EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
On this department the question I have is last year, and I don’t know if it falls under this so I am going to ask, last year you had a program where you sent your deputies out to each community to experience living in Nunavut and we have a few new deputies this year, and a few new assistant deputies.
Would you commit to keeping this very successful program going? I had the Power Corporation President in Baker Lake for almost a week last summer and he thoroughly enjoyed himself and the staff really liked having him there and things like that but you have a new deputy in Community Government and Transportation, Mr. Walsh.
He’s been in the north and he’s got a department in Baker and quite a few staff, so I’m asking if you would send a deputy or two into Baker Lake this year and to experience the northern lifestyles and see how people live.
I would like to go myself if I can; yes we plan to continue with this program.
Mr. McLean: That’s nice to hear but if the Premier comes he has to buy his own gas.
We’re into Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Nunavut Cabinet.
Total operations and maintenance 3 million 694 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): Turning over to 2-14.
Commissioner of Nunavut.
I know that the Commissioner is being paid for by the Federal Government but I have a question with the 45 thousand, under travel and transportation.
If the Queen or the Governor General is going to be coming in it is mandatory for him to travel and this 45 thousand is used to give awards at the community level for bravery and so on.
If the 45 thousand runs out and these events still need to happen what contingency plans are in place?
In Nunavut we do the ceremonial awards at the community level and this 45 thousand has not increased or decreased.
The commissioner is usually able to get on charters, and also he can use the RCMP, air force planes, and ministerial charters; he’s invited to go on those charters free of charge.
Just as an example the, I wanted to go on a court circuit plane that was going to Coral Harbour but I had to pay 600 dollars. Is it free for the commissioner if he wants to hop onto the charter?
My other question under Commissioner of Nunavut is we haven’t had a Deputy Commissioner for a long period of time, are you looking at appointing a Deputy Commissioner in the future?
Hon. Paul Okalik: Qujannamiik Itsivautaq. If you recall when we solicited names from regular caucus you could recommend people to become Deputy Commissioner and we would forward names to the Minister of Indian Affair’s office. We are still waiting for names.
So help from you members would be appreciated on this matter.
Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs. Branch Summary. Commissioner of Nunavut.
Total Operations and Maintenance 185 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): Turning to the next page.
Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs. Branch Summary. Decentralization Secretariat.
Page 2-15. Comments?
Very briefly (interpretation ends) Have they made a mandate to make decentralization happen in a timely and organized manner?
Can the minister tell me it is happening in a timely and organized manner today?
It is as timely as you can possibly physically do it.
To date, we’ve encountered barriers here and there, we didn’t have lots of office space before, and we had wildlife officers, local wildlife officers situated in one community.
So, we’ve adjusted, planned and I think we’ve done okay so far.
And we’ll continue to press ahead to fight barriers, like housing is a shortage right now and we’re pressing ahead with an RFP to accommodate that concern.
So whatever barriers there are we’ll try and overcome them.
Anything else? We are on page 2-15. Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Branch Summary. Decentralization Secretariat. Total Operations and maintenance 567 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): The next page is information. Details of work performed on behalf of third parties.
Chairperson (interpretation): Turning over, information item. Going back to 2-5. Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Program Summary. Detail of Expenditures. Total Operations and Maintenance 11 million 90 thousand.
Mr. Premier I would like to thank you and your officials and we thank you for very capably handling your department.
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman and all the members for giving me your support which lightens up the load when we’re working on it on a daily basis. I also thank our staff.
We look forward to having a good department this year.
Chairperson (interpretation): We’ll then move on.
There is an issue that we have to deal with at the moment.
The rest of the committee members aren’t here but my committee has to have a short meeting.
>>Committee recessed at 5.25 p.m. and resumed at 5.35 p.m.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you. Does the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly have opening comments?
Mr. Speaker, you can proceed.
Hon. Kevin O’Brien: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I glad to be here before you today to present the 2002 – 2003 main estimates for the Office of the Legislative Assembly.
Before getting into details of this year’s proposed budget for the Legislative Assembly, I would like to take a few moments to account with you today for our performance for the past year.
As members know, the government’s ongoing program review exercise has meant that departments have not produced new business plans for 2002 – 2003.
I think it is appropriate however, that I advise members as to what specific goals in last year’s business plan for the Legislative Assembly were achieved, and what our results were.
One of the primary goals in our 2001 – 2002 business plans was to support members in their review of the statutes that fall under the jurisdiction of the Legislative Assembly.
I am pleased to be able to say that the Assembly is on track to having almost its entire legislative base thoroughly reviewed prior to the end of the first Assembly, with new, fully-translated Acts in place.
As members know, our new Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act and Integrity Act were fully translated and passed in the 2001 – 2002 fiscal year.
Our base is solid for the Members of the next Assembly.
Looking ahead, I am confident that your Management and Services Board will be reviewing a draft Elections Act over the coming months for presentation to Caucus and consideration in the House during the fall 2002 Session.
This new Elections Act for Nunavut will represent the culmination of several years of hard work, and high praise is due to the members of the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit for their efforts in getting the review process underway.
I would also like to note for the record that the Legislative Assembly is fully up-to-date in fulfilling its statutory tabling requirements.
As members know, almost every department must, by law, table certain annual reports and other documents in the House.
Our 2001 – 2002 business plan stressed the need for elections readiness.
Again, I would like to acknowledge the work of the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit in undertaking the recruitment process for our new Chief Electoral Officer, Ms. Sandy Kusugak.
In a few moments, I will review the resources that have been included in this year’s budget for elections readiness.
Since 1999, members have stressed the need for the Legislative Assembly to be a people-friendly place that showcases Nunavut’s art and culture.
I am pleased to be able to report to you that 2001 – 2002 was a year of solid progress in this area.
Some of our accomplishments include:
Hosting 6 major art exhibitions in the Great Hall;
Expanding the display cases for Inuit art in the lobby areas of the first, second, and third floors of the building;
Hosting a number of major events throughout the year in which approximately 1,500 people attended; and
Continuing to effect improvements to the landscaping on the Assembly grounds.
Over the coming year, we plan to complete the major landscaping projects and improve the signage inside and outside of the building.
It is our intent that this Legislative Assembly be fully prepared to welcome her Majesty the Queen in October of this year.
I look forward to all members joining me in welcoming the Queen, Prince Philip, Prime Minster Chrétien, and the Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson to Nunavut in early October.
Over the past year, continued progress has been made in the areas of information and technological services.
Assembly staff were involved in the development of new unicode syllabic fonts.
I understand that the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit has in fact, formally recommended to the government that this font be the new standard across all departments.
The Legislative Assembly’s website continues to attract a significant number of visitors.
During the last two months alone, there were over 2,000 requests for various documents from the website.
Every report that is produced and tabled by a Standing Committee is posted on the website, as are some transcripts from Standing Committee meetings, such as this year’s appearance of the Auditor General.
Over the coming year, we are still planning to move towards greater autonomy for the Assembly with respect to our computer network.
This is a complex endeavour, but one which responds to members’ concerns.
Progress continues to be made with respect to collection development in the library.
To date, almost 800 items have been catalogued in our automated system.
Over the coming year we look forward to cataloguing approximately 400 Inuktitut Language materials that have been acquired.
Staff continues to respond to reference enquiries from the department and the public.
We’ve also hosted several events in the library including a recent presentation made by the Icelandic Ambassador to Canada.
We continue to broadcast proceedings of the Assembly on APTN, on a nightly basis.
In addition, residents of Iqaluit are now able to view the proceedings on local cable TV.
We also broadcast live on the radio during session in both Inuktitut and English.
The Government of Nunavut’s Statistics Bureau has provided us with information from the Nunavut Household Survey concerning the broadcasting of the Assembly’s proceedings.
We will be reviewing this information as we plan for the fall 2002 session.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to turn now to the details of our proposed expenditures for 2002/2003.
All members have noted that the total operations and maintenance spending is projected at 14.39 million dollars in 2002/2003.
I should note Mr. Chairman, that the estimates for 2003/2004 are likely to be lower as this year’s budget reflects initial costs of the members’ Supplementary Allowance Plan.
The increases over 2001/2002 are also attributable to several other initiatives.
These include 500 thousand dollars for Elections Nunavut in the area of elections readiness; 110 thousand dollars for enhancement to member’s constituency budgets; and 160 thousand dollars for increased staff capacity to serve members in the areas of research and corporate services.
Mr. Chairman, in closing I would like to again thank members for their support over the past year.
I look forward to another busy and successful year at the Legislative Assembly.
I welcome any questions or comments that the members may have.
Sergeant-at-Arms if you would escort the officials please.
We do know the names of the officials.
I apologise, Mr. Speaker.
We do know your officials and we recognise them, but if you would please introduce your officials.
To my right, your left, is the Clerk of the Assembly, Mr. John Quirke.
And to my left, your right, the Director of Corporate Services, Mr. Steve Pollock.
Does the Ajauqtiit chairman have opening remarks?
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): Thank you. For your information I’ll be saying Itsivautaq and Uqaqti.
Thank you very much for your kind remarks in regards to Ajauqtiit.
Mr. Chairman, as Chair of the Ajauqtiit Committee, I’m pleased to be able to give my opening remarks as we begin debate on the 2002/2003 main estimates for the Office of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. Later on members of the committee will have an opportunity to ask questions regarding these estimates.
Mr. Chairman, the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit had the opportunity to meet with the Speaker and his staff.
At that time the speaker provided an update on his department’s proposed expenditures.
Mr. Chairman, this year’s review was a little different as there are no new business plans for any department.
As members are aware, this is due to the government’s ongoing program review exercise.
However, members were pleased that the Office of the Legislative Assembly was able to advise the committee on which specific goals from last year’s business plans have been achieved.
This gives a good measure of the department’s progress and it will allow members to better evaluate plans for the future.
Mr. Chairman, members were also pleased to hear that the Legislative Assembly is fully up to date in fulfilling its statutory tabling requirements such as those contained in the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act and the Integrity Act that were passed in the 2001-2002 fiscal year.
Members look forward to seeing the draft Elections Act during the fall 2002 session.
Mr. Chairman, the committee noted an increase since 2001-2002 which is attributable to other initiatives, including 500 thousand for elections readiness.
We are indeed fortunate to have Ms. Sandy Kusugak who has an extensive background in elections as the new Chief Electoral Officer of Nunavut.
Members continued to be pleased with the artwork being exhibited throughout the building and support the fact that the building is used to hold a number of major events.
Mr. Chairman, members were pleased with the increase in the members’ constituency budgets as this was an area of concern, especially for those members who have more than one constituent community.
Mr. Chairman, I’m sure that all members of this House are happy to hear that the Speaker is fully prepared to welcome her Majesty the Queen in October of this year, as are all members.
We look forward to this visit. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my opening remarks.
I anticipate that individual members will raise their own comments, concerns or questions on the department’s 2002-2003 main estimates.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you for calling me Itsivautaq Mr. Iqaqrialu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman of the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit.
In accordance with our rules we’ll give ten minutes for the members to give their general comments, you may go below the limit but you can’t go over ten minutes.
I think my ten minutes is not going to be enough Mr. Chairman.
I just have one question to the Speaker in his capacity. I have to say that the Legislative Assembly staff are doing very well but we have always discussed this issue during our standing committees; I have always asked the question during full caucus but perhaps I can ask the question in the House so that it may be foremost on our minds.
Some of us when we come here tend to get quite heavy, we tend to gain weight and I have been asking for an exercise room here, for the Legislative Assembly members somewhere within this facility.
Anybody else? Mr. Speaker, would you like to respond to that comment?
That issue was brought up before, for providing some type of an exercise room or area for the members so the TV cameras can see.
We certainly need it.
The problem that we have, on a more serious note, is we really don’t have space.
I would suggest that the Clerk and I will be talking to various people in the summer to discuss how we can approach the proposed new Legislative Assembly and that could be part of that process.
And the people that I will be speaking to are not the panel that I referred to in earlier comments, in that committee meeting.
Regarding the panel that will meet together to discuss the future possibility of a new Assembly to look at what approach we would take to start off the process.
So the problem we have is that we just don’t have space, we are very, very limited in our space in the Assembly.
Are there any questions from the members?
Just before we go page by page are there any questions?
Page 1-6. Office of the Clerk.
Total operations and maintenance 6 million 224 thousand.
Under contract services there has been a decrease in the number; it used to be about 112 thousand.
Which contracts have been eliminated?
I will pass that question to our Director of Corporate Services, Mr. Pollock.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Pollock.
Mr. Pollock: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Over the last couple of years, we have been able to better estimate where expenses lie and this year we’ve been able to move money between the different accounts so it’s just a reallocation between contract services and purchased services.
Page 1-6. Total Operations and Maintenance 6 million 224 thousand.
Under travel and transportation, I’m sorry purchased services, there has been an increase of approximately 800 thousand, what is that purchased services for?
What’s the reason for the increase?
Is that to do with contracting interpreters?
Mr. Quirke: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Just to repeat what the director of corporate services said.
It’s basically a reallocation of funding between purchased services and contract services in those areas. The expenses in those areas are translation of communications, our Hansard, our equipment leases, our security, our cleaning contracts, and our legal services.
The members may recall that the security and janitorial were transferred to the responsibility of the Legislative Assembly from Public Works.
And that’s where you see some increases.
Mr. Chairman under that page. Mr. O’Brien had just said earlier as the Speaker he is having a committee formed to look at the opportunity for a new Legislative Assembly.
I’m wondering for these budgets, for these committees and meetings are they located on that page and if they are or if they are not how do they see the consultation work with the members here and the adoption and review of other reports that have already been done.
For example the Nunavut Capital Commission report which indicated a location for the new Legislative Assembly.
Will he be incorporating that into his committee?
Mr. Chairman, as I indicated earlier that the clerk and I were going to attend some meetings this summer just to establish the format from which we approach the overall plan. I think the money we identified at this point is 40 thousand dollars and that also includes some the Clerk is going to use to do some other research.
But at this point in time it would be somewhat premature to talk about details of our approach because we are just at the initial stages and as I indicated, the meetings that will take place this summer will just set the stage as to how we will plan for such an endeavour.
Is that it Mr. Picco? Office of the Legislative Assembly.
Branch Summary. Office of the Clerk. Total Operations and Maintenance 6 million 224 thousand.
Page 1-7. Office of the Legislative Assembly.
Branch Summary. Expenditures on behalf of members. Total Operations and Maintenance 6 million 852 thousand.
Under fees and payments, this has been increased to about 2.9 million, what is this increase for?
The bulk of that would be used for the increase to the supplementary pension plan that was voted on and approved in the House.
Anything else? Ms. Williams.
Is that the only reason why?
Because of the supplementary pension plan, is that the only reason why the cost has gone up?
Mr. Chairman, that should also include the regular pension plan which every member in the House is a part of.
We are on 1-7. Total Operations and Maintenance 6 million 852 thousand.
Page 1-8.
Office of the Legislative Assembly. Branch Summary. Office of the Speaker.
Total Operations and Maintenance 253 thousand.
Page 1-9.
Office of the Legislative Assembly. Branch Summary. Office of the Chief Electoral Officer.
Total Operations and Maintenance 500 thousand.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): Under fees and payments, in the line fees and payments, how come there’s been an increase, what is that used for?
The increase from 3 to 20 thousand dollars recognises that the Chief Electoral Officer would have to begin a process of registration.
Fees will be required to pay people to start the process of identifying people who should be on the voters list and for translation services of documentation to the public.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Quirke.
Under contract services on that page, there’s a slight increase and what is that for?
Which one of you will answer that question?
The 76 thousand dollars includes the cost for rent and utilities for setting up the new Elections Nunavut Office.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): Last year there was only 1 thousand dollars and now it’s other expenses 106 thousand dollars.
What are the other expenses on 1-9 used for?
Again, this is the first year of setting up for the elections office and in that category we’ll be covering expenses such as setting up the office, office furniture, computers and all the infrastructure for the first year of the operation.
Thank you. Office of the Legislative Assembly.
Total Operations and Maintenance, 500 thousand dollars.
Page 1-10. Office of the Legislative Assembly.
Offices of Independent Commissioners.
Total Operations and Maintenance, 560 thousand dollars.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): Under contract services, it was 95 thousand dollars for the two years previous, but now there’s been an increase.
I just want to know what that’s for.
Mr. Chairman, these reflect increased costs for our Integrity Commissioner and I believe our Privacy Commissioner.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): The compensation and benefits on 1-10, isn’t that where those independent commissioners are being paid?
Hon. Kevin O’Brien: Mr. Chairman, this figure primarily reflects the cost of the Language Commissioner and her staff.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you. Is that it?
We’re on page 1-10.
Total Operations and Maintenance 560 thousand dollars.
Page 1-11 is an information item.
Going back to 1-5.
I was caught off guard on the first page and I wasn’t going to say anything but I have to speak now in regards to money in the budget for looking at a new building. Mr. Chairman, I’m aghast.
By the time this building is paid for it’s going to cost the citizens of Nunavut 50 million dollars plus operational expenses.
The issue that I’m getting here to is that everybody that comes into this building and especially my constituents say it’s a nice building and they’re very pleased with it.
It serves Nunavut well.
And this is just a comment, that before we go out and start planning a new building for the citizens of Nunavut look at the actual life span of this building.
And I think the building was built to last 40 or 50 years.
But I think we’re getting a little premature on planning for a new Legislative Assembly in Nunavut when we have other concerns and issues that we have to deal with.
It’s just a comment.
And thank you Mr. McLean for your concern.
Going back to the Office of the Legislative Assembly.
Total Operations and Maintenance 14 million 389 thousand dollars.
Mr Speaker, thank you for appearing in front of the committee and your officials.
If you have any closing remarks the floor is open.
Hon. Kevin O’Brien: Mr. Chairman, just one last comment in reference to the proposed new Assembly.
This was discussed in caucus.
I guess our job right now is just to look at possible costs and how it may be approached.
I guess the bottom line is that this is something that wouldn’t be seen for many, many, years down the road.
It is future planning and we all know the building here is small and we’re cramped and it was a request by a number of the members to follow up on this so.
It’s very, very, premature to make any sort of decision I guess, as to when this building would be replaced.
Thank you for your support for this year and look forward to the same support over the next year.
Chairperson (interpretation): We still have some items to deal with.
So please do not leave.
Please, we have another item to deal with under page 11.
Bill 6, if you could find that page, it’s the summary of total Operations and Maintenance, 689 million 608 thousand dollars.
I have Bill 6 in front of me, Appropriation Act No. 2, 2002-2003.