EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
These statements reflect actual spending of the government as opposed to when we look at the capital budget based on estimates and projections.
I think it would be much better for us to see what the actual costs are.
I would like to ask the minister, does he have any plans, if it’s taken this long, this is now, we’re three years into it and we’re only looking at getting the second year in now, this late.
Does he have any plans on trying to be able to provide and meet the statutory requirements in a more timely fashion in the future?
Mr. Speaker, we provide them as expeditiously as possible.
One has to remember that it’s the report from the office of the Auditor General.
They’re the ones where a lot of times there needs to be interpretation, clarification on matters over the course of the end of the fiscal year. That effects the total time that the statements are completed.
And those are the outstanding issues.
It’s not the Department of Finance necessarily that is the cause of any delays. I would suggest to the member that he can certainly raise the issue of the timing with the Office of the Auditor General.
But we will put them out as quickly as we have clarification on matters and they’re signed off and able to be presented publicly.
Mr. Speaker, as Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee I more than welcome the opportunity to raise those issues with the Auditor General and her staff.
But I would like to ask the Minister if he could provide me as the Chairperson at the Public Accounts Committee a list of concerns or things that have caused these delays so that we can properly address them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, these are issues in accounting treatment of matters of calculation for the formula, for the fail-safe mechanisms etc.
I would suggest that the member as the Chairperson of the appropriate Committee bring these issues up with the Auditor General and her staff.
Question 273 – 1(6): Fire Inspection Criteria
It might be directed to more than one minister but to start off in regards to Department of Community Government and Transportation, what criteria do they use to replace or to close down old, old buildings?
What criteria do they use?
The old buildings, sometimes the fire marshal does inspections to make sure their standards are up to date.
The fire marshal, through his office, is the only responsibility we have in our department. I don’t have the list of criteria from the fire marshal with me but on reasons to close buildings, I can provide her with the information.
When I first became a member there are some offices in my constituency, we heard from the Minister of Education that the buildings that were built in 1985 they had to make sure the codes are up to date.
So for that reason, the minister gave me an appropriate answer in regards to the fire marshal and safety inspections and maybe also health inspections.
Maybe those departments can work together and inform me as to what the criteria are to write off such buildings.
As we only go by the fire marshal, the health issues or safety issues have their own inspectors and Public Works also have inspectors for different things.
I can only respond to her in regards to the fire marshal, coming from fire marshal’s office.
I can’t answer her on a different department, only from the fire marshal.
Maybe it would be more appropriate if I asked this in a written form because I think it would go to more than one minister.
Question 274 – 1(6): Update on Suicide Prevention Strategy
My colleague from Baker Lake, even though we didn’t discuss this we have the same concerns.
After listening to him I thought maybe I should raise my question Mr. Speaker.
I’m directing my question to the Minister of Health and Social Services, in regards to what we have been discussing.
I’m trying to find ways to deal with suicide and the government and the minister have also tried to find reasons. We know the public talk about it but we’re very persistent people and we don’t just give up. We’ve been taught by our parents that we shouldn’t give up even if we think that it’s impossible, we still have to fight.
I want to ask the Minister, even though the question was asked, can the Minister update the members on his department’s suicide prevention strategy.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Member’s question on this very important issue, topic.
Mr. Speaker, we done several things on this strategy to date including putting child and youth outreach workers in place so that I can give the Member and the Members here, five new positions have been created in Nunavut.
We have staff in Cambridge Bay and Arviat, and Baker Lake.
We’re staffing a position right now in Iqaluit and we’ll also have another one staffed somewhere else in Baffin.
We supported the Whitestone Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Program.
We brought in youth from across the region.
Mr. Speaker, we’ve continued with focus groups.
We’ve held workshops across Nunavut, in the Kitikmeot, the Keewatin as well as in Rankin Inlet recently where a program was hosted by one of our people, Louis Taparti with the help of Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, we continued on a number of different fronts with the prevention program.
We’ve implemented a new suicide protocol in conjunction with the Department of Education and we’re continuing Mr. Speaker, to staff front line workers, extra mental health workers, psychiatric where needed, where the load is high in communities.
We’ve also put in special programs through wellness in different communities throughout Nunavut.
We’ve also increased the Mr. Speaker, work on the post intervention side and yet Mr. Speaker, the numbers continue to rise.
Where we had success Mr. Speaker, with suicide, is in communities where we had small active working groups, working circles, Mr. Speaker. In some communities where there is a lot of suicide, I don’t want to name the communities for obvious reasons.
Where we’ve had success Mr. Speaker, in some communities where there has been a lot of suicides.
When a small group of people got together in a committee form, working with families and individuals, we saw the rate decrease and we’ve seen that over the last three and a half years since Nunavut has begun.
Mr. Speaker, that’s where we will have success with suicide.
The government at the same time will continue with the strategy.
We are hosting the Canadian National Suicide Prevention Program conference here in Iqaluit this spring.
And we will have as Mr. Enoki Irqittuq, the Member for Amittuq, had suggested a few months ago in this house, why don’t we have our own Nunavut Suicide Conference and bring Elders and Youth in.
We’re going to do that before the national conference.
So we’re taking all those types of suggestions, and putting them in place.
The strategy, the suicide strategy Mr. Speaker, forms part of the mental health strategy that was tabled here in this house.
Mr. Speaker, in listening to the minister’s response, I’m very glad to hear that he’s got some staff working on suicide prevention and that he’s now getting workers in the three regions.
As I have stated before, we’re not going to give up dealing with this issue because we have been told by our Elders never to give up on something that we truly believe in and that’s what we’re holding on to; never to give up because we can’t stop dealing with this issue.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask this supplementary question.
I know that Caroline Anawak, when she was coordinating suicide prevention, she used to visit all the communities in Nunavut.
And she did a lot of consultation and she worked very hard in dealing with suicide prevention.
Mr. Speaker, my next question is, are we going to get another coordinator in his department?
Mr. Speaker, who is coordinating his department’s suicide prevention efforts?
Like I’ve stated before, Caroline Anawak was coordinating and visiting the communities.
Do we expect that position to be filled?
Mr. Speaker, there are several people in Nunavut who have tirelessly worked on suicide.
Mr. Speaker, Minister Anawak is an example, is a member of the crisis line which runs 7 days a week, 365 days a year in the evenings with the 1-800 number that people can phone; Sheila Levy, who is a counsellor who started the crisis line with many other volunteers.
Caroline Anawak, Jack’s wife.
I mean there are many people we could name in Nunavut who’ve been working tirelessly on the effort of suicide.
What the government is doing right now, Mr. Speaker, is coordinating the aspects of suicide through the directorate for mental health services in the Department of Department of Health and Social Services.
And we’re trying to find out who’s at risk of suicide.
Are there common markers for people who commit suicide?
We’ve talked about some of them in the house here, Mr. Speaker.
We know that when people, the majority of suicides, almost 80% are young males in long term relationships at a very early age.
And in many cases they have been adopted.
These figures, these numbers, these commonalities of suicide, if we can show who is at most risk, then we would probably have more success in the post intervention, the pre-intervention of suicide.
So that’s the type of work, we’re working on Mr. Speaker.
And the Director for Mental Services and Addiction is the coordinator of the program right now in Nunavut.
And we continue as the member has suggested with workshops throughout Nunavut with youth with the youth outreach workers that we’re putting in place.
We’re continuing to strategise Mr. Speaker, and I guess the whole process of de-normalisation of suicide.
There is so much more to do Mr. Speaker.
And the discussion, the debate that we’re having this morning in the house is probably one of the major components of that and that is to start talking about the issue, debating the issue and seeing how we can help as a community.
To work together on this most important health issue affecting all of Nunavummiut.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the minister of his response.
I would like to ask again; before his officials started visiting the communities usually the churches were dealing with the social problems like counselling people who have lost their loved ones, counselling people during their grieving. The church people and the Elders did all the counselling so I would like to ask the Minister if his Department involves the church groups in the counselling or the social issue parts.
Mr. Speaker, The major component of what we have been doing over the last three years is building and developing the community based approaches.
Those community based approaches depend on each community in the different communities that we’re dealing with.
In some communities Mr. Speaker, the member is correct, church groups play a major role in the development of capacity to deal with some of the issues around suicide and we have been using it.
Some communities have not moved in that direction.
However, at the same time, Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that having the small working groups or the small working committees has been the most successful process that we have put in place where we have CHR’s and mental health workers on local radios talking about the issue in the open.
Right now for example it’s in the schools at early grades and so on.
This will be part of the de-normalization and some of the success that we believe we’ll see in stemming the epidemic tide that we have in place right now for suicide.
Again, I have to re-emphasize, Mr. Speaker, that there is not just one solution for suicide the same way that there is not just one reason for committing suicide.
And I think that’s part of the problem that we’re dealing with.
There’s no cut and dry answer, and there’s no cut and dry solution and that’s why we need to be able to develop a strategy that can look at each section, each piece of it.
Mr. Speaker, I can tell you in all seriousness, and every member in this House knows and the people out there listening, that we need to be able to develop some form, some mechanism, some proactive way of being able to stem this tide.
And I believe the success will lie at the local level, Mr. Speaker, at the community level and the family level.
And our government is there to help support that.
Question 275 – 1(6): Financial Administration Act: Payments to Billets
Indeed my question is for the Minister responsible for Health & Social Services.
I’d like to ask the minister if his department follows the Financial Administration Act in the requirement for payment of northern suppliers within 20 days of receipt of invoice.
Mr. Speaker, I believe there’s a direction under FANS that all local suppliers are supposed to be paid within 20 days by the Government of Nunavut.
I would suggest to you, Mr. Speaker, that the Department of Health & Social Services is no different, that indeed we try to follow that direction.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister knows of the issue that was brought up, that was raised in this House earlier this week and it has to do with home boarders.
I’m just wondering if the payment to those individuals would follow under the same guidelines as the 20 days.
Mr. Speaker, There’s many members of the House here right now, including myself that have on occasion taken hospital patients, usually family members who are travelling that have, this week I believe it has been up to four or five staying with me the other night visiting with me.
So I do know that when a patient comes in to process this, when Tammaatarvik in this case. For example here in Iqaluit, when the boarding home is full the boarding home contacts people have approved houses for patients to stay in. Once that person arrives, they have a white paper, that white paper is given to the residents in most cases, in my case it’s my wife, and she takes this paper and when the patient leaves, we sign when the person leaves, and then they get dropped off at Tammaatarvik.
It is then sent down to Rankin Inlet where if you have a direct deposit set up or something it that can be done automatically and the cheque issued. And my understanding Mr. Speaker, in most cases, it is within the 21 days that is called for in the Act.
I’d just like to jump all over this rare opportunity to correct the Minister of Health and Social Services and that it’s 20 days in the administration manual not 21.
I’m sure it was just a little oversight on behalf of the Minister.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister if his department or any one of his officials have received concerns over delays in receiving these payments.
I’m sure that we’re all aware, a lot of these individuals live on a fixed income and when they do have a boarder in their home there is extra costs involved and these people need that money as quickly as possible. So I’d just like to ask the Minister if he’s received any complaints over the timeliness of it and if he would look into finding ways to expedite that process.
Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct first of all. It’s 20 days not 21 days.
I stand corrected I did not intend to mislead a Member of the House.
Mr. Speaker, from time to time we do get concerns raised at that the boarding home that cheques have been late in arriving.
Mr. Speaker, when those concerns are brought forward, then we act on it immediately and usually within, you know, two working days or three working days, then the cheques have been delivered.
There has been sometimes a concern when we transferred the processing from Iqaluit to the processing in Rankin Inlet where we actually have the cheques cut. Before they actually cut cheques locally and when the three health boards were integrated the accounts receivable or accounts payable function for these NIHB costs are now covered out of that office.
So, where the complaints come forward we try to be as expeditious as the member has said, and get those cheques out.
Mr. Speaker, in the Minister’s response he indicated that a lot of the problems are now because of the processing of the cheques that are being done in Rankin Inlet and I imagine it has a lot to do with getting the paper work back and forth. We know what the weather can do sometimes to getting things from one place to another around Nunavut.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he could look at somehow maybe working with the local office of the Department of Finance and Administration to be able to issue those cheques for Iqaluit that are here out of Iqaluit and in a way that they can charge back to the Department of Health and Social Services or Finance on that.
Mr. Speaker, there have been and I said earlier, there has been from time to time delays in the boarding home cheques.
However, if I went to the Department of Finance and Administration and asked them to process these, there would a lot of logistics problems with that.
Being Mr. Speaker, right now the boarding home program is one of the programs that is in the auspices of the NIHB and the NIHB payment office, remittance office in Rankin Inlet and after we did the integration of the three health boards, those functions that were originally held by the health boards where then transferred to Rankin Inlet.
I could have a conversation with the finance minister on the issue of having those cheques cut right here in Iqaluit, locally, but the cost of billing mechanisms that are in place as well as the administrative and logistic situation with the accounts receivable from the NIHB side and the indexing and the invoicing from that side, then we have to see if that’s possible to do.
So, Mr. Speaker, I could take that up with the finance minister and be able to report back to the member, excuse me, in another oral question, probably next week.
Tabled Document 050 – 1(6): Responses to Action Based Resolutions of NAM
Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a document entitled Responses to Action Based Resolutions of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage all members in the House to read this document.
Tabled Document 051 – 1(6): From Potential to Pay-Off: Report on the Community Consultations on the Future of Tourism in Nunavut
I wish to table a response to the Report of the Standing Committee on Community Empowerment and Sustainable Development of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut from Potential to Payoff, Report on Community Consultations on the Future of Tourism in Nunavut.
Tabled Document 052 –1(6): Legal Services Board of Nunavut 2000/01 and 2001/02
I would like to table the following document, Legal Services Board of Nunavut, Annual Report 2000/2001 and 2001/2002.
Tabled Document 053 – 1(6): Law Foundation of Nunavut’s Annual Report
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, again, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to table the Law Foundation of Nunavut’s Annual Report.
Tabled Document 054 -1(6): Department of CLEY Grants and Contributions 2001/02
I’m very pleased to table a document from the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth titled 2000/01 Grants and Contributions.
Sorry, Mr. Speaker, is this first reading of bills?
Speaker: Item 16. Motions.
Bill 17 – Supplementary Appropriation (Operations and Maintenance) Act No. 1 – 2002/03 – First Reading
Bill 19 - Budget Measures Implementation Act – First Reading
I thank the Premier for his assistance.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Iqaluit West, that Bill 17, Supplementary Appropriation Act No. 1, 2002/2003 and Bill 19 - Budget Measures Implementation Act be read for the first time.
Speaker: The motion is in order. All those in favour?
Bill 17 has had first reading.
Bill 19 has had first reading.
Bill 26 – Inter-Jurisdictional Support Orders Act – First Reading
Hon. Paul Okalik: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable member for Hudson Bay, that Bill 26 Inter-Jurisdictional Support Orders Act be read for the first time.
Bill 26 has had first reading.
Bill 25 – an Act to Amend Maintenance Orders Enforcement Act – First Reading
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable member for Cambridge Bay, that Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Maintenance Orders Enforcement Act, be read for the first time.
Bill 25 has had first reading.
Bill 17 – Supplementary Appropriations (Operations and Maintenance) Act No. 1 – 2002/03 – Second Reading
I move, seconded by the honourable member for Hudson Bay, that Bill 17, Supplementary Appropriations Act No.1, 2002-2003, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this bill is to seek legislative approval for an additional amount of $5 million 269 thousand for the operations and maintenance requirements of GN departments for the fiscal year, 2002-2003.
The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Motion is carried and Bill 17 has had second reading and accordingly the Bill is referred to a committee.
Bill 21 – An Act to Amend the Labour Standards Act – Second Reading
I move, seconded by the member for ____ that Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Labour Standards Act, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, currently the minimum wage ranges from $6.00 to $7.00 per hour in Nunavut depending on the age and location of the worker.
The proposed amendment will raise the minimum wage rate to $8.50 per hour.
It will also remove the regulation making power to impose distinctions in the minimum wage based on age and location.
The overall effect of these amendments would be just one minimum wage rate of $8.50 per hour for all employees.
Bill 21 has had second reading and accordingly the bill stands referred to a committee.
Second Reading of Bills. Item 19.
Bill 13, Bill 18, Bill 17, Minister's Statement 072-1 (6), with Mr. Puqiqnak in the Chair.
Before we proceed to the committee of the whole we’ll take a 45 minute break.
>>House recessed at 11:59 a.m. and resumed at 12.57 p.m.
We can start our Committee of the Whole.
We’ll be dealing with Capital Estimates, Bill 13 and 18, Minister’s Statement 072-1 (6), and Bill 17.
We wish to proceed with Bill 18 on the Housing Corporation.
Does everybody agree that we deal with the Nunavut Housing Corporation?
Minister Responsible, do you have opening remarks?
You can proceed with your opening comments.
Mr. Chairman, for the fiscal year 2003/2004, the Government of Nunavut has allocated capital funding of almost $20.3 million dollars for the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
This is an increase of approximately $2.9 million dollars from the 2002/2003 year.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation also provides funding of approximately $4.3 million dollars for modernization and improvement projects.
Including this federal funding the grand total for capital in 2003/2004, is $24.6 million dollars.
Mr. Chairman, this year we will use approximately $12 million dollars to construct 48 new public housing units with a duplex being built in almost every community with the exception of Resolute Bay where no lots are currently available.
The Nunavut Housing Corporation is working closely with the Department of Community Government and Transportation, the Resolute Bay Housing Association and the Hamlet of Resolute Bay to ensure additional housing supply can be built in that community in future years.
This year’s modernization and improvement budget will be approximately $8.9 million dollars including the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding which will be used to renovate aging units.
Many of the corporation’s own units are in need of repair and renovation.
We also have nine Webber Units left to retrofit each at a cost of approximately $170 thousand dollars.
All nine are slated for retrofitting this coming fiscal year.
For fiscal year 2003/2004, $2.5 million dollars will be block funded to district offices for emergency repair programs, Nunavut Down Payment Assistance Program, Home Repair Program, and Senior Citizen’s Home Repair Program.
This gives our districts the flexibility to best respond to regions with specific requirements.
Districts will have the responsibility of using these dollars to fund appropriate Home Repair Programs.
This is an increase of $500 thousand dollars over last year’s budget and will support an anticipated increase in requests for Home Repair Project assistance as clients seek to repair their units versus the new Tenant to Owner Program.
Mobile Equipment Funding of $400 thousand is a recurring capital requirement for the Housing Corporation.
LHOs are block-funded for maintenance of vehicles based on a minimum 8-year replacement policy.