EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I will be working with my colleague, the Minister of Health and Social Services, to talk about the possibility of getting a long-term care facility for elders.
Also there are the homecare workers who are compensated by the Government.
They are usually there during the day.
I would like to extend my gratitude to the homecare workers and I would like to inform the people of Rankin Inlet that I will be initiating the dialogue on the possibility of creating a long term care facility for the elders.
Right now they are at home by themselves and they are ill.
They have relatives but they are busy and cannot provide 24 hour care to their elders.
Mr. Speaker, this is a statement that I wanted to make because it is a growing concern to the people of Rankin Inlet and I received a phone call last night to bring up this issue.
I will start discussions with Mr. Picco and see if his department can do something about this issue.
Member’s Statement 428 – 1(6): Space Shuttle Disaster
Mr. Speaker, on February 1st, Nunavummiut were shocked and saddened as we watched events unfold over Texas.
The space shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entering the atmosphere.
Mr. Speaker, with the technology of today, events anywhere in the world are brought to our homes in real time by the power of satellite and modern communication.
Mr. Speaker, the commander of the Columbia, was Rick Husband.
Rick visited here in Iqaluit in 1999 and was here for Canada Day.
He gave my youngest son Pakak, a toy space shuttle.
I had an opportunity to communicate with Rick after his visit.
We had talked about the creation of Nunavut and the excitement of space travel.
I had joked with him and I asked him about travel and possible warp drive.
He was very outgoing Mr. Speaker, and as the events unfolded that Saturday morning, thousands of miles away, many Iqaluitmiut not just me, and Nunavummiut may have thought about Rick.
Mr. Speaker, the commander and the crew were lost on that day.
But Rick and his crew will be remembered.
And for those of us here in Iqaluit and Nunavut we will also remember the Columbia and the visit of her commander, Rick Husband.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask that you and this House join with me to wish the Columbia and her crew, her family’s crew the very best and Mr. Speaker, I will be communicating with Mr. Husband’s family via letter from my office expressing our condolences and maybe a picture of that little space shuttle with our son.
Although events occur around the world, this is a small world that we live in and even though we are thousands of miles away, sometimes events that occur a thousand miles away do affect us in ways that sometimes are not completely known like that Saturday morning.
With that Mr. Speaker, I would ask the House to join with me in wishing the very best to the families of Columbia and her crew.
Thank you on behalf of the other Members.
This morning I had a meeting for breakfast at the very early hour of 7:00 with representatives and the national coordinator for Canadian Health Coalition who are touring northern communities.
This morning for breakfast I joined with local residents and the president of the NEU, Mr. Doug Workman, a local representative of the union, Mary Ellen Thomas, as well as Michael McVane, and JP Deroche, who has already been welcomed to the Gallery on issues around healthcare in Nunavut, and the Northern Territories, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome JP and Michael McVane to the Gallery.
Question 418 – 1(6): Treating and Referring Igloolik Patients
I do not want to be boasting, but when my friend was talking about the Shuttle that exploded, I am very glad that he brought this issue up.
I do have a question and I am sure that the families will be properly taken care of.
The Minister probably knows about the people from Igloolik who come down for medical purposes, who are not properly taken care of.
I do know that their appointments are made and when I was in Igloolik there was an individual who tried to get treatment from the nursing station on more than one occasion.
And when he was finally seen as a patient, he was medivaced down to Ottawa.
We feel for the families of the Shuttle that exploded, but I think that we have to look at our backyard and look at the people of Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, I was in no way trying to say that we are not interested in what is happening in Nunavut. All I am saying here, Mr. Speaker, is that sometimes the events happen around the world that affect Nunavummiut.
In the case of the Igloolik patients, Mr. Speaker, let us point out a couple of issues here.
First of all, it was only in 1997 that we actually had a boarding home in Iqaluit for patients.
Before that all the patients who came to the hospital had to be billeted out in people’s homes.
Then, Mr. Speaker, in 1999, we transferred services to Ottawa where we were able to open up our own boarding home, which we actually expanded because before that we only had the Rotel.
The issue of the patients who had been arriving from not just Igloolik but from other communities has been addressed.
Actually, they were brought up by the Member in this House, and we appreciate those concerns being raised.
Mr. Speaker, when patients are sent in for referrals, for example, right now, the orthopaedic surgeons are in town, the orthopaedic people.
There is a huge amount of patients who have been referred, not only from here in Iqaluit, but from across Nunavut.
And in those types of referrals, Mr. Speaker, we are making sure that everyone is seen based on the timeframe and so on, that is allowed through the specialists clinic.
As well Mr. Speaker, when patients are sent to Ottawa and I’ve referred to some other Members in the Assembly here, the very best care is accomplished for them based on the needs that are present.
So I think we’ve done quite a bit in reforming some of the issues around patient care, travel, escorts, as well as accommodations.
I believe the response that was just given.
But I don’t believe we’re developing as fast as we should.
I think it was last year that I started making Member’s Statements and talking about this issue, which has never been resolved.
My question was, if the Minister can send one of his officials so that they can do a study on how the residents of Igloolik are being treated by the health centre.
The Member has been very strong in bringing up issues surrounding the patient services and quality of care issues for both Hall Beach and Igloolik and I appreciate that.
Mr. Speaker, we were as in questioning last week, we were down to about three nurses in the community of Igloolik.
We’re up now to a full compliment of five nurses in the community.
And, Mr. Speaker, if there are specific concerns with treatment of patients in Igloolik, or for that matter, in any community, then we need to be able to have those in writing and document exactly what is occurring.
I would be more than happy to work with the Member in directing those concerns as raised in the House.
Every time there is a problem I know where his office is.
I have approached him and went to see him at his office and many times I have spoken to him about general issues amongst other things.
The mayor of Igloolik has sent correspondence to the Minister.
At times he responds to some of the things that I don’t even ask about in regards to the Rotel.
My question is I was wondering if he could send an official or himself to go to the community of Igloolik to find out for himself how the residents are being treated.
Mr. Speaker, when you ask a question, sometimes you don’t know what you are going to get.
Mr. Speaker, a week and a half ago the director of Health and Social Services for Baffin was in Igloolik and did a review of some of the concerns that were raised by the Member.
Some of those issues are personnel issues that are not raised in this type of an assembly or public forum.
I can’t say to him in all seriousness that concerns were raised.
The director went in and they have been dealt with.
I am confused about the Minister now, whether he understands my question.
My question is whether the Minister is willing to come over to Igloolik or send an official to do a review.
As I said a week and a half ago, maybe I'm not getting the question properly but a week and a half ago, because of concerns raised by the Member here, a review was done by the senior official from the department for the Baffin Region.
In the community we actually went in there and dealt with some of the issues.
Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to go to Igloolik with the Member and meet with the health centre staff, as well as the health committee in Igloolik, to discuss some of the issues that the Member has brought up in this House.
Before we go on with question period, I would like to welcome and acknowledge many, many visitors here to the Gallery, to the Chamber.
They are here for a suicide prevention workshop.
They come from Greenland, Nunavik, Britain, the Northwest Territories, McGill University, Alaska and communities all throughout Nunavut.
Question 419 – 1(6): Decision to Move PPD Position to Baker Lake
When the time comes, I will talk about some of the questions that I had yesterday.
Right now I want to ask that on January 28, the Deputy Minister for Public Works, Ross Mrazek and Peter Scott met with PPD staff in Rankin Inlet.
They talked about the thirteen positions to be relocated from Rankin Inlet to another community.
The Premier mentioned yesterday that there was an agreement in principle, but it has not been talked about. (interpretation ends) Let me just quote the Premier yesterday.
“We just had an agreement in principle; we have not had a final agreement.”
(interpretation) He quoted that yesterday.
Who told the Deputy Minister of Public Works, and who told Peter Scott to make a decision on this?
Who made the decision for them to move PPD positions from Rankin Inlet to another community?
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The de-centralized positions that were set out in the implementation plans; we are following the plans that were set out for decentralization. We are going to go ahead and proceed with the plans that we had for decentralization.
The Cabinet had talked about the decentralization of these positions.
We are trying to find the best ways on how we can decentralize these positions to the communities.
We have been working with our staff to ensure that this is done efficiently.
Also that we will be decentralizing the PPD staff.
We are going to try and find the best way, and do a study on how we can best make it efficient and expedient. We have agreed in principle that we would decentralize these positions.
We have kept it open.
We are not hiding anything, but we will need to do a feasibility study on these positions first, before we transfer them.
We have now just heard that they would need to do a feasibility study first before they decentralize these positions.
They would need to do a feasibility study first.
I thought that they had already decided to transfer those other 13 positions to the other community.
We wrote the first letter on September 25, 2002, to the Premier and we had asked the Premier, on the decentralization of these positions and we haven’t received any response to date on that letter that we sent.
Perhaps, the letter that has been sent hasn’t reached his office.
It’s been about six months since we last wrote that letter.
Since he said that he’s going to do a feasibility study on these positions, is it going to be the general practise of the government that after there was an agreement in principle on decentralization, the communities of Baker Lake, Pangnirtung, Cambridge Bay, Igloolik and Cape Dorset, are the decentralized communities.
I think that it is a very sensitive precedent that they would make a decision to make decentralized positions and then change their minds afterwards and then they decentralizing in a different manner.
Speaker: Address that question if he wishes.
You spoke of a letter.
I’m not sure if that letter is before the House or what letter it is or who it came from, who signed it.
You may want to clarify that so we have a better understanding of the document you referred to.
Mr. Anawak: Mr. Speaker, when we first learned of the proposed move, of the positions from Rankin Inlet, my colleague from Rankin Inlet South; Whale Cove, wrote a letter to the Premier on September 25th and cc’d the letter to the Hamlet of Rankin Inlet.
All I’m asking for in this, I am prepared to table the letter if it need be, but it was a letter that was written concerning the concerns we had with regards to a PPD move.
It is traditional here in the House that these documents or letters are tabled.
I will leave it to the Premier whether he wishes to address this matter even without the letter being tabled in the House as per the protocol.
Perhaps we should have a tabled document of this letter first before I respond to it.
On this issue of trying to use scare tactics on the issue of decentralization, that is not the case.
We have only two more communities that we need to finish on decentralization.
As soon as we decentralize all the departments and staff, we will be concluded with decentralization and then we can go on to the different tasks at hand.
If we don’t finish what we set out to do on decentralization, we won’t get anywhere.
As soon as we finish decentralization, we’ll finish other projects and programs that we need to do.
Mr. Anawak: Mr. Speaker, I’m hardly in a position to threaten any community. I’m hardly in a position to threaten any community.
I’m not threatening anybody.
All that I am saying is that if I were one of those decentralized communities, I would be worried about it when Rankin Inlet had the Petroleum Products Division long before April 1, 1999, are we now going to decentralize decentralized communities?
My colleague from Kugluktuk has had the same problem with a section of a department being moved from Kugluktuk to elsewhere.
Is that what we are going to do?
Or is this the practise that when communities are settled, because of the decentralization program, they should be worried that their communities might get positions taken away because of some other community needing some jobs.
That is all that I am saying.
Mr. Speaker, I am hardly in a position to threaten anybody, and I would very much be aware if I were to threaten any community, or any decentralized community with that.
My question, Mr. Speaker, I will say it in Inuktitut. (interpretation) Is that going to be the general practise about moving positions from their present locations to another community because of decentralization?
A lot of these positions had already been in place long before April 1, 1999.
Should they be afraid?
Final Supplementary. Mr. Anawak.
He is stating that they do not have to be concerned.
For instance the PPD department were worried because their jobs were going to be decentralized.
They were in a concerned position.
Some of the staff, the families, the husbands, and the wives, and the children, were worried about that.
That is why I asked the question, because they were already in a state of alarm in that community of Rankin Inlet.
That is my reason for questioning the Minister.
I would like to also ask the Premier if he did not decide already, beforehand, after they decide that they are going to decentralize a department, will they do a review after that?
And then talk about it, or announce it, only after they have decided that they are going to decentralize from one community to another?
We do not know beforehand for some of the departments.
In regards to Petroleum Products, as we all know, Mr. Speaker, we are trying to get it away from the arm of the Government, and to make them a stand alone corporation.
That is what we have been working towards in the last few years.
After they are a corporation, they would be able to operate by themselves, and they would have a new mandate.
So what we have done is we picked an interim president for the corporation.
Those are the types of stuff that I have to do a review on just so that they can have an effective operation when they become a stand alone corporation such as the Petroleum Products and Power Corporation.
Question 420 – 1(6): Street Lights – Responsible for Payments
Thank you for recognizing me.
Perhaps I’ll make a mistake by asking this question, but the question is directed to the Minister of Community Government and Transportation.
If I make a mistake please let me know.
It is in regards to power rates in Nunavut.
It is about the power that we receive from the power corporation.
It’s going to be brightening up pretty soon and it will not be getting dark much.
I would like to ask the Minister for the Transportation who pays for the street lights.
This has been a question asked by the hamlets.
I am the Minister for Community Government and Transportation.
This question should be directed to the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation.
A number of people who pay for the street lights, have asked it.
It makes sense, Mr. Speaker, because in the communities the street lights are on all night and are also on when the day breaks.
We try to make sure that they are not used too much.
This question has been asked by the hamlets as well.
That is all I can say.
At least I know who to direct the question to, but I want to repeat this question again to the Minister responsible for Community Government and Transportation, do the municipalities pay for the street lights or are they given funding to pay for the street lights?
The municipalities are allotted operations and maintenance funding and they do have quite a number of expenditures to pay.
In regards to the payments of their power, I don’t know how much money they pay for their power. I don’t have that information in front of me. I don’t know how much money they pay for the street lights and I don’t have the detailed information in front of me.
Perhaps I could clarify that but when we start reviewing the main estimates from our department he can use that time to ask that question.
Or, Mr. Speaker, he can redirect his question to the Minister responsible for the Energy Corporation.
If the Power Corporation doesn’t pay for the street lights I don’t want to ask the Minister responsible, but it affects the municipalities that pay for the street lights.
I want to ask the Minister responsible because it’s very expensive to pay for the street lights especially on 24 day light and the street lights stay on.
Perhaps the department of Community Government and Transportation can look into or go to the communities that have 24 hour daylight in the springtime, perhaps they can shut off their street lights.
That will be cheaper for the municipalities.
That is my question to the Minister for Community Government and Transportation.
I myself, I would like to ask the Department of Power Corporation, why they do not shut down the street lights.
As a Minister, I am responsible for the funding of the Municipalities.
I can ask that question to the Minister responsible, why they do not shut their street lights off during the spring and summertime?
And I am sure that has been asked, but I do want to get clearer information on that from the Minister from Power Corporation and I do not have any jurisdiction over that Department.
Question 421 – 1(6): Utilize Outpost Camps for Young Offenders
My question is to the Minister of Justice, this is not a new topic, I had brought it up in the past.
As you know, the offenders who are coming out of Kitikmeot has increased and when they are sent out to institutions outside of the Kitikmeot they have to go out for about two to three months.
I believe these offenders should be based in their home communities or sent out to outpost camps.
I would like to ask the Minister of Justice if these outpost camps can be utilized for these offenders and I want to know if you have any update on this issue that I had brought up in the past.
The outpost camps, there are not enough outpost camps, that deal with inmates.
I do want support, especially in the Kitikmeot Region; there are no outpost camps for inmates.
And I do welcome applications if anyone from that region would like to open an inmate outpost camp.
And I would be pleased to assist them; that way the inmates can stay in the region and stay with their family and learn Inuit traditions.
Thank you, for your response and I am glad that you recognize that there are not many outpost camps in the Kitikmeot.
How did you inform the Kitikmeot residents in regards to this matter?
Yes, we try to inform the public out there that we are willing to assist in that area and I have met with outpost camp operators in Kitikmeot to encourage them to establish an inmate outpost camp.
Yes, I do believe that we need to publicize these programs and services for assisting outpost camps and we are very pleased to see these outpost camps for the inmates.
Speaker: Havioyak.
Thank you Minister, for your response because when the public is not informed, it is very confusing for these people who are going out of their communities to do their time.
I encourage the Minister to try to inform the public in our region or either through the hamlet council or through HTO’s. Have you talked with these councils or the HTO’s when you are informing the communities in my region?
Have you consulted them on this matter?
Yes, I concur with the Member and we will endeavour to inform the public.
On this issue, next month we will be requesting proposals that will be aired in all mediums and we will also put out a Nunavut-wide advertisement to ensure that we assist those individuals who wish to establish these types of organizations.
We totally support them and we want to ensure that they know that this is the case here in Nunavut.
We want them to know about this program and we want them to be visible to the public.
Mr. Havioyak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, along with the Premier.
I wish to note as an example, in our region and more specifically, my community, we have learned the hard way about the policies or criteria written without consultation with the communities.
Have you had consultations with the affected organizations over any policies relating to young offenders in the community?
Yes, I agree with the Member for Kugluktuk that we need to ensure involvement of local groups.
I want to again note, that we have put this out to the public as we are releasing a RFP for the selection of interested persons or groups who want to undertake the creation of an outpost camp.
We are in total support of this concept as it has been proven to help Inuit youth and we commit to assisting any community who wants to establish this type of facility.
Supplementary, final Supplementary, Mr. Havioyak.
Havioyak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am going to use Kugluktuk as an example.
If they are aware of this, or of how you use the policies or criteria, if the Hamlet council or the residents of Kugluktuk are aware of this policy?
Are you going to be informing Kugluktuk residents on the new policies or procedures that you are going to be going through?
That is why we will be advertising this again, so the all Nunavummiut can know what this program entails and what the purpose of the camps are.
I thank my colleague, the Member of Kugluktuk for show casing this situation and I will continue to assist him in every way I can as they try to establish a facility of this type in his riding.
This will show all Nunavummiut that we support this type of initiative, here in Kugluktuk and elsewhere in Nunavut.
There are presently only four of these facilities in the territory and which are managed and run by Inuit, these outpost camps/youth facilities and we promote the creation of these types of facilities for youth and that is why we are again publishing this advertisement.
Question 422 – 1(6): Consider Baker Lake for a Small Detox/Rehab Centre
Mr. Speaker, I will wear my bright yellow shirt on Monday, or I will borrow Mr. Tootoo’s bright green shirt on Monday.
Mr. Speaker, my question today is addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
From the minutes of November 12, 2002 of the Hamlet Council of Baker Lake, this coincides with what the Premier stated last year.
This is about detoxification centres or rehabilitation centres in Nunavut.