EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Question 177 – 1(6): Federal Government Discussions on Fishing Rights - Update
Mr. Speaker, as Ms. Thompson put it, it was a very quick observation by the people here from the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs from across the country and I wish they would have been here for this question.
And hopefully it will get forwarded to them prior to them leaving our fine city and our territory.
My question is for the Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs and Aboriginal Rights.
It was quite well known not too long ago that the Federal Government signed an agreement in principal with the Inuit of Makivik in Northern Quebec that gave them a lot fishing rights off our waters, off our shores.
I’d like to ask the minister if he can give us an update on the work to try and have some of those fishing rights come back to Nunavut.
There have been some significant discussions on this matter with the Federal Government.
As everybody knows, the Prime Minister has been involved as well and there has been a bit of progress since the initialling of the agreement.
Makivik has written to us asking us to join the table and to look at options that will be possible for all parties.
Our position continues to be that our rights here in Nunavut should not be overtaken by others outside of the territory off our waters.
That will continue to be our position.
So, we’re continuing on with our discussions with Makivik and the Federal Government at various levels hoping that we can find a resolution to this problem.
Further to that, the Fisheries Committee for the Atlantic Ocean made a recommendation that Nunavut fishing rights should be comparable to any Canadian fishing rights.
So that’s a promising start and we hope that it will be reflected in any future discussions on this matter.
Mr. Speaker, that’s good to hear that we’re making some progress.
I’d like to ask the minister if he received any kind of a commitment from the Federal Government that when they are looking at agreements with other jurisdictions, that prior to them giving away any resources, natural resources, from out territory or that could affect our territory that our issues and our views and our inputs will be received prior to any agreement being brought forward by the Federal Government to other jurisdictions.
Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Tootoo. Mr. Okalik.
The commitment that I’ve received so far from both parties, that Makivik wants to find a resolution that will be acceptable to us as well as Makivik.
In addition, the Prime Minister gave a written commitment that there is still time to resolve this issue and that it should be resolved before it’s finalized.
So those are the commitments that I’ve received so far.
We’re trying to work with all parties to try and find resolutions.
We’re very hopeful and optimistic that a final resolution can be found on this matter.
We’ll continue to discuss this matter and hope that we can find a solution.
Speaker: Thank you, Minister. Oral Questions. Supplementary.
Mr. Speaker, I’m sure that all of us would agree that we’d like to find a good resolution to this problem.
I’d like to ask the Premier if he could get a commitment from the Federal Government, from the Minister of Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, from the Prime Minister, that something like this won’t happen again, where our resources are given away without us having any input into it and we end up in a situation like this again where we basically end up having to deal with it after the fact.
That is an ongoing issue that we have to try and protect against.
I will be putting forward and asking for additional resources to have support in this area.
There are outstanding claims throughout our boundaries and we have to be involved in order to protect our interests.
So we will be pressing ahead and being more proactive on this issue, but I think the federal government is on notice that when these issues happen we won’t stay quiet and let them happen.
We will be there protecting Nunavut’s interests regardless of what they may be.
Question 178 – 1(6): Report on Suicide Statistics
Mr. Speaker, last week I asked the Minister responsible for Justice if he could table some information on suicide in Nunavut.
We are almost finished with our session here; we may finish tomorrow and I am asking for the second time if he could provide that information to the House.
Speaker: Mr. Irqittuq, could you please rephrase the question and let us know who you are directing this question to?
Since we are near the end of our session, the Premier was going to table some information and he still hasn’t tabled the information about the suicide statistics beginning in 1999 that show what the statistics were for suicide.
So that was my question if he would table the statistics before the end of the session because we are near the end of our session.
Yes I am aware of that and had asked my officials to make that report ready.
I apologize that it’s not ready today.
Once we have that opportunity I will table that information.
If it’s after the session I will write a letter to all the Members of the Legislative Assembly.
Question 179 – 1(6): Contact Personnel for Bad Gasoline Inquiries
Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Public Works and Services regarding the bad gasoline issue in Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t want to keep bringing this issue up with the minister, but the issue that I think we have to deal with today and before we leave this House is, when we go back to our communities, which will be Friday, we are going to be besieged and I know everybody in this House is going to be besieged with phone calls and inquiries from our constituents.
At this point we don’t know who is going to be the first contact in our communities to deal with this issue.
Can the minister let me know who is going to be the first contact to deal with the burst pistons, the seized engines in each community?
The communities have government workers in the communities.
We will go through the local government and work with them as to how we will deal with this in communities.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t want to seem like I’m picking on the minister on this issue but he knows too that he tabled a petition himself earlier in the week in regards to the gasoline issue.
It’s good to work with the government.
We have the hamlets in the community, we have the HTOs, we have different organizations but at this point I just got off the phone from my constituency and I have six burst pistons sitting on my desk in Baker Lake, waiting for my return.
And I know by the time I get back there’s probably going to be boxes of equipment and engines and stuff that people are going to be asking, where do we take this to and who’s going to be the collection centre and stuff like that.
So, can the minister be more specific in who I can direct my constituents to, to collect this bunch of burnt engines, pistons, crank shafts, is this going to be laid on the MLAs or are we going to designate the HTOs, the Renewable Resource Officers and stuff.
Can the minister be direct on who’s going to be dealing with this issue in our communities?
Speaker: Minister Kattuk
I answered this already.
We will work with the local government regarding this problem.
Up to date, I can only say the government employees.
Once I have found out I will let the member know.
Mr. McLean: Mr. Speaker, that’s not good enough.
It’s not a good enough answer.
If the minister would give me his cell phone, his home phone number and his office number and tell me that he will be available to deal with the calls from people’s engines that have seized up and inquiries.
He either tells me today, who’s going to deal with these inquiries in every community in Nunavut or give me his phone numbers so I can tell my constituents to call him about this issue of bad gas.
I would be willing to give you my telephone number, however I also want to tell the member that next week we will find out more on this and that is all I can answer at the moment.
For my last question to the minister and like I say, I don’t want to feel like I’m picking on him. But is it okay if the minister allows me to put his phone number at home, his office, and his cell phone number on the local cable TV channel until they designate somebody in my community that they can talk to and contact in both languages to deal with this issue of seized engines and stuff like that?
Will the minister confirm that, that I’m allowed to put it on the local radio station also and meet with the local HTO and say that he will be dealing with every inquiry?
I will give the member my office telephone number and also the telephone number of Public Works and Services in the communities.
Question 180 – 1(6): Provide Written Information to the Communities on Bad Gasoline
I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Public Works and Services.
The member from Baker Lake asked this question as well.
Are you going to write a letter to the government employees or the Wildlife Officers in smaller communities?
Are you going to write a letter providing information as to how people will be kept informed in the communities?
From my understanding, as well as my Deputy Minister, we will work with the local wildlife organizations in the communities on this issue.
My question is, is there written information to the wildlife officers in the communities to let them know how they will be providing information to the communities.
Perhaps it would be better if I asked this, have you tasked the wildlife officers in the communities to go on the local radio, to meet with the wildlife organizations on what the government will be doing, to immediately resolve this issue?
We are still dealing with this to date as to what will be done in the communities.
As I stated earlier, next week we will let you know what we will be doing and what will be available in the communities.
We will work through the communities and I expect that the information will be available next week.
All of the members have received telephone calls from our constituencies and people are talking about this on the radio.
Will the wildlife officers be the ones to go to for this information in the communities?
Can I tell that to my constituents?
My responses have been, next week we will let you know exactly what we will be doing and what will be available.
We are working on this and the communities will be informed on what will be happening next week.
Will the government provide a toll free number with Inuktitut and English or in the Kivalliq will they be able to make a collect call to the Petroleum Products Division in Rankin Inlet?
This of course is a big concern, as for the member’s question we can make that available.
However once we determine what the next step will be we will certainly let the people know.
But for the member’s question, yes, we can provide that.
Question 181 – 1(6): Hire an Employee for Gasoline Responses
My question is to the Minister of Public Works and Services.
Mr. Speaker I would like to ask a question pertaining to a question that was raised earlier.
I have been receiving telephone calls and letters from my community.
I appreciate their letters; they have faith in our ability to help them.
Would the minister come up with an agreement with another minister to provide funding to hire employees perhaps for the whole month to look into this problem so the broken down engines can be given to this employee.
I am just thinking that once I go to my community that I will be given a box of broken down parts.
Can the minister come up with an agreement with the other ministers to create a position to deal with this issue in the communities?
Mr. Speaker, in respect to the issue of the whole compensation program and that because of the financial implications, I’ve been asked to be the lead on that in that area.
I can answer to the member that right now, the government is trying to put together a plan in how we’re going to deal with this whole issue.
I’ve indicated the first issue is trying to get an assessment of how much potential damage is out there for those individuals that have already undertaken repairs or maybe have machines that are waiting for repairs.
So, that’s the first step. From the government’s perspective right now, they want to collect as much information as possible.
We think that we have to do that on a face to face basis versus dialing a toll-free number although we would make that available.
Right now, internally, the government is trying to figure out who would be the main contact in each community to allow that to happen.
Right now in the smaller communities, you could look at the possibilities of the Renewable Resource Officers.
In the larger communities, there may be the option of, in the larger communities where there’s more of a government presence, there may be an employee of one of the departments there in one of the decentralized communities.
So that’s what we’re trying to formulate internally before we get out the public information.
The minister will make an announcement on that next week as we identify those individuals.
So that’s the thrust of where we’re going right now Mr. Speaker.
We will patiently wait until next week but at the same time, Minister of Finance, he’s the key point of the inventory.
Who’s going to be the contact person?
Right now, we are the contact people as MLAs for our communities.
So, to reassure Nunavummiut, there will be a contact person in each community.
Is that what I understand, that they will come up with next week?
Question 182 – 1(6): Status of RFP on Health Centre
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): My question is for the Minister responsible for Public Works and Services.
It’s a very brief question.
Last week I had asked him a question in regards to the health centre that will be built in Pond Inlet.
What is the status on the contract?
The previous contract, did it come to its term or, I mean the RFP?
When you asked that question in the House I went to see him to clarify this matter to him in regards to this RFP.
It was delayed and to date I have never heard any further news.
But once I find out I will go see the member in his office and clarify this to him.
Question 183 – 1(6): Negotiated Contracts
Mr. Speaker, this question I am going to try and direct it to the Minister of Community Government and Transportation because it directly affects her department.
It goes back to two or three years ago when we were talking about specifications on buildings.
It is regarding a return to oral question from my colleague from Gjoa Haven regarding cost over runs and budgeted amounts for capital.
He comes from a middle sized community and projects and it even happened in Kugluktuk where a project came in way over budget and it had to be delayed a year or two.
I know that we have to work within budgeted means, and I am talking here about contracting procedures and issues.
I know I should be asking the Minister of Public Works and Services but it directly relates to Community Government and Transportation’s department.
When a contract is let in a community and it comes in far over budget and we hear about the economic impacts of contracts in smaller communities and the job benefits that come from them.
Is there any mechanism there that if a contract is tendered in a Gjoa Haven or a Kugluktuk and it comes in 20, 30, 40 percent higher than the budgeted figure, and I am sure the people that put these prices together are working within a budgeted figure, and we talk about Development Corporations in communities and stuff like that.
Has the government thought about maybe negotiating contracts with local companies or development corporations to build certain buildings at a cost effective price?
The idea has been thought about; it has been mentioned here quite a few times.
I don’t think the government, I can’t speak for the whole government, but we have not had a serious enough talk about negotiated contracts.
It is something that we have thought about and we just have not made a final call on negotiated contracts.
My second question is, and I know the minister can’t commit to it, but in the smaller communities I am talking about, I am not talking about the larger communities where you have a strong private sector like in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Cambridge Bay and your community, my community and some other communities.
But in the smaller communities like the Whale Coves and the Coral Harbours and places like that where you only have maybe a small contractor that can’t take on the magnitude of a large contract, that would the government, and if they did negotiate a small contract with a small contractor in a small community and help develop the labour pool, that the economic spin offs would be better than bringing a contractor in from the south to set up.
Would the government, and I am asking the minister, talk to the cabinet about helping the smaller communities negotiate contracts with the smaller contractors?
It seems like the thought process has quickened up on cabinet on this side.
So everybody is agreeing with me now.
Report 004 – 1(6): Bill 7 - Loan Authorization Act, 2002-2003
Mr. Speaker, I wish to report that Bill 7, the Loan Authorization Act 2002/2003, has been reviewed by the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Services and that the Bill is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive rule 68 (5) and have Bill 7 moved into Committee of the Whole for today.
There is a request to waive rule 68 (5) for the Standing Committee Report on Bill 7 to be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration.
The Standing Committee Report on Bill 7 is referred to Committee of the Whole.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters; Bill 2, Bill 3, Bill 4, Bill 5, Bill 6, Bill 7, and Bill 9.
According to the authority vested in my by Motion 002 - 1(6) the Committee of the Whole will stay in session until it reports itself out, with Mr. Puqiqnak in the Chair.
Before we proceed to Committee of the Whole, we’ll take a short break and a reminder to all members that at 12 noon there will a meeting of full caucus in the Nanuk committee room.
>>House recessed at 11.24 a.m. and resumed at 1.03 p.m.
Minister Ng. Do you have witnesses that you would like to bring to the table?
Sergeant-at-Arms, could you escort the witnesses?
Minister Ng, thank you.
Can you introduce your officials?
On my right is Mr. Robert Vardy, Deputy Minister, Department of Finance.
And joining us shortly will be Mr. Rod Malcolm, the assistant Comptroller General.
You and your deputy and staff, welcome to the chambers.
We would like to start now.
Yesterday, the Minister of Finance Mr. Ng made his opening remarks.
You have ten minutes to speak.
Anybody? Any comments? Are there any general comments?
I respect the finance department officials.
They are dealing with the funding that we are using for the entire territory and they are doing a great job for which they should be congratulated.
But in regards to the funding for Nunavut communities we have to think of new ways to use the money in the communities.
We have to respect the communities and for the past two years in the chambers we are learning more and more of the communities’ concerns that Nunavummiut will have to make money and we know that our citizens have already thought of these issues and have ideas so we should remember them as we think of ways for Nunavummiut to develop or diversify their economies.
We are looking for ways to help them.
It’s our responsibility to help them so the communities will create their own economic development opportunities.
We have to welcome the proposals from each community and give them due process because the people in the communities know what their needs are and what has to be built to meet the needs of the community.
In Nunavut, we are lacking a lot of basic infrastructure like schools, other types of facilities, public housing and others because the funds are not filtering down to the communities.
If the allotted funds are going to the communities, the communities can resolve their problems themselves if we give them enough funding to meet these needs.
We are representing our communities and we became the government for our people so that we could deal with our issues.
We have to think of different ways to help our communities.
Today we use a lot more money than in the past and now there are more things that require funding in the communities and it costs money to run everything these days.
In the days of the GNWT, we were always under funded compared to the west and we hardly ever shared in any surpluses.
That’s why we have to allocate the money fairly and directly to each community in Nunavut.
In the past we were not able to do much to help the communities with their needs.
Each community knows what problems they are having and what money they need and what it should be used for.
Some of the communities are given funding but if the money is not enough they end up having debts.
Therefore we have to review the issue and look for new ways on how we can help the communities with funding and look for different programs to improve disbursement of these funds.
We have to plan how we can help the communities we are representing so that they will not fall into financial disrepair.
This already happens to some of the communities because the funding given to them is not enough.
So therefore the Department of Finance will have to review this matter carefully because in the past we didn’t know much about money and funding in those days and because of that, during the GNWT days a lot of communities were starting to dig themselves into financial holes and the end results are still facing us today and they are getting larger, in some cases reaching to this day.
Therefore, since we started this government what can we do to plan and how can we use new ways so we can use the money wisely and help the communities so that when they won’t go through a hard time, running into problems because they’re lacking enough fiscal resources.
When the communities do not have enough financial resources, it can lead to further debt which then cannot be repaid due to the limited funding they are receiving.
We have to review all of the items requiring financial expenditure or commitment and see how we can properly fund them without overburdening ourselves.
We have to create new processes to deal with these problems.
And speaking of cost over-runs, what about the contractors, sometimes when the contract is let, they use more money than expected.
When that happens the problem comes to the House and we have to deal with the problem.
This looks as if we are looking after the contractors’ cost overruns and we lose money that way, especially when we are talking millions of dollars worth of contracts.
So, we have to review this and do something about it.
Each community knows what we can do to improve things.
The Government of Nunavut will improve as we work together to meet these challenges and even the bureaucracy can become a well-oiled machine. This is what I have to say.
I have names written.
I just wanted to make a short comment.
I was quite glad to hear the statement made by the minister yesterday.
As we all know as MLAs and this is what the MLAs asked regarding the education act and how it could be improved, but I like that the 1 million dollars is geared towards training the employees.
The people out there can utilize it.
I just want to make a comment on this that it is a very good for people of Nunavut and for the next comment I’d like to make regarding the power subsidy.
I don’t know how to say it in Inuinnaqtun so I’m saying it in English.
I know it uses a lot of the budget and I am happy that it helps the people out there and the people of Nunavut have relayed their appreciation to me.
The people from Kugluktuk say if that division wasn’t there then we would have a hard time trying to make ends meet but since it’s there people are using it.
I want to make a last comment on youth that are in grades 10, 11, 12.
We have to think of other ways of assisting them, not only for the Department of Finance but for other departments as well.
We can think about student summer jobs as that will really help in the long run.