EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
If I were to say this from an Inuit perspective, the elders have stated in the past that muskoxen will push caribou out, and I believe that theory.
I wonder if this has been considered or not, whether they can look at culling certain overpopulated herds either by commercial hunting or by selling the meat that a community may harvest where muskoxen populations are high.
I am asking if any plans are in place. I am asking that question for clarification, Mr. Chairman.
The opening of the harvest is for (interpretation ends) Devon Island (interpretation) around Lancaster Sound.
With respect to your question about Iluilik, I have no clue what he is referring to. Pardon my pronunciation of Iluli. Can the member please clarify the area he is referring to?
Iluilik is what we call the (interpretation ends) mainland (interpretation) and certain parts of the mainland have muskox populations that are increasing. I was trying to find out about muskox populations, which I want to understand, thereby my question on their populations.
Yes, I can imagine that area now. With respect to the muskox populations in that area, I don’t have the estimates for that area.
However, I wrote to the chairman about the various names for the caribou herds and their general areas. This would also apply for particular herds and what the total allowable harvest would be for muskoxen, but it would depend on the TAH for that herd.
The tags would have to be within the TAH and I can’t respond on the actual number. It would depend on the muskox tags and whether the tags are used up.
If the tags have not been fully used, then that area would have more muskoxen.
I’ll move on to something else. In your opening comments on page 3, the third paragraph references this area, which I will have to pronounce in English as I have no idea of the Inuktitut place name.
That is the (interpretation ends) Davis Strait (interpretation) polar bear population numbers and the proposed population survey.
I hear many comments from adjacent communities that the numbers are constantly increasing and not declining, as community members observe more polar bears in the Inuit homeland.
Our colleague alluded to it earlier that the NWMB has planned a consultation tour to the affected communities on this polar bear population.
I wonder if his department will have representatives due to the discussions over that population.
We all know that Inuit who are on the land will say that the quotas should be increased for polar bears due to their increase in numbers.
I wanted to get a better understanding of that area, which is why I ask about this process.
If I understand the question correctly, let me go back and give you some background about polar bear TAHs and how they come up with the number.
They do a polar bear survey first and then the data is analyzed.
Once they get to the number for the TAH, they take it to the NWMB and then the NWMB goes to the communities to consult with them and ask them if that number is okay. The Department of Environment will have officials there taking part along with the NWMB when they go to hear the concerns of the communities.
Yes, that’s clearer now and I thank the minister.
To move on to something else in your business plan on page 161, I’ll read it in English about the (interpretation ends) Community Harvesters Assistance Program. (interpretation) It’s called CHAP. Can you give me a brief description of what this program is?
The CHAP funding is for hunters and trappers organizations that are sometimes called hunters and trappers associations.
They are for those groups. They can request funding and explain what they want the money for. It can be for smaller things, not major items, things that can be used in the hunt.
It’s how HTOs can help their local hunters.
Yes, it’s clearer now.
I’ll go back to my colleague’s question about damage to equipment by polar bears.
Once in a while cabins or shacks get damaged. To give an example, there’s someone who has a cabin that has been damaged and the person will report that. How will they report it to the Department of Environment?
If there were no witnesses, do they need to give you a photograph or what do they need to give you as proof?
I’m asking about that for clarification.
Yes, they should take a picture of it and have the renewable resource officer go and inspect it.
That officer would take a picture of it and the damage to the shack.
Ms. Angnakak: Just when I got the giggles.
But I do have a serious question.
An Hon. Member (interpretation): Is my name even written on the list?
Ms. Angnakak: We’re all fighting for the Chair’s attention here.
Minister, I would like to ask you: what is the department doing to minimize the barriers to the trade in sealskin products internationally?
It is ongoing, but with the European Union we do have an exemption for indigenous-harvested sealskin products right now.
We do have an exemption, but it’s ongoing because the market share that we can get is very small compared to if it was open to all of Canada.
Can the minister tell us what our participation rate is in regard to sealskin and the international markets?
Hon. Joe Savikataaq: Mr. Chairman, if she can just clarify her question.
I don’t quite understand about participation rate.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) Please clarify, Ms. Angnakak.
Ms. Angnakak: I would be happy to. What I mean is what portion of the market or how much business does Nunavut do internationally when it comes to sealskin products?
Most of the sealskins that are harvested and sold in Nunavut are sold back to Nunavut. Our share is very small in terms of international sales.
Most of the Nunavut sealskins are brought back, sold, and used in Nunavut.
Is the department looking for new markets?
Yes, we are always looking for new markets not just for sealskins but for any other fur that is harvested in Nunavut. We look for any markets. Polar bears had a really good market for a while in China, but that has softened.
We are always looking to open up any more markets for fur products from Nunavut.
Can the minister tell us what other specific markets he is looking at?
You say that you’re always looking, but is there an actual place that you’re right now investigating and hoping to secure a market there that we don’t currently have now?
We’re looking at Asia. We’re looking at any other markets. When there are any exhibitions and stuff going on, we are always interested and want to open more markets.
Plus we also work with the fur buyers and they’re always looking for more markets because any fur that we sell through the fur auctions, they get a commission. Their interest is to increase the sales in not just volume but in terms of price too.
We work with fur buyers and with the Government of Canada to try to get any more markets we can for the people of Nunavut.
I want to change topics now. I want to talk about contaminated sites.
I was just reading on 164 in his business plan about the environmental operations.
You have under there enforcement, compliance, pollution prevention, and you also have under there that’s stated contaminated sites.
I would like to know the number of contaminated sites that we have across Nunavut that still require cleanup.
The number is high.
I’m going to assume that the member is talking about out of municipal boundaries.
Yes, we have done an inventory.
I can’t tell the member the exact number right now, but we have done an inventory and they’re coming up with how much it would cost to clean it up. That’s registered as a liability.
I can get the member the numbers later if she wants them, but right now I don’t have that number.
Yes, actually my next question was going to be: what is the liability cost to the government? We will wait to hear back from you on that.
Can the minister tell us where most of the sites are located?
They’re all over Nunavut. They could be old exploration sites, old weather stations, or old DEW line sites, any old human occupation that involved hydrocarbons or producing power and stuff like that.
Can the minister tell us how his department monitors the contaminated sites and how often?
We’re just more or less developing policy on how to do it right now. We identified them and we looked at them to see what the liability is.
We don’t have the capacity to do it all at once, so it’s an ongoing process right now.
If there is an active spill or an active pollutant moving, then yes, we would stop the pollution from spreading. Right now they’re just being monitored and we’re working on eventually getting all the sites cleaned up.
It depends on where it is or who did it as to who might pay for the cleanup of the site.
A little bit, still contamination, but I think a different type of contamination.
The lack of modern and adequate waste and wastewater infrastructure in Nunavut’s communities has been an ongoing concern for this territory, and I have raised it on a number of occasions in the House.
Can you indicate of your department monitors solid waste and wastewater sites in Nunavut to ensure that these facilities are not discharging contaminants into the environment?
No, we don’t do that. Solid waste sites and wastewater are municipal. It’s run by INAC.
INAC does all the water sampling and any contaminants that might be coming from waste sites.
Does INAC then come back to the department and say, “By the way, we have a few communities that don’t have water licences or they’re not dealing with their wastewater in a way that we want them to”?
If so, do you have no role whatsoever to help communities comply?
No, the CGS minister is responsible for that.
INAC would inform CGS about whether they’re not water licence compliant. If there is an active spill like an oil spill or any kind of contaminant and it’s reported, then our department would be involved.
It depends on what type of land it’s spilled on and whether it’s spilled on water. We have MOUs with the DFO and I believe with INAC.
It depends on where the contaminant is spilled is who is responsible for making sure it’s cleaned up and making sure that it’s cleaned up properly.
We don’t pay for the cleanup, but we make sure that it’s cleaned up by whoever is responsible for the lands or the waters that it’s spilled on.
If it comes to solid waste and wastewater, you’re saying that your department has no role.
I want to ask about something else and it’s to do with your proposed territorial parks and conducting mineral assessments.
Those two seem to be opposite things, so obviously that’s why you want to do the mineral assessments.
If there’s a proposed park that the community wants and you have done an assessment and the assessment comes back strong for mineral development, will the area still be considered as land for park development or would the department reconsider?
The reason that process is done is because the communities might reconsider and we would also look at it clearly.
For example, let’s say a community wanted a park close to the community and they did a mineral assessment and they found a whole whack of diamonds, well, the community might change their mind because there might be a lot of jobs involved there.
It’s just part of the process that is followed before a park is designated a park.
Let’s say you did find a whole lot of diamonds and it would be very good for the economy, but the community decided that no, it would rather have a park, what’s your role there, if any?
Do you just go ahead and say, “This is going to be a park because everybody wants it,” or who gets involved?
Can a mining company have a say in that if they saw that there was an assessment done and that there are a lot of diamonds there?
I’ll use that same example. Is this something that the mining industry would have a say in, in any way or not?
The locations of the parks are community-driven and the community, I would say, would have the final say because they pick the location.
For territorial parks, we work with the communities, but the communities pick the location. We work with them to finalize the boundaries and make sure they do a mineral assessment. It’s just part of the process.
I have never heard of any mining companies being involved in any process of territorial parks because generally territorial parks are really close to the communities.
One last question: what is the Nunavut Community Aquatic Monitoring Program? Can you explain to me just what that is?
That program is we train local people to sample fish. They take the length. They take the weight.
They take otoliths like ear bones out. They just get baseline training in that category so that if they’re ever doing a fish population estimate survey, if the DFO is doing one or the NWMB is doing one, then they are already trained to do the work and they don’t have to bring anyone in.
These people that are trained on that can do the work.
It’s up to you.
Mr. Mikkungwak (interpretation): Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much for the extra time.
My first question is in your business plan on page163, the very last bullet, to “Undertake a population estimate for the Ahiak caribou herd.”
I was wondering why this has been delayed.
I’m asking this because some caribou populations have declined.
Don’t we need to know what the estimated population of caribou is and where they are?
All caribou populations seem to be in decline and we can’t do them all at the same time.
We can only do one estimate a year. It’s just in queue.
It will get its turn when we get there.
It’s just that we don’t have the resources or the money to do more than one caribou survey a year.
In the Kivalliq for sure, we need to consider the other two caribou populations, Qamanirjuaq and Beverly herds. When are you going to consider doing a population survey on these herds?
The Qamanirjuaq caribou herd population survey will be done this year.
What about the Beverly herd?
When will you survey them?
I can get back to the member on that because we don’t have that information here right now.
When one is from inland areas and other species that are harvested are currently managed by the Department of Environment, I feel that there should be more consideration of foxes, wolverines, and wolves.
I wonder what the department’s position is related to these species. Can he respond?
If the member could just clarify exactly what he wants because I think he’s just asking whether we’re concerned about them or not.
I just need a little more detail.
Mr. Mikkungwak, please elaborate further.
I’ll try to rephrase my question to clearly outline the issue.
In reading the business plans, I noted this wording and although I am an inland person, I keep hearing about your plans regarding sealskins and marketing plans specific to Europe. This includes your plans for polar bears as well, as plans for marketing them exist.
I wonder if consideration has been given to see if any economic benefits could accrue to Inuit from the increased harvest of furbearers, such as foxes, wolverines, and wolves.
Hon. Joe Savikataaq: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the member for clarifying it.
We do support the people who hunt and trap them. For example, we just came out with a new pilot project to pay for the shipping of frozen wolf hides. That’s help for the wolf hunters.
In terms of the foxes, we do buy them under the Fur Pricing Program.
It’s unfortunate, though, that there appears to be fewer trappers now. The older trappers are getting a bit too old to trap and there are not too many younger ones picking up the pace.
The fox population just cycles.
Sometimes we have good fur markets and in other years we don’t. I believe the market is strong right now for white fox. It’s just on year to year on what the fur industry wants to buy.
Mr. Mikkungwak: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation) Related to the response from the minister, if a hunter harvests a wolf, they skin it right away and freeze it prior to sending it.
I believe that a minimum amount should be paid when the pelt is sent out, and the buyer can then purchase the pelt and the remaining funds could be paid after the auction.
However, the current practice is that when a hunter harvests a wolf, they have to first skin it, clean the pelt, and string it up on a drying rack. After the pelt is processed, the hunter can finally take it to the conservation officer, where it is sent off for an auction and proceeds paid afterwards.
Will this process remain the same or will changes be put in place?
This pilot project on paying the shipping of wolf hides is the department just pays the shipping.
All they do is just pay the shipping.
When the seller gets paid for it by the fur buyer, whoever it might be in the south, they can make sure they get the receipt and they take that receipt for how much the fur is sold for and take it to the wildlife officer.
It will be included in the fur sales and it would be used for part of the second fall payment, just like other wolf harvesters do that dry and sell their wolf pelts.
Mr. Mikkungwak (interpretation): Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It’s usually in the summer that they get that type of support from the government.
They usually get the second payment around that time. What’s the process going to be like?
As I just explained to the member earlier, that’s exactly what I said. If the seller of the frozen wolf sells their fur, they would get a receipt for how much the wolf sold for.
The wolf hunter can take that receipt to the wildlife office and it will be entered as part of the fur program, and then they will get a cheque later on, depending on how many wolves they sold.
It will work exactly like the Fur Pricing Program for the wolves, except that it won’t automatically be entered. The wolf hunters have to take their receipt to the wildlife office, give it to them, and get it documented.
On page 166 of your business plan, Priorities (2017-18), your second bullet, “Develop a practical guide for managing large volumes of petroleum-hydrocarbon-contaminated materials at remote sites…” Having been a past inspector prior to being elected, what authority and how do you plan to do this work when you have no authority on Inuit-owned lands or on Crown lands?
I believe this is just part of the same processes. Right now we’re identifying any contaminated sites.
We don’t have authority over Inuit-owned land, but I would think that if there’s a spill on Inuit-owned land, then the RIAs would want assistance of anyone that can help them mitigate the effects of any hydrocarbon spills.
Last question on that particular bullet again is within municipal boundaries. I think you have more jurisdiction there.
How do you notify and enforce any spills that may occur within municipal boundaries and who would you give that directive to?
We have a spill line and it doesn’t matter where the spill occurs. If anyone sees a spill, they can report a spill to the spill line, then that spill is recorded and all the particulars are recorded on there, and then from there it goes to who is responsible for the spill, depending on what kind of lands or water it’s on.
The first process is to report it to the spill line, which is a 24-hour spill line.
Mr. Shooyook (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving me another opportunity. I have a short question regarding polar bears.
You indicate that every number of years you count the polar bear population.
When was your last survey on Baffin Island this past year?
For Baffin there are quite a lot of polar bears and we do separate surveys. Two were done and one is going to start. I think there are four subpopulations in the Baffin and those surveys are done annually.
We have a lot of polar bears in the communities and it’s getting very risky and becoming a safety issue.
Instead of the other way around, people are at risk from the bears and no threats to bears. Our property is being damaged and some people have been mauled.
After you do a survey and if there’s no decrease in the polar bear population, could the hunters and trappers organizations ask for an increase in their polar bear quota?
Is it the NWMB who will continue to decide that issue?
Can you clarify that for me, please?
Actually I have the information at hand for the Arctic Bay polar bear quota.
If I say it in English as I don’t know the Inuktitut term, the (interpretation ends) Lancaster Sound (interpretation) polar bear population survey is scheduled to commence in 2019.
As well, I can’t recall which member raised this question, but I responded that the NWMB is currently scheduling a hearing on polar bears.
At that hearing they will discuss the polar bear status and management issues. At that hearing, hunters and communities will have an opportunity to speak on three questions related to the polar bear.
The quota and the number of tags are two of the issues. The first issue is whether the polar bear population should be kept high, the middle one is to not make any changes, and the last one is that the polar bear population is too high and that the quota should be increased to lower the population.
The NWMB will be holding public hearings on how the polar bears will be managed in the communities. They will be consulting communities and Inuit about their views on how to properly manage polar bears in Nunavut.
As that’s the case, after the survey and the hearing have been completed, you would take some action to increase the number of quotas.
Is that your goal for the future or not?
There are polar bear subpopulations and they’re each going to be treated separately.
Accordingly they would make a decision on whether to decrease, increase, or stay status quo on each subpopulation.
It is very important to understand that.
Usually there are no boundaries for polar bears.
They tend to move from one area to another. For example, after a survey in Arctic Bay, the surveyors would say that there was a declining population near Arctic Bay, but of course that would be because the polar bears have moved somewhere else.
I look forward to how this issue will be managed and I wish to thank you for that.
We are on page I-5. (interpretation ends) Environment. Program Management. Total Operations and Maintenance, to be Voted. $21,862,000.
Chairman (interpretation): Go back to page I-3. (interpretation ends) Department Summary. Environment. Total Operations and Maintenance, to be Voted. $27,742,000.
Minister Savikataaq, closing comments.
I would like to thank my two staff that are here and everyone else below them that worked on this budget and the business plan. Obviously they did good work because you guys agreed with it and approved it. I thank everyone for being engaged and we worked like a well-oiled machine.
Bill 34 – Appropriation (Operations & Maintenance) Act, 2017-2018 – Culture and Heritage – Consideration in Committee
Thank you very much. We will move on. Minister of Culture and Heritage, please go to the witness table.  Thank you very much.
We will proceed. I would like to ask the Minister of Culture and Heritage if he has officials he would like to join him. Mr. Kuksuk.
Hon. George Kuksuk (interpretation): Yes, I do.
We will proceed once again.
Minister, for the record, please introduce your officials. Mr. Kuksuk.
Hon. George Kuksuk (interpretation): Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Good evening, colleagues and Nunavummiut who are watching the proceedings.
I’ll begin with my left.
I have the (interpretation ends) Director of Corporate Services (interpretation) from the Department of Culture and Heritage, Regilee Adla, who is to my left, and to my right is my Deputy Minister, Pauloosie Suvega.
That’s who we are.
Welcome, Mr. Suvega and Ms. Adla.
You can go ahead with your opening comments. Minister Kuksuk.
Hon. George Kuksuk (interpretation): Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) I am pleased to appear before the committee to present the Department of Culture and Heritage 2017-18 main estimates and business plan.
The department’s modest proposed budget is $25,697,000.
The Heritage Division places a major importance on funding heritage, culture, heritage facility and heritage building grants and contributions.
My department is taking steps to ensure the proper care of the Government of Nunavut’s arts, culture and heritage collection until such time as Nunavut has its own territorial heritage facility.