EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
So the quick answer to the member is yes, we do monitor the cost, prices, and we work with INAC on those costs within the food basket that is available.
Here in Iqaluit, there is a food bank as well as in other big communities, but in the small communities, it’s almost impossible to open a food bank.
It’s because the Inuit share country food and they’re assisted by the hunters, fortunately, we don’t see many hungry people who are desperate to have food, even though they have run out of store-bought food.
Sometimes even through the radio we hear young parents or single people who are asking around looking for food through the radio.
I wonder if his department can assist those smaller communities in getting food banks in those communities.
In the community of Iqaluit, we have three organizations that deal with some of the issues that the member has talked about.
Of course, we have the homeless shelter, we have the soup kitchen, and we also have the food bank.
We’re seeing the numbers increase at the soup kitchen among people who have to go there to get a meal. We also know the work of the food bank is continuing and expanding.
A proposal has been put forward by the community that has been accepted and there is work under way right now to build a new soup kitchen as an outreach program of the Anglican Church, as an example, and that project is moving forward.
Those monies were accessed under the SCIPI Program Funds. The SCIPI Program Funds are the monies that were available under the federal homelessness initiative.
Other communities, not just here in Iqaluit, have started food banks and members are aware of that in different communities.
At the same time, we’re working with INAC to cost out that food basket and look at the amount of monies that we can make available.
The Income Support Program is a program of last resort and is there when there are no other employment opportunities available, or income opportunities.
So we’re constantly reviewing the program and trying to make it meet the needs.
If organizations or groups across Nunavut want to open up a food bank or a soup kitchen and need some assistance to do that, where possible, I’m sure the Government of Nunavut would help step up to the plate, and with the different organizations and departments, we have, within our mandate, to try and help facilitate that if needed.
There is probably information available from about three regional offices that we mention on this page.
Mr. Barnabas (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We all know that the income support rate is not adequate even though it was increased and the Food Mail Program can be used with people who have Visa cards.
The income support recipients don’t usually have Visa cards.
If they use the Food Mail Program, then they can get a lot more with their money.
I wonder if his department can make that option available where the income support recipients would be able to use the Food Mail Program.
We changed the program allowing recipients to use their income support to the vendor of choice. So if they can get an account and they phone down to Marchè Turenne in Montreal and want to order food like that, they had the ability to do that through the Income Support Program with a cheque.
If they are in Arviat or if they are in Rankin Inlet, the same program, again, is in place. They order from Thompson, or Churchill, or Winnipeg.
There are approximately 13,830 people in 3,251 households receiving income support every month in Nunavut.
The average time a family or a household is on income support over a 12-month period was approximately six of those 12 months and that’s based on 2004. The other six months of the 12, the family members or the household would have had other income. That may include employment income or it might include EI benefits.
That would also be eligible for a client and that’s one of the issues too. In many cases, people have worked and they are eligible for EI, but haven’t; whatever the issue is at different times; had an uptake on the EI Program through the federal government and thus are on income support.
Roughly, a little under $24 million was spent on the program in 2004.
Mr. Barnabas (interpretation): Thank you. I didn’t know that’s how it was set up. Does the public know, or does your department do an ad, or provide information for the income support recipients about the process?
Minister Picco, before I recognize the minister, the details on G-12 and G-14 you will see the amount of dollars for the Income Support Program.
I’m allowing these questions only knowing that maybe this will avoid more questions on this program when we get to that page.
The answer is yes. The income support workers are aware of the program and have been communicating that as on an as-needed basis when the clientele come forward.
We also put pamphlets and so on out, too.
Because the ministers don’t have the same main estimates, that’s why I’m asking those questions and that concludes my questions.
Chairman: Thank you, Mr. Barnabas. (interpretation) I have no more names on my list for this page. (interpretation ends) Education.
Total Operations and Maintenance. $2,260,000. (interpretation) Agreed?
Chairman: Total. Expenditures. Education.
Thank you, my friend. $2,260,000. (interpretation) Agreed?
G-11.
Total Operations and Maintenance. $24,188,000.
I see a hand. Mr. Peterson.
Is that a hand or a finger?
I would like to ask the minister about trades and occupations.
When I was in Toronto area this week, I heard quite a lot of talk from the mining companies and some of the companies that support the mining industry that there is a huge need for qualified and trained journeymen in most of the trades.
They are quite concerned that we do not have those individuals in Nunavut, and under the Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreements that the mines signed with regional Inuit associations there is a requirement to hire individuals from the different communities.
If the people are not trained and do not have the trades training, it is very difficult to hire them.
I am wondering if the minister could comment on what his department is planning to do to train people in the Kitikmeot for the jobs.
Careers are going to be coming forth. Tahera opens in a few weeks and likely Miramar in a couple years if a federal minister approves their license.
Recognizing the fact that we are in G-11, which also includes G-12, I will just remind the minister to bring in new witnesses at his convenience.
With that, Minister Picco, respond to the question please.
With that, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the member for the questions on the Income Support Program, and thank Ms. Sandy Teiman. Sandy has been working on the Income Support, as members know, within the department for a long time.
We are trying to make some program changes and to reflect some of the needs that were raised.
I would like to thank Sandy for her time.
With that, I would like to take this opportunity to invite Mr. Mac Clendenning to join me at the witness table as the President of Nunavut Arctic College.
Chairman: Likewise, we thank Ms. Teiman for her appearance today too.
Welcome to the table Mr. Clendenning. Where were we?
We were waiting for a response to that question from the minister and his witnesses.
A quick question with quick answers on the trades training programs that have been a part of the college; a lot of work has been done working with the Nunavut Mine Training Focus Group, which has been set up specifically to deal with some of the issues around training for the mines.
This is an exciting time right now in Nunavut. We just had word that the next mine has been moving forward, which is the Doris North Gold Mine.
I believe that there are 150 positions available through that site.
The Department of Education, through the leadership of Mr. Clendenning, is moving forward now to begin discussions with the Doris group to see what type of training needs and opportunities have to been in place.
In Baker Lake, for example, we have just completed some of the heavy equipment operator training by actually contracting with Morrisburg and actually had some people down doing heavy equipment training. Baker Lake, as an example, is looking at bringing a heavy equipment operator simulator which may be used and we are reviewing that program proposal.
So there has been a lot of work done on pre-trades and mine training itself. Most of the work has been through the Mine Training Focus Group.
Could the minister give me a quick overview of the membership for the Mine Training Focus Group?
I would like a quick overview, Mr. Picco.
The Mine Training Focus Group, through the Department of Education, has also identified a half-time person year to hire and the dollar values for it. The Industrial Mining Training Coordinator for Nunavut will work as a program facilitator to link funding sources with existing needs, and work on the ASEP Program proposal, which has been endorsed by all sectors, I must say including the group from the Kitikmeot who have been big supporters of it.
However, when we put the program proposal for ASEP in, and the members have heard me talk about it, the federal government came back with the response that it was one of the top program proposals that they had received and yet there were no dollar values available and asked us to resubmit it. That in itself would give us the extra dollar values to move forward.
I believe the Mine Training Focus Group is headed by Mr. Bruce Rigby through the Department of Education. It includes people in the mining sector, as well as some from the construction field and trades, as well as including people on the education side, training, and so on.
I was going to ask about the ASEP Program because I recall the minister and I having a debate about it in the House almost two years ago when they were developing an application.
I was concerned, at that time, that the application would be submitted and there wouldn’t be sufficient funding or any funding available for that program.
I’m aware, in the Northwest Territories, that they also submitted a similar application and they were funded. I think they’re doing quite well.
I’m wondering if the minister could indicate if he’s having any success whatsoever in Ottawa talking to the federal officials. Everybody supports it in Nunavut, but do the folks from Ottawa support it.
We desperately need the funds to providing training to the folks up here. It’s very unlikely that we have enough funds ourselves to provide the training that we have to provide to people to avail themselves of the employment opportunities that are coming from the various trades sectors.
Hon. Ed. Picco: Things have changed on the federal scene and I think we all recognize that.
The Department of Education has met with HRDC officials which have the lead on this file, on the ASEP file.
We met with them the first week in February to examine the situation around Nunavut’s proposal. The officials indicated, at that time, that they were not in a position to support part of our proposal we put forward, although we had such positive feedback, and then we have the buy-in from all of Nunavut and the previous regime that was in place.
The HRSDC officials indicated to us that the Kelowna Agreement contained elements that support what we’ve said in our identified and said in our ASEP proposal and also in the Mine Training Focus Group.
The financial package associated with the Kelowna Agreement is currently under review by the federal government. What we need to do now is to pick up the pace.
Again, two weeks ago, I had contacted the Federal Minister Dianne Findlay through our office in Ottawa to seek a meeting with her immediately to discuss among other issues, our ASEP proposal and to move it forward.
And now, as the member has indicated, with the Doris North Program moving forward, we can go back to the federal minister and say, “Look, we’ve got two mines, we’ve got a plan. We need finances; we need to be able to pay for this plan.”
Other significant factors playing a role, and this includes the land claim and the different articles within the land claim itself and Mr. Berger’s soon to be released report which indicates support for training through the land claim.
So we’re going to meet our obligations, the federal government is going to meet their obligations.
We need support, and the ASEP proposal will certainly do that.
So I hope that helps clarify for the member and brings him up to speed on where we are right now. The next step will be for the minister to meet with our federal counterpart and I would hope to be able to do that in the next two weeks after the House is finished sitting and again, see if we can get some movement on this proposal.
I would tell the minister that he tell his federal colleagues there that it’s getting quite critical because we have the Tahera and Miramar, and Wolfden Resources is submitting their EIS in April.
From there, they may proceed to develop the Inmet Project, and we have the Bathurst Inlet Road and Port Group doing their work; there may be synergies happening there; I’m not at liberty to speak about it, then we have Cumberland Resources in Baker Lake. When I was in Toronto, I talked to the Baffinland Iron Ore people who were working on a project up here in the Baffin.
It’s not going to happen overnight, but certainly it can happen between now and the next five to ten years.
We can’t be putting programs in place six years from now; we have to put them in place now so they get the training that they need.
With that in mind, Mr. Chairman, the minister announced a couple of weeks ago about putting some funding into the high school trades shop in Cambridge Bay.
I am wondering if the minister could provide a bit more detail on what the department’s plans are to convert the workshop and utilize it for trades training in Cambridge Bay.
We are moving forward on a lot of different fronts with training aspects.
We are continuing to deliver pre-trades programs and trades programs in Nunavut, including heavy equipment; I just gave you some examples of that; we had people last year involved in a welding program course, as examples.
In the Kitikmeot, specifically, we just are underway and the program should finish on March 31; there is a Pre-trades Program running in Cambridge Bay, in the member’s community. So those things are going on.
Mr. Clendenning just mentioned to me that he will be meeting with the Director of HRSDC also this week to discuss the issues around the ASEP Program. So I think that’s some good news.
Getting on to the member’s specific area of concern and question, I think the answer is very positive. I think in Cambridge Bay, what I’ve suggested to the member and to the House, we are moving forward with the Trades School Program, which is needed even more when we hear some of the developments that are occurring in the mining related field.
We’ll be upgrading in the school in Cambridge Bay; there’s extra space through the shop that’s there; the equipment needs to be upgraded and so on.
What we will be doing is going in there and spending the necessary dollars to upgrade that facility and be able to use that as a trades training shop in the school and use that for the region there, that way, we’ll be able to be able to use the clientele in the Kitikmeot to provide that much needed training.
So that’s a good news story for Cambridge Bay, but also for Nunavut.
Minister, can you tell me: will the trade school also be available for the use of the high school students?
Is that something that your department is looking at?
The member is correct. It will be a community resource, but also a Nunavut-wide resource. What we are hoping to be able to do is deliver specific mine training in Cambridge Bay that will include the Millwright Program, we are trying to target 2008; we are also looking at the Mineworker Program, to get that to start in the fall of 2007; and add that on to some of the pre-trades programs that we’ve already started talking about.
As well as the communications that we’re having and will continue to have with some of the mining interests that are moving forward to see if there’s something if they need a certain program, then the college and the government will step up to the plate and try to deliver that so we could get the training in place.
Also with regards to that, trades access programming will also be provided in Cambridge Bay, specifically for the mines and mine involvement.
When we talk about mines, Mr. Chairman, it’s very important to talk about not the old traditional way of looking at mines with a pick and shovel. Mines today, especially remote mine sites, the heavy equipment operators, snow plough operators, we need people to keep the runways clean, we need administrative support, we need logistic people, we need administrative people, and so on. So mines can follow the whole gambit, not just actual physical mining.
I know I talk a lot about mining, trades in mining, but there’s a requirement for trades people in the construction industry working for hamlets, working for governments, so we can’t forget that, Mr. Chairman. I hope that the department will keep that in mind when they are developing trades training in the Kitikmeot.
I have a question on Nunavut Arctic College courses, in particular, one course called the Inuinnaqtun training course.
I’m kind of curious how this works when you operate a two-year course, and then you cancel it half way through and there are six or seven students on the course.
What happens to the students who have invested a year or more of their lives into the training?
First of all, on the training aspects, I think it’s important to point out that because we have our land claim in place in Nunavut that gives us extra incentive and extra ability not to control, but to help facilitate activities within Nunavut with mining as an example.
Part of that is under the IIBA, Impact Benefit Agreement, there has to be training aspects there and allow for training for Inuit to take these jobs at the mines.
If the mines had to be conducive to this if they sign off on the agreements, Nunavut Arctic College is ready to step up to the plate and if they need to have a program, we need to be able to put it together and so on.
So I think that’s part of the good news here.
It’s not just a pure government thing; the mining companies take responsibility through the IIBA.
The Kitikmeot Inuinnaqtun Interpreter/Translator Program is on hold. We started the program off with I believe there was six students. The attrition rate in the program was very high and it was decided by review of the program, with the people involved in the program itself, that we will put the program on hold.
I thank the minister for the information on IIBAs. Before I became an MLA, I was with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, so I had the opportunity to negotiate three or four of them with the various mines operating over there and in the Northwest Territories.
I know from my negotiating experience that the mines are very willing to work with the Government of Nunavut and the communities to help provide the training, but they, for their part, say that they are not 100 percent responsible for providing training.
This government has to have some responsibility. While they will provide the training or work towards that, they can’t provide it all; they are miners. That’s what they used to tell us all the time.
With respect to the Inuinnaqtun language course, some of my constituents have asked me what happens when the course is on hold, what does that really mean?
Are they going to start up again and are they going to have an opportunity to go on the course again and complete their training? They are kind of up in the air with respect to their future and that’s something that they want to be trained to do.
Later this month, there will be a meeting of the Inuinnaqtun Language Committee Group to review the aspects of the program, and then we will see from that committee meeting where we will be going with the program itself.
I suppose this leads into my next area of concern. When the Nunavut Arctic College develops a course or offers a course, how do they determine what course they will offer?
First of all, is it necessary, secondly, where does the funding come from or how do they secure it, and then thirdly, when students apply for the courses, are they students who are eligible or meet the criteria to be on the course?
There are a lot of issues around being able to find and locate proficient Inuinnaqtun speakers who want be able to instruct the program, and two, to be able to take the program.
This program is underway for over two years, and planning and the other logistic as well as administrative work had to be put into it.
We were hopeful that the program would move forward, again, the attrition rate was very high, and the committee reviewing the work that has been done, the Inuinnaqtun Language Committee, will be meeting later this month and then they will be reporting back to us to see what the next steps were.
Chairman: Thank you, Minister. Sounds like another meeting for you, Mr. Peterson. Mr. Peterson.
The problem that I am having with this and some of my constituents and their immediate families is that the students gave up other jobs or their careers to attend the course.
I recognize what you are saying about attrition, there is always attrition in any course, but there are people who were still on that course when it was put on hold.
When it was put on hold, the students had to start scrambling to find other jobs and what to do with their lives.
It was a very traumatic experience for them and that is when I started getting phone calls and visits from the students.
They want to know how this happened to them. I could not really give them an explanation. I wonder if the minister could comment on that.
Chairman: Thank you, Mr. Peterson. Just to remind you of the 15 seconds left on your clock.
Hon. Ed. Picco: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There were some logistic as well as administrative issues with the program, included the academic requirements that were included in the program.
Several of the students were not able to meet those requirements.
The Inuinnaqtun Language Committee Group, which were under the auspices of this program, met and decided to put the program on hold.
They are meeting again now later on this month, in March, to review the status of the program again. There were issues there with attrition as well as people not coming for other reasons, and so on.
Can the minister tell us how much it has cost the department for that course to date?
I think this is a good program; there are issues around being able to find people with the language fluency in Inuinnaqtun to continue the program. We have secured an instructor, that instructor had left; we had to find another instructor.
Of the six students through that academic program, in the first semester, only one successfully completed the academics. It was felt by the language committee, because of some of these issues, that it was needed to put the program on hold and then move forward after this meeting in March and that is what will occur.
I don’t have the dollar values for the actual costs of the program with me here Mr. Chairman, but I can get those dollar values and make them known to the member.
Your last and final question, Mr. Peterson.
I look forward to getting the dollar figures.
My final question concerns an issue I brought up before with the minister and it concerns ABE students who, in their minds, are still students. Some of them are struggling in Cambridge Bay to make ends meet and they’re wondering why they are ineligible for FANS assistance or some kind of assistance from the Department of Education to help them with their studies.
Students who are eligible for income support can receive a training allowance while they’re in the ABE Program. However, the Adult Basic Education upgrading programs are not FANS eligible.
FANS eligible programs are programs that lead students to a diploma, or degree, or some form of post-secondary and that’s one of the reasons that they’re not eligible for the ABE Program.
I’m very happy to see the minister at the witness table with his officials. I think it’s a spot that he likes very much.