EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
We are doing community tours to meet with the DEAs and school staff to talk about the new Education Act and what their authority is, what their rights are, and what they’re allowed to do. I think that there will be a better understanding after that process is complete.
Mr. Speaker, in addition, the Department of Education, like the Department of CLEY, has an out-on-the-land program. They can also access funding from that.
Hamlet councils and other entities have been made aware of this information.
That’s how I can respond to the member, Mr. Speaker.
We would be very pleased to get additional funding for that program because our young people are our future leaders and we need to be well prepared for them.
We need to provide the land skills program because it’s part of education. It might be taught outside of the actual school, but it’s very beneficial to the training and teaching of students.
I would like to thank the minister for his response and I will inform the teachers and the DEAs about this.
Question 268 – 3(2): Fire Damage to Housing Units (Okalik)
In the good city of Iqaluit, housing units have been burning down. Quite a few houses have burned down within the last few years.
I was wondering if you are reviewing or evaluating how fires started in those units.
I would like to ask the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation what they’re doing about the units that have burned down.
It’s a good thing I wore my red shirt today; he asked me a fire question.
Mr. Speaker, when there is a fire, whether it is a public housing unit here in Iqaluit or any other community, the LHO provides a fire report to the district office. In all cases, it’s the fire department, or the fire chief, or whoever does the report that does investigation to find out what the cause of the fire was.
So we have to wait until we get that information from the appropriate organization, whether it is the City of Iqaluit, or the Fire Marshall, or CGS, or whoever, before we can make a final determination as to what the cause of any fire was.
In order to prevent future fires, you first have to determine the cause of the fire.
That is why I wish to ask this additional question. I imagine that as per his prior response, all fires are investigated to determine the cause of the blaze. Have they determined the causes of the fires to date?
There are now quite a few housing units that have been destroyed by fire and these incidents exacerbate our housing shortage and add to the housing waiting list.
Therefore, I wish to ask the minister: have they concluded their investigations as to what the causes of the fires were in Iqaluit?
The member makes a very good observation.
I will say that, depending on what fire it is, there are different reasons. I know with each case, in some instances, we have a report back that does indicate the source of the fire. In some cases, we don’t have that information, but if he can be specific, I would be more than happy to enlighten him with that information.
Speaker: Thank you, Minister. Your second supplementary, Mr. Okalik.
In Iqaluit, every time you tour around the city, you see units that have been damaged by fire.
So therefore, I’m urging the department to do an investigation to see what was the source of the fire or what are the costs of the fire.
Once we find out or determine what causes the fires, we can try and alleviate them.
I would like to ask the minister if training or education can be provided to tenants on fire safety issues so that the public will have safer lives in their homes.
I know every year now since 1999, there’s a fire prevention week. I have proudly put an ad in the paper every year supporting the firefighters.
They do a very good job during that week going around to all the schools, educating and explaining to the young children on what to do when there is a fire and how to prevent it.
I think, as far as fire prevention, those types of programs fall under the mandate of a different department, Community Governments Services in this case.
They have programs in place through emergency services, I believe, to look after that.
Educating in those circumstances is to be done by professionals, the firefighters.
Housing association staff aren’t firefighting professionals. Some of them are volunteer firefighters, but I believe that they have their hands full trying to do the work that they have to do rather than going around fulfilling a mandate that’s already being done by somebody else.
Every time there’s a unit damaged by fire, it increases the rent and the people on the waiting list gets longer.
So I urge the minister that he meets with the other offices or departments to review what causes the fires and do more fire prevention in the future.
I just heard a recommendation; I didn’t hear a question.
Tabled Document 125 – 3(2): FPT Ministers Responsible for Justice in October 2009 (Peterson)
I would like to table my report on my attendance at the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers of Justice Meeting held October 30, 2009, in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Mr. Speaker, this was a very good conference. It’s the first time I have been at a justice ministers’ meeting.
The three areas that we raised on behalf of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon were: victimization and abuse in our small communities, the First Nations Policing Program, and access to justice for individuals suffering from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Tabled Document 126 – 3(2): Documents from the Public Registry of the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada (Okalik)
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I wish to table a document from the public registry of the Officer of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada. This document reveals that the Government of Nunavut has engaged a former Liberal Cabinet Minister to lobby on our behalf with the federal government on the devolution file.
Mr. Speaker, I think that the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs will need to answer many more questions on this matter when it presents its budget next week. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Tabled Document 127 – 3(2): Ridding the Arctic of Nuclear Weapons: A Task Long Overdue (Elliott)
I wish to table a copy of a recent study published by the Rideau Institute and the Canadian Pugwash Group titled Ridding the Arctic of Nuclear Weapons: A Task Long Overdue.
Mr. Speaker, I am a strong proponent of a nuclear-free Arctic, which is a position that I hope the government shares.
I will have detailed questions on this issue when the Minister of the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs appears before the Committee of the Whole.
Motion 016 – 3(2): Moratorium on Purchase of Products from the European Union by the Nunavut Liquor Commission (Schell)
WHEREAS the European Parliament has voted in favour of a ban on the import of seal products that is unjustified, unreasonable, and unacceptable to Inuit, Nunavummiut, and Canadians from coast to coast to coast;
AND WHEREAS the Members of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut have unanimously expressed their opposition to the European Union ban on seal products;
AND WHEREAS it is incumbent on the Government of Nunavut to take action that clearly demonstrates our outrage at the European Union’s actions;  AND WHEREAS the Government of Nunavut’s Liquor Commission operates warehouse facilities in Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet from which alcohol is sold to residents of our territory;
AND WHEREAS it is unacceptable under the present circumstances for the Government of Nunavut to facilitate the sale of alcohol from the European Union to residents of our territory;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Member for Iqaluit West, that the Legislative Assembly calls on the Government of Nunavut to impose a moratorium on purchases by the Nunavut Liquor Commission of products originating from the European Union from this day forward until such time as the issue of the seal product ban is resolved to Nunavut’s satisfaction.
Before we begin with comments to the motion, I have a comment to make.
I am very honoured to have the opportunity today to speak to my motion and I would like to thank my colleague from Iqaluit West for having seconded it. I would also like to acknowledge the many supportive comments that I have received from my colleagues and constituents on this issue. I also want to thank the Minister of Finance for having invited me to make a motion on this subject.
As I will explain in my comments today, my motion is very clear that it focuses on the sale of alcohol by the government and not banning a product in its entirety.
Mr. Speaker, as you will recall, the Minister of Environment introduced an important motion in this House on March 25 of last year.
That motion, which was passed unanimously by the Legislative Assembly, expressed our strong opposition to the European Union’s ban on the import of seal products.
Mr. Speaker, when we considered the motion on March 25 of last year, I asked a very simple question: “If the European Union won’t allow our seal products to be imported into and sold in Europe, why should the Government of Nunavut sell liquor products made in the European Union to Nunavummiut?”
Mr. Speaker, it has been almost one year since the passage of that motion. Since that time, the European Union’s ban has regrettably moved forward.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to pay tribute to the Government of Canada and our federal parliamentarians. They have taken strong action to fight the ban and Nunavut appreciates their firm support.
I would also like to note for the record the fact that on January 13 of this year, our national Inuit organization, ITK, announced that it has launched a legal challenge in the European General Court to overturn the ban.
I would also like to acknowledge the people and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, who have also suffered as a result of the European Union’s actions.
They have spoken strongly in such forums as the Council of the Federation on the importance of ensuring that the seal ban issue is resolved before entering into new economic agreements with the European Union.
In the event that this motion is carried, Mr. Speaker, I would be very grateful if you would ensure that its passage is brought to the attention of our friends and allies in St. John’s.
Mr. Speaker, the motion that is before the House today is very clear.
As Members of the Legislative Assembly are aware, the Government of Nunavut’s Liquor Commission operates warehouses in Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet from which individuals and licensed establishments may order alcohol.
These warehouses stock a variety of products from many different countries, including those of the European Union.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly believe that our government should not be in the business of selling alcohol from the European Union to its own residents until such time as the seal ban issue is resolved to our satisfaction.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize that this matter has generated a significant amount of coverage in the news. For the benefit of the listening public, I believe that it is important to be very clear today on a number of points.
Mr. Speaker, the passage of this motion will not result in products from the European Union being declared illegal. If residents wish to continue ordering wine from France or beer from Spain, they are certainly free to do so by importing the products from retailers located outside of the territory.
However, Mr. Speaker, the Government of Nunavut is no longer going to sell alcohol from the European Union to them.
Mr. Speaker, we recognize that the Government of Nunavut has no business banning products from the European Union that are legally sold in our stores, such as European foods.
The critical difference is in the case of alcohol, it is the government itself that is doing the selling and I absolutely believe that the government has the right to decide what products it will or will not sell from its own premises. I do not believe that we can or should be forced to sell products from the European Union to our own residents.
Mr. Speaker, it is also important to note that this motion is perfectly responsible.
The motion does not call on the Liquor Commission to remove or destroy its existing inventory of liquor products from the European Union, thereby incurring costs.
Once its current stocks are sold, the Liquor Commission will simply no longer order new supplies of alcohol that originate from the European Union.
Mr. Speaker, I also wish to note that the wording of this motion is sufficiently flexible to allow the Liquor Commission reasonable discretion to determine whether or not a given product should or should not be ordered.
I recognize that in today’s global economy, corporate ownership structures can be very complex. However, bottles and cans are clearly labelled as to their country of origin.
For example, if the label on a bottle of wine states that it is the product of France, it should not be ordered. If a can of beer indicates that it’s the product of Australia, it should be ordered.
Mr. Speaker, I would again note for the record that I initially raised this issue almost a year ago.
I sincerely hope that the Liquor Commission did not order a significant amount of European alcohol during last year’s resupply.
I would also note that our own country makes many fine wines, beers, and spirits and I am certain that Canadian producers will be more than happy to do business with us.
Mr. Speaker, I think that we all recognize that the actions proposed by this motion have a significant degree of symbolism attached to them.
We recognize that French winemakers aren’t going to go out of business because the Government of Nunavut won’t sell their products for them. However, Mr. Speaker, this is one of those issues where symbols are both important and powerful. For example, I recently noted with pride that the Parliamentary Restaurant in Ottawa now has seal meat on its menu.
Mr. Speaker, we need to show that we are equally determined to express our outrage at the decision of the European Union.
As I noted last week, the visiting European politicians who were here for the G-7 Summit could not even show enough respect for Nunavut’s culture to attend a community feast that was held in their honour.
Mr. Schell: Mr. Speaker, if this motion does not pass, I can only imagine what the reaction will be. The European Union will laugh at us.
They will think that they can take whatever actions they want that damage our culture and communities and we will do nothing except continue to buy their booze.
That’s not acceptable to me and it should not be acceptable to our government or any Member of this House.
Mr. Speaker, we need to show the European Union that its actions have real consequences.
We need to show that this territory has decided that it isn’t going to lie down without a fight.
Mr. Speaker, I want to conclude by reading a message that I received this weekend from a gentleman in British Columbia. Although I have never met the man, he took the time to send me an email.
He writes and I quote, “The European Union has no business getting involved in this affair and they certainly don’t understand or care to learn the facts.
I’ve had the great pleasure to visit Nunavut while I was living in the Northwest Territories and I don’t believe that there is a group of people who have greater respect for the earth and the animals on it than the people who live North of 60.
Good luck with your proposal and I hope your fellow MLAs support your motion.
If your proposal goes through, I, too, will support you in solidarity by ceasing purchase of European Union wines and spirits for as long as Nunavut does.”
Mr. Schell: Mr. Speaker, I ask all members to join me in paying tribute to this courageous Canadian who has chosen to stand up with us.
Mr. Speaker, in the same spirit of solidarity, I urge each and every Member of this House to support this motion.
I just got another email in here this afternoon and I would like to read it to you.
“Dear Mr. Schell, I live in a small community in Nova Scotia where the seal hunt debate is also prominent in the news.
It has been a topic of great interest to me as I have been a fur harvester since my very young years.
I now sit on the board of directors for the Nova Scotia Trappers Association.
I am sending you these words of encouragement from Nova Scotia in your courageous step forward to support not only your constituents but the legal and traditional rights of all Canadians.
When I heard your interview a few minutes ago on CBC, I was having a glass of Baileys Irish Cream. It will be my last.”
“I’ll make it my mission to spread the word to this part of our great country. Your proposal echoes what many of us in the fur industry have said and felt for the past few years. If the EU doesn’t support Canadian products, why should we support European products?
Thank you, Mr. Schell, for standing up for Canada.
Sincerely, Francis Gibbs”
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased, pursuant to Rule 59, to give all of the members the opportunity to demonstrate their support by calling for a recorded vote on this motion.
Does the seconder have comments?
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker (interpretation ends) I applaud my colleague for moving forward on this motion on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance.
I look forward to the Minister of Finance following through with his support on this motion, along with the rest of the cabinet.
I have been very impressed with the amount of coverage that this motion has attracted from the rest of the country and elsewhere.
I must say that the intent of this motion is to show our disappointment in the actions of the European community and the press has been showing our displeasure.
I am very pleased to see that because we haven’t unfortunately seen this kind of coverage for the seal issue and the territory. So I am very pleased and I applaud the member for moving ahead with this very important topic.
Although this motion will not have much weight in light of the amount of trade that we have with Europe, I believe that the principle that we stand for will be loudly heard by the European community.
I must say that there are other issues that we face. If we are going to have a fresh start in the trade of sealskins, there is the issue of the image in the European community.
I encourage my fellow sealers in southern Canada to start using modern tools to harvest seals as the issue of the hakapik has created a real difficult challenge for all of us here in our country.
I pressed our federal government to ban the use of the hakapik so that we can at least show the European community that we hunt like them, that we’re not Neanderthals, that we’re modern, and that we just want to trade our products.
I continue to press our government to lobby the federal government to ban the use of the hakapik.
I also applaud the federal Parliament for serving seal in their restaurant and I look forward to eating there in the near future if I get the chance to go there again and visit with fellow parliamentarians.
I would like to also see that on our menus here in Nunavut throughout restaurants or in our own diets when we are served food in our Assembly and elsewhere. So I applaud the parliamentarians and I look forward to seeing the same.
I hope that all members will support this motion so that we can show the world that we stand together in our fight to support our hunters. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I have a brief comment to make to the motion.
When sealskin prices went way down, we anticipated that they weren’t going to be bought by the government.
We didn’t quite know where the market was, but because the Inuit are going to keep harvesting the seal, we also know that they have to buy grub, gasoline, and so on in order to go seal hunting.
Yes, I believe that it’s not going to make a lot of change and it’s not really going to affect the European economy, but we, as MLAs, have to make sure that we utilize all sources of revenue that we can get because of the high cost of living up here.
A lot of the hunters are going to have a hard time getting their supplies, gasoline, and so on because of this loss of revenue
With that, I will firmly support the motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Does the mover of the motion have a last reply or last comments?
Sorry. (interpretation) Premier of Nunavut, (interpretation ends) Hon. Eva Aariak.
Hon. Eva Aariak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I rise today to speak to the motion put forward by my hon. colleague for South Baffin.
I would first like to publicly recognize and thank Mr. Schell for drawing national and international attention to the sealing industry and to the unfair way the European Union has approached an activity which is fundamentally important to Inuit culture.
Mr. Schell should be applauded for his efforts.
Mr. Speaker, as outlined in our mandate, Tamapta: Building Our Future Together, our government is approaching many of the challenges we face in a manner which will find long-term solutions. That is why we have chosen to work with Canada and support their legal challenge through appropriate mechanisms of the EU ban.
We are not looking for a short-term reaction.
Mr. Speaker, our government is also guided by Inuit societal values, Akiniaqtailiniq, in which we respect those who disagree with us and do not approach solutions through retaliation. Although it is clear that the European Union has little respect or understanding of our culture or ways, this is no reason why we have to lower ourselves to that level of debate.
I note that the motion before us today is not limited to imposing a moratorium simply on the purchase of liquor but would apply to all purchases by the Liquor Commission of all products originating from European Union countries. Thus potentially, the Liquor Commission could not purchase office equipment or mobile equipment originating from a European Union country.
My cabinet and I have considered the impacts of the proposed moratorium. On checking with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, we have been advised that it would be a clear violation of the World Trade Organization’s general agreement on tariffs and trade of which Canada is a signatory as it discriminates against EU products based on their origins.
It would also violate an agreement between the European Economic Community and Canada concerning trade and commerce in alcoholic beverages.
Not only would such a moratorium open the door for complaints by Members of the European Union against Canada, it may also be unhelpful to Canada’s World Trade Organization complaint with respect to the European ban on seal products.
Mr. Speaker, one of the principles of good government is that a government should not, through its decisions, expose itself to areas of potential liability or make decisions which break existing laws. To clarify, if the cabinet votes to approve this motion, we will be putting Nunavut in such a position.
Mr. Speaker, Nunavummiut are intelligent and capable of making their own decisions.
Each individual has an opportunity, when making a purchase, to decide what they wish to buy.
We would strongly encourage Nunavummiut to make that assessment when they purchase items such as liquor.
As indicated by my hon. colleague, the Minister of Environment, we are establishing programs to educate and inform Europeans and others in our traditional hunting and harvesting practices.
Solid, accurate information is critical to ensuring that a clear understanding of who we are and what we desire is available to all and that we are delivering our own messages.
Uqaqtittijii, we are jointly proud of our sealing tradition and the fact that Inuit use all of the seal.
We are also proud of our hunters and the contributions they make to our communities and the connections they have to our heritage.
Although Inuit are now very much part of the 21st century, our hunting traditions provide an important part of our cultural foundation. For thousands of years, seals have been a vital resource for Inuit survival in a very demanding environment.