on the 2012 Report of the Auditor General on Procurement of Goods and Services.
Yesterday, the government’s formal response to the standing committee’s report and recommendations was tabled in the House, as were a variety of departmental and Crown agency action plans.
In our standing committee’s report, we noted that the Qulliq Energy Corporation’s own corporate plan specifically acknowledges that, and I quote, “operates within the context of…Article 24 which sets up a procurement preference for Inuit, Nunavut and local contractors.”
However, the QEC’s action plan states that it is of the view that it is exempt from the provisions of the NNI Policy.
Our standing committee recommended that the Public Agencies Council clarify this issue. Can the minister tell the House when will it do so?
Minister responsible for the Public Agencies Council and the Department of Finance, Minister Peterson.
Mr. Speaker, I can’t tell Mr. Elliott when we will clarify it.
It was explained to Mr. Elliott in the past that the Public Agencies Council makes recommendations. We, as ministers responsible, have oversight of the public agencies.
I think that’s one of my ongoing concerns. It seems like when I ask questions about the Public Agencies Council, they don’t really serve a purpose.
So if they don’t serve a purpose, then what is the point of having it?
The Qulliq Energy Corporation’s action plan explains its rationale for why it believes that it is exempt from the NNI Policy. It states, and I quote, “Following the NNI Policy increases the cost of operating the utility.”
Mr. Speaker, it would seem to me that this logic could be used by all of our departments and Crown agencies. For example, the Nunavut Housing Corporation could argue that if it were exempt from the NNI Policy, it would have additional funds with which to build new houses.
Does the Public Agencies Council accept the Qulliq Energy Corporation’s explanation, yes or no?
Minister responsible for the Public Agencies Council, Minister Peterson.
There’s no clear-cut answer on this.
Mr. Speaker, as I said, the public agency only makes recommendations, but to answer Mr. Elliott’s question, we haven’t even discussed this at this point.
It was through the Standing Committee on Oversight of Government Operations and Public Accounts that the recommendation that the Public [Agencies] Council would look at this. Once the Premier tabled everything yesterday, I was under the assumption that meetings would have been made and the recommendations from our committee would have been looked at and decisions would have been made.
Obviously that hasn’t happened.
Could the minister let us know when they would meet to deal with this? Usually, it is 120 days, I believe, that they come up with a response to what we have recommended, and that was one of our recommendations.
I can’t tell Mr. Elliott when we will deal with it.
Mr. Speaker, I will assure the member that we do take his concern, we note his concern, and I’ll speak to my officials as soon as possible about a Public Agencies Council meeting.
The Auditor General’s report noted a number of errors in the Qulliq Energy Corporation’s annual reports on its contracting, procurement and leasing activities. The government’s response to our standing committee’s recommendations indicated that the QEC is “unable to produce accurate reports for the years 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 at this time.”
Can the minister indicate how the Public Agencies Council is working with our Crown corporations and agencies to ensure that they are able to produce accurate and timely information for the Members of the Legislative Assembly?
The Deputy Minister for Finance is the secretary to the Public Agencies Council and I believe he works very closely with the presidents of the public agencies.
I believe that the financial statements for the Qulliq Energy Corporation should be ready for the winter session.
Question 418 – 3(3): AWG Sports Selection (Rumbolt)
I would like to direct my question to the Minister responsible for Sport and Recreation, the Minister of Community and Government Services.
Last week, the minister met with his counterparts from the Yukon and the Northwest Territories to discuss the reduction in the number of sports in the 2016 Arctic Winter Games to be held in Nuuk, Greenland.
Can the minister provide an update on what kinds of solutions are being considered to address this situation?
I thank my colleague for the question. He is correct.
I had a meeting with the ministers from the Northwest Territories government, the Yukon government, and the Lieutenant Governor of Alaska, along with the Arctic Winter Games International Committee.
Before then, we had also met with the minister from Greenland to discuss the concerns we were going to bring forth. Because of the time zone differences, they weren’t able to participate, so we met with them prior.
There are some real issues with the 2016 Games regarding the sports that we want to also participate in, the six excluded sports.
We sat there and we talked about some possible solutions in order for some, if not all, of those games that are excluded to be included in one form or another.
Mr. Speaker, it’s important to note that the reasons they were excluding those sports is because there are no arena facilities in Greenland.
It’s something you wouldn’t think of in Nunavut or this country, but they don’t have any facilities to hold those events that require skates or ice surface, such as curling, hockey, figure skating, and so on.
They also do not allow the importation of any dogs into their country. You can only have the Greenland Eskimo dog in that country; they don’t allow other dogs into their country.
You can’t have the dog-mushing in their country.
From what I understand, even if they took their dog out of the country, then they can’t bring it back. It’s that tight, from what I understand.
There are very solid reasons why they can’t do those games, but we have communicated, we have talked, and we are looking at solutions so that all or some or most of those games that are games that are currently going to be excluded would be included.
I understand that one of the main reasons for not including certain sports in the 2016 Arctic Winter Games is the lack of the appropriate facilities in the host jurisdiction.
Can the minister indicate whether alternative locations which have the appropriate facilities are being considered as co-hosts for the 2016 Games or whether an alternative competitive event will be planned?
Hon. Lorne Kusugak: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for that question.
That’s exactly what we discussed at the preliminary discussions. They have co-hosted with Nunavut back in 2002, I believe, and there were issues with that.
It was decided at that time there would be no more co-hosting. It was the information we gathered. Because of that, Greenland applied for and got the hosting for the 2016, excluding those events.
Mind you, they had contracted with the City of Iqaluit to be able to host the women’s hockey and another hockey here in Iqaluit.
It’s not considered a co-host because they’re contracting that out.
One of the other issues they had brought up at one point was that all the participants needed to be at the opening and closing of the games.
In fact, the current plan for 2016 is to fly all the athletes into Greenland, have the opening ceremonies, fly the contingent that’s going to play the games here, and then fly them back for the closing. That was one of the issues they had.
We have since discussed those issues with the committee.
There are options that we are looking at and some of them you stated.
We are trying to see if they could deal with their policies, to see if they can take those six excluded sports and include them, just to name a community, maybe Iqaluit, maybe Yellowknife, maybe Whitehorse, and still include them as part of the Arctic Winter Games itself.
If they’re not going to include them, should they be included under the Arctic Winter Games banner?
Those are the things that the committee is going to be reviewing over the next few months.
On our part, we will see if it is possible to hold those six excluded sports in Nunavut and if the City of Iqaluit would want to host them.
So we have to take a look at those over the next while. We have work to do. There were many other suggestions made by the lieutenant governor and all the other people who sat around the room had some different ideas.
At the end of the day, what’s important is that the games continue and as many participants of the games can go on.
So we had those discussions. I believe, some time in the next six months or so, April, May, or June, all the ministers responsible within the Arctic Winter Games and the International Arctic Winter Games Committee itself will sit down and see what can be done to deal with, at least, most of those concerns.
I thank the minister for his explanation on the issues at hand.
I’m sure it’s no easy task.
Mr. Speaker, the Arctic Winter Games International Committee, which has made the final decision on which sports would be included in the 2016 Games, is made up of 12 representatives from Alberta, Alaska, Greenland, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Yukon.
Can the minister clearly describe what representation Nunavut has on this committee and how this representation is selected?
Currently, we have two seats on the international committee, one of which has to be an employee within the sport division of the Government of Nunavut.
Actually, the individual who is still on that committee used to work for our department and she no longer does, so we’re in the process of changing that so that we have a current appointee who is currently working within Sport Nunavut.
The other one is a member at large. Currently, that position, I found out recently, was vacant.
We are doing the proper work right now to submit two names from the general public that have interest in the Arctic Winter Games and the community.
So we are working at current to fill that vacant position.
The process for that is that we have to submit a couple of names to the international committee and they will select an appointee of local names that we do submit.
That’s how that process works.
Question 419 – 3(3): Compensation for Damage to Personal Property Caused by Polar Bears (Oshutapik)
As we are aware in the communities of Nunavut, polar bear disturbances are increasing, especially in the cabins people use nowadays. They are damaging the property of the hunters. The polar bears damage mobile equipment, such as snowmobiles.
My constituents are not the only ones who are experiencing this kind of a problem.
My question to the Minister of Environment is: with individuals’ property being damaged by polar bears, would this program to compensate these hunters be used or continued?
Last spring, I made an announcement that this program would be available.
Our department is starting to receive applications.
We provide funding through applications for the safety of the public or their equipment or for non-profit organizations, such as HTOs, that can apply.
There is a budget of $60,000 annually. If there was property damage, there is $40,000 available that can be used when they apply for compensation, providing that the property owners provide proper storage for their equipment, especially things that polar bears can sniff out.
There are certain criteria that, if not met, would result in a denial.
So we have criteria to follow, as with all applications.
I’m sure that the department has come up with definitions for proper storage, which you referred to in part.
Most sites used by hunters typically have leftover smells, especially if they are good hunters like me.
I was just joking. For the preventative measures, personally I find them useless, especially the materials you mentioned, as the wildlife will usually sniff out old offal and such as it is a place for hunting.
Have you considered any other options to keep the property safe from wildlife other than masking of the smell that you spoke about?
If the member is like me, a not-so-proficient hunter, then there wouldn’t be any leftovers for animals to sniff out.
The items included up to today in this list are electrical fencing that you can put around your property, cabin window, door deterrents to ward off polar bears, and trip alarms or motion sensors connected to an alarm. Either meat boxes or metal enclosures that keep the bear from reaching the meat are included.
Applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
I would like to thank the minister for his response and for putting careful consideration to this.
On the issue of not treating everyone fairly in Nunavut, I’m sure that the HTOs are different because they’re hunters.
Each hunter has the same problems and issues. Why do we have to look at each applicant on a case-by-case basis? Everyone should be treated fairly.
Why doesn’t a letter outlining the reason for the refusal exist? I would prefer that and I wonder if you can revisit that.
Why can’t we look at their assets when reviewing these applications so that people with cabins and equipment are the ones who can benefit?
Yes, we should have reasons outlined as to why the application wasn’t approved since nothing is currently provided as to the reasoning behind the refusal. Can’t you undertake this approach instead?
The funds which we are making available have to be applied for and are specific to public safety, protection of property and equipment, and to ensure polar bear quotas are not whittled down due to polar bears being harvested outside of the hunting season. We have tried to review this with that perspective.
That is why we are advocating protective measures to protect property. That is what we advocate.
Perhaps some camps are continually harassed due to not having a clean area, with old meat and smelly cache sites around their cabins, especially successful hunters who tend to harvest a lot of animals and butcher them on site.