EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
If it is contributing to the increase in illnesses is a cause for concern.
Ravens drop their feces on our doorsteps and entranceways, right along the paths we use. We then enter buildings after stepping on their feces.
It’s becoming a concern whether or not it is contributing to the increase in illnesses. Many ravens perch on top of our homes and drop their feces. I think a study should be initiated to see if this poses danger.
There are too many ravens, and I will be asking questions at the appropriate time to see if they’re contributing to illnesses.
Member’s Statement 447 – 4(3): Update on Sailivik Society’s Elder Facility (Angnakak)
Ms. Angnakak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s finally my turn.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, today my Member’s Statement will be one of gratitude and also just to provide an update.
I rise today to provide an update on the progress of the Sailivik Society’s plan to build a new elders’ long-term care facility in the community of Iqaluit.
Mr. Speaker, many individuals and organizations have pledged their time, effort, and goodwill to make this dream become a reality.
I am very proud to be part of such a community-driven effort.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the support of the Department of Economic Development and Transportation for providing funding to the Sailivik Society to develop a comprehensive business plan for this project.
Although I’m very grateful, I just want the minister to know that there are still going to be some real hard questions coming when it comes to Committee of the Whole, so it doesn’t get her off the hook or anything.
Mr. Speaker, as with any project, the Sailivik Society’s elder long-term care facility project has faced some challenges along the way. However, as Alexander Graham Bell so aptly put it, “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
Mr. Speaker, the Sailivik Society had identified a beach site for the facility.
However, it was found to have contaminated soil and sewer line problems which would have made it very challenging to build it there.
Eventually we had to accept that the door had closed on the opportunity to build on that property.
However, I am very happy to report that we received a lot of support, including from the City of Iqaluit, in securing a new location for the elders centre in the Road to Nowhere area.
In this new location the Sailivik Society will be able to build a facility big enough to meet elder care needs now and into the future.
Again I would like to acknowledge the members of the Sailivik board, the various agencies, organizations, and community and government entities as well as the members of the community for their ongoing contributions towards moving this project forward.
Member’s Statement 448 – 4(3): Attending a High School Event (Okalik)
I would like to report today that last month I was asked, along with City Councillor Terry Dobbin and one of the teachers at the high school, to judge grade 11 students who are learning social studies.
They competed with presentations and we looked at their work on what research they had done.
They put together different research papers on how we are affected by past activities.
They talked about wars, land claims negotiations and trade.
There were different reports and we were glad to see that young people had studied the past and present.
They were all winners in my opinion and we were very happy and proud of looking at their knowledge today.
We were told to be there for two hours, but we were there for three hours because they were eager to present their research and we were happy to do that.
I’ll be the first one.
(interpretation ends) Please join me in welcoming members of the Nunavut Surface Rights Tribunal who have joined us today in the visitors’ gallery.
Mr. Bert Rose, Chair of the Tribunal;
Meeka Kakudluk, who is originally from Qikiqtarjuaq;
Elisapee Karetak from Arviat;
John Maurice from Iqaluit; and
Andre Tautu from Chesterfield Inlet.
Accompanying the members of the tribunal are the Executive Director, Tom Demcheson, excuse me if I didn’t pronounce it correctly, and Legal Counsel Larry Reynolds.
I would like to recognize an individual from my constituency of Chesterfield Inlet. I grew up with Andre Tautu and he’s a direct relative as we are maternal cousins.
I would like to recognize a fellow Arviat resident. Arviat residents rarely come here.
You mentioned her already, but I would like to recognize Elisapee Karetak.
This person was already recognized, but I would like to recognize Meeka Kakudluk as I lived in the same community as her for a long time. I know that she is very easy to live with and has a good sense of humour.
She doesn’t hesitate to talk.
I grew up with her in Qikiqtarjuaq and we went to school together.
I would also like to recognize someone who was my teacher when I first went to school.
If Bert Rose hadn’t disciplined me, I know that I wouldn’t be here.
Although he has been recognized a couple of times now, I would like to again recognize a constituent of mine, Mr. Bert Rose. Although he didn’t teach me as a child, I have taken courses with him as an instructor. Likewise I think some of the teachings that he provided me allowed me to become a member of this legislature here today and it had an impact on my desire to increase my knowledge upon moving to Nunavut.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Bert.
Question 592 – 4(3): Carbon Pricing (Mikkungwak)
I tabled a copy of correspondence that Agnico Eagle Mines recently sent to the Premier concerning the federal government’s plan to see carbon pricing mechanisms introduced in all provinces and territories.
For the record, will the Premier be tabling his reply to Agnico Eagle Mines before the end of our winter sitting?
Once we go through the normal processes of tabling documents, I certainly will do that.
I am pleased to take this opportunity to note that Agnico Eagle Mines has just announced that it will proceed with the development of the Amaruq satellite deposit at Meadowbank, which is near Baker Lake, as well as construction of the Meliadine project near Rankin Inlet.
These projects are good news for the Kivalliq and good news for Nunavut.
My question for the Premier is this: did he raise the issue of carbon pricing with the Prime Minister during his recent visit to Iqaluit and, if so, what was the outcome of these discussions?
There are a number of different things that I discussed with the Prime Minister and that being one of them. The main topic of discussion was the unilateral decisions that were made for Nunavut, carbon pricing/carbon taxing being one of them that we just signed on to the pan-Canadian climate change framework as the territory.
Within that document we put in there where considerations have to be made for Nunavut, considering its uniqueness, the high cost of living, and its delicate economy.
Again, at the end of the day, in the territory of Nunavut we pay the highest prices for daily living.
If anything like that that impacts us negatively, the Prime Minister has agreed and it’s written in the document where thereby they will assist us in ensuring that we impose a carbon tax that will mitigate some of these negative impacts on the people of Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, as most folks are aware, all our supplies, every project, every construction project, and our fuel come from other jurisdictions and once there are carbon taxes applied to those, we will be paying them.
Every commodity that comes into Nunavut would have a price increase because of carbon tax.
Mr. Speaker, we’re in discussions with federal officials and our officials in Finance, Justice, and Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs to find ways to lessen the negative impacts for the residents of Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, as everybody well knows, carbon tax will be imposed in 2018 at $10 a metric tonne of greenhouse gas emissions and therefore increasing to $50 a metric tonne by 2023.
I was very interested to note that the new Yukon government has committed to developing a plan to, and I quote, “Return funds collected through a federal carbon pricing mechanism to Yukon individuals and businesses through a rebate system.”
Is the Government of Nunavut considering a similar approach for Nunavummiut and companies that create jobs for Nunavummiut?
Hon. Peter Taptuna: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the member’s question.
Mr. Speaker, again, the uniqueness of Nunavut where we have the highest cost of living, we have indicated and we’re discussing with the federal government on why certain fuels should be exempt from carbon tax.
That would be heating fuel, generating power, and fuel for the airlines.
As everybody is well aware, our mode of transportation in Nunavut is the airlines other than the sealift that we get once a year for most communities.
Mr. Speaker, I have invited the officials from the mining company, Agnico Eagle, to have a discussion on that come April when Nunavut is having their mining symposium here in Iqaluit.
Question 593 – 4(3): Federal Funding for Recreational Facilities (Mapsalak)
As the minister is well aware, there are a number of federal programs under which municipalities may be eligible to receive funding for the development of recreational facilities.
For example, on February 29 of last year the territorial and federal governments announced five projects related to recreational infrastructure for Nunavut municipalities under the Government of Canada’s Small Communities Fund.
Mr. Speaker, the federal government committed more than $25 million to these projects.
For its part, the Government of Nunavut committed approximately $6 million.
I commend both governments for making commitments to the improvement of recreational infrastructure in Nunavut.
However, I note with disappointment that Coral Harbour and Naujaat did not receive any portion of this funding to develop their own recreational facilities.
Can the minister tell us what specific steps a municipality must take in order to access these types of federal and territorial funds?
The member is quite persistent in his wish for a swimming pool and I commend him on that.
He is doing the work of his constituency, but he sings the same tune and I seem to say the same thing over and over again all the time too. Swimming pools are not a high priority when it comes to infrastructure funding.
It comes with safety first, as when there’s any kind of infrastructure funding, and stuff that is deemed more emergency type.
As for the funding that the member was talking about, yes, we did announce a bunch of funding mostly for arena upgrades and there was no new infrastructure being built with that money. They were all for upgrades for arenas in a number of communities.
The only new infrastructure was the aquatic centre here in Iqaluit. The majority of that was funded by the City of Iqaluit.
The federal government, through the small capital funds, did contribute to that and we thank the federal government for that.
As for how Naujaat and Coral Harbour might be able to get funding for swimming pools through the Nunavut government, they would just put it on their community sustainability programs again. Right now it’s not a high priority to fund swimming pools or aquatic centres by the GN. I’m not sure what federal programs are available, but I can look into it.
On June 9, 2016 federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for sport, physical activity and recreation met in Lethbridge, Alberta to discuss issues concerning sport and recreation across Canada.
The news release issued for this meeting states that ministers, and I quote, “discussed sport and recreation infrastructure needs, and agreed that this is crucial issue in communities in all jurisdictions.
In highlighting recent infrastructure funding announcements across the country, Ministers agreed to continue working towards dedicated resources for sport and recreation infrastructure.”
Can the minister tell us what specific steps his department has taken to work towards dedicated resources for the development of new sports and recreational infrastructure in Nunavut’s smaller communities since June of 2016?
The FPT meeting that the member is talking about, I was not able to attend because we were sitting at the time and I had a prior arrangement right here.
We did send some of our officials there.
I don’t remember exactly what the communiqué said in terms of what new sports we are encouraging in the smaller communities. I’m not sure what new sports we’re encouraging.
We encourage all sports.
As long as people get active and stay in shape, then it’s good for the people that are getting in shape and it’s good for the health system.
Everyone should be in shape. It’s good to be in shape. The ones that just sit around here, we need to exercise too because we don’t get that much activity here in our jobs.
As for exactly what sports are we promoting, I don’t know. Most of the sports that I hear about are ones that I have heard in the past.
Mr. Mapsalak: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) People would be very happy about this because these facilities are very important to the two communities that I represent.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, on June 22, 2016 the federal government announced its Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program. Under this program, municipal corporations may apply for funding to cover a portion of costs related to various types of projects, including recreational facilities such as local arenas and swimming pools.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize that it may not be feasible for municipalities to access funding under this specific program.
At this time, however, it is important that information concerning these types of programs be provided to the communities at the earliest opportunity.
Can the minister tell us how his department helps municipalities to directly access funding under the federal programs for the development of new recreational facilities in their communities?
I am not that familiar with the programs the member is talking about, but with any funding sources that are out there, my department will help any municipalities in terms of filling out the application or writing proposals or the guidelines on how to fund it.
If there is any aquatic or arena funding available, then our sports department would be more familiar with that.
I can get back to the member as to exactly what programs are available for municipalities under this new program.
Question 594 – 4(3): Activities of the Hudson Bay Regional Roundtable (Sammurtok, T)
My question again today is for the Minister of Community and Government Services.
I hope you don’t feel that I’m picking on you; I’ll eventually get to all your cabinet colleagues before the session is over.
Mr. Speaker, just over a year ago the Hudson Bay Regional Roundtable adopted a resolution concerning the issue of establishing a road link between Manitoba and the Kivalliq.
This resolution concerned the activities of the Winter Road Working Group.
Can the minister update the House today on the recent activities of the Winter Road Working Group?
No, I don’t have any updates for the member on the Winter Road Working Group.
I know they have been having discussions, but I don’t have any updates other than we should have an update from them at the end of March when we have the next Hudson Bay roundtable.
I expect that they should have a report for us then.
As I noted in my Member’s Statement today, the year 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
Establishing a road link between the Kivalliq and Manitoba would be a nation building accomplishment.
However, a national project of this magnitude cannot go ahead without significant support from the national government.
Can the minister tell us what response he has had from his federal counterparts regarding this initiative?
As the member is well aware, at one time when I sat over on the other side there, I questioned the minister of the day about all this kind of stuff because I’m a big proponent of the road to link Manitoba to the Kivalliq.
Any meetings I’ve had with any federal ministers, even if they’re not in charge of road or infrastructure, I have tried to impress to them how important it is to be hooked up to the rest of Canada, that we should not be the only jurisdiction that has no links into the rest of Canada by road. We’re air access only.
I have talked to the infrastructure minister about it and I have not received any replies on it.
There are going to be invitations sent out to federal ministers to attend the Hudson Bay roundtable so that that the Hudson Bay roundtable as a group can tell them their concerns and the values and the positive effects that a link to the rest of Canada might have.
I am kind of suspecting that the minister may not have the answer to this next question.
However, a number of studies have been undertaken over the past decade concerning this project and its scope has shifted over time from an all-weather road to a winter road.
Can the minister provide an estimate today of what the cost would be to construct a winter road between the Kivalliq and Manitoba?
In our four-step document that our government put out early in its mandate, the winter road access from Manitoba to Kivalliq is actually on there.
The figure that is in there is $50 million per year to make and maintain the winter road link.
Question 595 – 4(3): Status of New Housing Construction in Sanikiluaq (Rumbolt)
Today my questions are for the Minister of the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
As the minister will recall, the Legislative Assembly approved funding last fall for the construction of 22 new public and staff housing units for the community of Sanikiluaq over the next two years.
Fifteen new public housing units and two new staff housing units are scheduled to begin construction in the coming months.
Over the past few weeks I have noticed public housing tenders being advertised, but I have not seen anything for the community of Sanikiluaq.
Can the minister confirm when the Nunavut Housing Corporation’s tender for the construction of Sanikiluaq’s new public housing units will be issued?
Mr. Speaker, I don’t have that current information on his question, but I will get back to the member on the tendering of the new construction for Sanikiluaq once I get that information.
Mr. Rumbolt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next two questions were around the same lines on the tendering. If the minister didn’t have the information for my first question, he will not have them for the second.
I will wait maybe until tomorrow to ask my other two supplementary questions.
Question 596 – 4(3): Blueprint for Action on Housing (Qirngnuq)
Don’t feel that we’re only picking on you.
It is just a request for information.
In my Member’s Statement today I talked about the need for the public housing rent scale to act as an incentive for people to look for work.
Last year the minister tabled the NHC’s Blueprint for Action on Housing. One of the specific actions in this blueprint is for the NHC to, and I quote, “review best practices related to various models of subsidized housing as alternatives to rent-geared to income.”
Can the minister describe what kinds of alternative approaches the NHC will be considering?
To explain this properly, it’s true that we started working on the rent scale and the new rent scale was introduced in 2014.
We’re not the only department handling this.
We are working with the Department of Family Services and the Department of Finance to see how the rent scale can be improved, what needs to be improved, and what else needs to be reviewed. That is my response to my colleague’s question at this time.
One of the ways that the NHC helps public housing tenants with the high cost of living is by applying a cost of living allowance to rent calculations.
It is my understanding that these amounts are based on the Nunavut Northern Allowance community values that are included in the collective agreement between the government and the Nunavut Employees Union. A new collective agreement was recently signed.
Can the minister confirm whether or not the cost of living allowance that the NHC applies to rent calculations will be changing this year?
Mr. Speaker, I don’t have that level of information in front of me, but I will get back to the member once I have that information.
The current public housing rent scale has been in place since the fall of 2013.
Has the NHC been able to determine how effective it has been in “reducing disincentives” to employment?
Like I said earlier, the rent scale is under review and we are working closely with other departments such as Family Services.
Once we get all of the information and the department has put it together in the form of a report, I will have clearer information and better answers for the member.
Question 597 – 4(3): Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreements (Okalik)
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) Yesterday during question period my colleague for Tununiq asked the Minister of Finance about benefits offered to outlying communities in Nunavut.
The Minister of Finance replied that those are covered by Inuit impact and benefit agreements.
Can the minister provide clarification on this matter?
From what I understand, Inuit impact and benefit agreements under Article 26 are only applicable on Inuit owned lands.
Can the minister clarify that issue?
As I said yesterday, Article 26 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement covers Inuit impact and benefit agreements.
I have been a member of several negotiating teams that negotiated the IIBAs that have provided benefits to communities and continue to provide benefits to communities.
Of course I’m only speaking from experience in what we do in the Kitikmeot.
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I had the honour of negotiating Article 26 and I have firsthand knowledge of those provisions.
They only apply to Inuit owned lands, which are 20 percent of the landmass in our territory.
Can the minister please clarify that there are no provisions allowing for Inuit impact and benefit agreements for the 80 percent of the lands in our territory?
Hon. Keith Peterson: Mr. Speaker, as Mr. Okalik knows, Inuit impact and benefit agreements are available to regional Inuit associations on behalf of their beneficiaries.
They have identified the lands where they can be negotiated.
As I said, I have negotiated and I have been a part of negotiating teams. I have been quite successful in negotiating the IIBAs in the Kitikmeot.
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I’ll quote the land claims agreement.
Article 26.1.1(b), a project is negotiable for Inuit impact and benefit agreements if it “is a project involving development or exploitation, but not exploration, of resources wholly or partly under Inuit Owned Lands.” That’s 20 percent of our territory.
We don’t have a choice. We have selected our lands and they make up about 20 percent of the landmass.
The other 80 percent is not negotiable for Inuit benefits.
Can the minister please clarify that once again that is the land claims agreement?
Hon. Keith Peterson: Mr. Speaker, I don’t know why Mr. Okalik needs clarification. He understands the IIBAs. He says that he has negotiated or he has made those kinds of comments in the House and here and there over the years.
I don’t know why he needs clarification.
As I said, the IIBAs are available under Article 26 of the land claims agreement.
I have been on negotiating teams and they have benefited the Kitikmeot very well over the years.
Question 598 – 4(3): Status of NTEP Program (Joanasie)
I would like to direct my question to the Minister responsible for Nunavut Artic College.
Mr. Speaker, in 2013 the Office of the Auditor General of Canada presented its report on education in Nunavut.
A number of the observations and recommendations in that report addressed the need for more Inuktitut-speaking teachers in Nunavut.
Can the minister provide an update on Nunavut Arctic College’s Teacher Education Program (NTEP) and specifically what steps are being taken to increase the number of Inuktitut-speaking teachers in Nunavut?