EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
He mentioned that they will be working with tourism and the Department of Education for training.
I just wondered whether that funding will be for the guides themselves or outfitters.
It could be geared to those tourism operators to give them training to promote tourism in Nunavut communities.
At the bottom it says Community Futures.
Under that item the amount was 700 thousand dollars, in the previous year’s revised estimates, it was 525 thousand dollars.
Now it’s 700 thousand dollars again for 2001/2002.
Is this because not a lot of people access that funding?
Mr. Campbell: Qujannamiik Itsivautaq.
On the community futures program the reason for the variance is that the Kivalliq and the Kitikmeot regions, the community futures programs are not operating as we speak.
That function has been taken over on an interim basis by NBCC.
We are going to be working with the regions to re-establish that program in the regions.
We have a good program working in the Baffin and that’s the reason for the variance.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): If you don’t expend it all, does it have to go back to wherever it comes from?
Chairperson (interpretation): Which of you will answer?
Any funding that is identified goes towards other operations of our budget where we have shortage on some of the programs.
So we request to re-allocate some of that money to elsewhere in our budget.
That’s what happens to the difference.
If there’s some funding that is left over, could you re-profile it to outfitter training?
Hon. Olayuk Akesuk (interpretation): The funding that we have at the present time, we will have to make a good decision as to where we could move it or re-profile it.
If there’s any money left over.
Perhaps because tourism has quite a bit of money it would probably be used for other programs.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): I said that this would be my last question but it’s okay I can always ask another question.
Is the minister not thinking too much about the tourism guides, it just seems like he does not consider the tourism guides and that they should get more training.
I believe in tourism and that’s why we gave them another million dollars.
It is 6 o’clock but the catering service is a little late, the meals are still frozen apparently and we’ve just been informed that our meals are going to be ready at 6.30.
Mr. McLean: Ma'na, Itsivautaq.
The grants to small business, I just want to make a comment, are for 5 thousand dollars and less.
They’re one-time grants and I think they are good little grants because they answer the needs of small cottage type industry people if they need money for material or carving tools and things like that.
It gets them on the road.
So I would continue to support that in your endeavours in the department and the prospectors’ assistance program is another good program and I know there’s more people taking advantage of it and you know, in the long run I think it’s going to pay off, that this little bit of money that’s being spent will pay off in the long term for a lot of the prospectors that are just starting out.
The Nunavut Tourism core funding you answered that question there, you said you are going to put a million dollars into guide training and I hope that’s the way I read it in the Hansard because when we were travelling around Nunavut last fall that seemed to be one of the big issues with a lot of people in the industry is that they needed more guide training.
I don’t know what it is, but in my region I know that there seems to be a lot of guide training going on lately and it’s good guide training.
The one course that they ran in Baker Lake a couple of months ago was past the basic level of guide training; it was into the business management aspect of guide training where the individual taking this course was going out and learning how to do business plans, how to do marketing, how to do business promotion.
I think that’s great and the guy that you had doing it is one of the most successful guides in North America.
So it is nice to see that the money is being spent where it is needed and not on travels around Europe, bigger offices and I am not going to flog that to much more.
So you are headed in the right direction as far as I am concerned with guide training and product development in the communities.
I am not speaking for my colleague James Arvaluk, but I see Chesterfield Inlet has jumped on the bandwagon now with big game hunting and we were talking to some young guides that are in their 20’s that were really excited about a career in big game hunting and sport fishing and stuff like that.
I was great to see the enthusiasm from these individuals.
I know in my community there is a renewed interest and a big interest in fishing and big game hunting and other parts of the tourism industry in the community.
There is a new hotel that has opened up that is specifically geared up for the tourism industry.
So you know twenty years ago I would have been very sceptical on seeing the development that is coming into my community in the next four or five years in regards to tourism and sport hunting and things like that but it could be into the range of hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I think the investment that the government is putting into this will be a long term investment into the community and also, not only the sport hunting and the fishing but also it rubs off on the arts and crafts and the traditional economy that I have been harping about for three years.
So I can say to you with enthusiasm that it’s working.
It is now working and we are starting to see the fruits of this.
But keep up the guide training and the product development in the communities.
I was at a meeting here about Nunavut Tourism and there were a few of the operators here that were saying Glenn if they put more money into Nunavut Tourism so I am hoping they are listening out there, they would get more involved in it.
So keep going in the right direction here, I think there is a great future for us.
On Community Futures, 700 thousand, I know a lot of that was pulled out of the Kivalliq and Kitikmeot for reasons that we all know about and your comment about sending it back is really, really good. It’s really good.
I am pleased, because I think those other departments that if somebody made a mistake doing something they wouldn’t be that liberal they would take it away from them forever and bring it back into Iqaluit and never send it back.
So if you are looking at sending it back to them that’s a real good idea.
The one time contribution about 565 thousand, I think that’s got something to do with the European trip.
Am I correct in that?
In regards to the one time contributions and the comments that you made, it is extremely good and that one million dollars is going to be used for tourism related programs.
Tourism is something that my department would like to promote.
I think there were 13 or 14 one time contributions slotted for 2001-2002 and they were for 13 programs totalling up to 565 thousand.
There were 13 contributions.
On page 11 – 15, a comment on the business development fund, another good fund, the community initiatives program, the CIP, the community harvesters program, but I will comment on the BDF, I think that’s a good program and the CIP is a good program because it promotes business and economic opportunities in the community.
I’ll just say a couple of comments on that.
I was listening to my colleague, Mr. Iqaqrialu, from Clyde River in regards to how difficult it is for people to start up a business.
It’s difficult for everybody.
I must say that starting up a business is a very, very scary venture.
Today, there’s a lot of money out there today.
We’ve got NTI with a 20 million dollar loan organisation and we’ve got the Business Credit Corporation, we’ve got banks; there’s a myriad of organizations out there in last few years that seem to want to lend money to people based on what equity they have and business plans and stuff like that.
But, getting back to, I’m detecting that it’s a bit too complicated outside of the regional centres for people to get information on how to set up small businesses.
The AEDOs are coming along great.
There was a meeting in Baker Lake last fall and I met most of them and they’re very enthusiastic about their jobs.
And I know that we’re doing all we can to train them but there has to be more for them.
The problem with training an AEDO really well is that they’ll leave and go to another opportunity and I don’t blame him.
He’ll go and do something more, some other job higher up for more money and then that leaves that void again and when you have that void in a community with no AEDO then it’s hard for budding entrepreneurs to get the information they need outside of the regional centres.
And I detected that when we were doing the Nunavut Tourism tours, that in the smaller communities, people were saying that they weren’t getting the information that they needed to talk about business ventures and you know, how to start a small business.
So I don’t know how you get around that other than, get those regional people out more.
I know it’s a difficult task and I know that they’re working hard but they’ve got the resources in the regional offices now.
I know in the Kivalliq, they do have the resources in the regional office.
I know in Kugluktuk, they have the resources, I don’t really know about here, but I’m sure that they do.
So if they get out there once a year or once every two years with a list of all the programs and services, and get a tour, they would be very well received.
I think they would.
If they had a public meeting on grants and contributions and how to set up small business ventures, and give that support to your local AEDOs, you may draw more people out that want to be entrepreneurs.
Like I say, we’re heading in the right direction, I think with this tourism stuff, the money where it’s going into the community, so, I would just say that there’s enough money there.
And people today, compared to twenty years ago, have a lot more equity in their community than they did years ago.
More people own their houses.
More people own their trucks.
More people have solid middle class jobs.
So if they want to start up a business, or assist their family in starting up a business, they have that equity that the banks will look at and so will the community Futures, CIP, the BCC and stuff like that.
So, there is more money in the non-decentralised communities.
I was reading a report yesterday and there’s more money there.
There’s four to five to six million dollars and more funds so you need more services.
You need more skidoo shops, you need more taxis, you need more corner stores, you need more this, and you need more that.
It’s growing.
So, I’m saying if you can get your regional people and sort of do an information session, and people will really like to see you come out.
On that, there are really no questions.
It’s just comments, Mr. Chairman.
That’s about all I have to say.
Just one other thing, I’d like to see.
It’s a pleasure to see the turn around in this department in such a short time.
Thank you, Mr. McLean for your comments.
My question is part and parcel of the question that I posed at the Cambridge Bay session.
The women of Nunavut are excellent seamstresses.
We even have excellent kamik sewing instructors here in the House.
Some instructors were brought up from the south to teach Inuit women how to sew seal skins. The minister had stated at that point that they were going to get women instructors.
We now have sealskin pelt sewing machines, the minister doesn’t have to respond today, but my question is on 11-10 and 11-14, in regards to the Fur Council of Canada.
The fur institute, there’s one for 10 thousand and the other one for 24 thousand, what is the difference between the fur institute program and the fur council of Canada?
Thank you that’s my question.
The difference is one; the Fur council of Canada contribution is towards the annual American Fur and Fashion exposition which is held in Montreal, where we showcase our products and this is a marketing and promotional event.
The 24 thousand contribution is for that exposition and the 10 thousand is to promote, is to support the promotion of the fur industry and that’s usually through magazines and advertising and stuff like that.
Ms. Williams (interpretation): Just for further clarification Mr. Chairman, this 10 thousand is used for advertising, and the 24 thousand is for contributions toward this exposition held in Montreal.
How many people exactly would that 24 thousand cover, if we wanted to send a delegation down?
I went down to the exposition one year and there were Inuit down there from the three regions.
They were down there to showcase their furs and they were Inuit and they modelled; our Inuit models were down there showcasing our furs.
They worked and took turns doing various events, showcasing our products and since this is an international exposition we wanted to showcase to the world out there how our Nunavut furs are made into products; that’s what the 24 thousand is used for.
I’ll move on to another question about our environment which is very important for us, the minister and the Nunavut Government in general.
We have to take care of our environment and our stewardship is really important.
Therefore if I say it in English, I think it’ll be better. (interpretation ends) Statutory requirements for tabling of reports under the Environmental Rights Act.
(interpretation) Under the environmental rights act, there is a statutory requirement to table annual reports in the House in regards to environmental damages, or liabilities.
There have to be annual reports tabled in the House and to date we have still to see the tabling of any report.
When should we expect to see the annual reports tabled in the House?
In Nunavut there are two closures of mines coming up and we have to do an environmental assessment on each closure.
The question was when we are going to be tabling the reports but we do know that there have to be proper assessments done which my department is currently doing.
This is being done by the Nunavut Government staff and the Federal Government Marine Services and the communities that are close to these mines that are closing.
I think that we have to do all the assessments and everything else that is required of us before we table a report in the House.
So, I’m not quite sure when we will be tabling those reports but as required they will be tabled when available.
I want to be corrected if I’m wrong, Mr. Chairman.
The statutory requirements for tabling of reports, a lot of them need to be tabled every year, annually because they have seen some activities here in Iqaluit surrounding the island down the bay, Resolution Island.
All those other, probably the DEW line sites in Nunavut and all of those pertaining to environmental issues, I’m not just talking about Nanisivik and LCI, I’m talking about other things in Nunavut.
So, my question again is, when will the minister be tabling these reports?
I cannot say at this time when I’ll be tabling those reports.
On page 11-8. Grants to small businesses.
Will the minister be able to provide us with details as to how well this program is being used because in regards to the small business being set up in the communities, I just want to get details as to how well these businesses have done or whether there is any information available, either for businesses that fail or those that succeed.
I’ll be able to provide that information; I won’t be able to provide business names but I could give information as to how many businesses succeeded under this grants to small businesses program.
On 11-10, Hunters and Trappers Organizations, there is 317 thousand dollars for contributions to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board to support Nunavut HTO core funding.
I think this is for all of Nunavut, this 317 thousand dollars.
A lot of the communities’ HTOs don’t really have core funding and they end up trying to sell equipment or country food.
Would you have other funding available for HTOs for equipment purchases or power and fuel for their office buildings?
I’m wondering if you could review the 317 thousand dollars to provide more funding to HTOs?
The 317 thousand dollars is a contribution to the NWMB to support Nunavut’s Hunter's and Trapper's Organisations core funding requirements.
We are able to review this figure but it’s hard to say whether we’d be able to increase this amount with the money that the department has.
We could look at seeking more funds for this program or these organizations.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): The HTOs often deal with commercial hunting activities.
I think that they’re told by the government how many individuals they can take out for commercial hunting for polar bears or other wildlife.
He would have to talk to the HTOs as to what the process is to take individuals out on sport hunting activities.
I’ll just use polar bear hunting as an example.
If a sport hunter comes into Nunavut and wants to hunt a polar bear, I think the Hunter's and Trapper's Organisations just identify how much money is spent for sports hunting activities.
They should use auctions like they do in the south.
If these tags were sold to the highest bidder, for instance, there were more individuals who would be interested in sports hunting, perhaps, these operators, outfitters that take individuals out sport hunting, would be able to receive more money.
Even 25 thousand dollars would be a small amount.
If sports hunters would be able to make a bid, there are a lot of areas that need to be covered.
The individual has to be provided clothing, food, shelter, transportation, and I’m wondering if this could be reviewed further.
That’s just a comment.
It is 6:30 now.
Under 11-11, the Nunavut Geosciences office, I’m wondering if you’re able to find under the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development how well this is doing, the Nunavut Geosciences office?
For the Northern Mine Ministers’ Meeting this was very useful and in Nunavut the mapping project is behind and we’re at 1 to 25 thousand and if we were at the scale of 1 in 50 thousand, we would be ahead.
And we need to understand where everything is when dealing with mapping in Nunavut and with gasoline and resources what is available in Nunavut.
So up to 2008 I mentioned earlier that there’s an agreement for 450 thousand dollars annually for this purpose.
Chairperson (interpretation): You want to continue Mr. Arvaluk?
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): Under 11-2.
Nunavut Tourism Core Funding.
We’ll probably want to see from the Nunavut Tourism Industry Association as to how much they benefited Nunavut and we’d like to see a report from Nunavut Tourism as to how well this funding of 2.3 million dollars is being used.
I raised a question regarding this to the minister and he stated that he’d be able to respond to it during this sitting.
When tourists are taken out there is insurance paid for coverage and given the short boating season, I asked if some of these groups that take individuals out would be covered by insurance through an agreement with WCB for the entire year and whether that coverage is for the entire year, as their premiums are for the whole year.
So, that is my question Mr. Chairman.
The 1 million dollar increase under Nunavut Tourism is geared towards tourism and this agreement outlines it.
We’ll review how well this money is being spent and we’ll receive a report from Nunavut Tourism as to what this money is used for and we’ll keep an update as to what’s being spent.
In regards to insurance for hunters or outfitters taking tourists out on the land, the tourism industry association could look at the insurance payments to minimize the amount that would be spent for insuring hunters.  So this is something I could have my staff review.
Could this review be done before the summer’s boating season?
Some hunters are already boating in our community but I will pursue this before boating season begins.
The time is just ticking and when we first started we had nine hours.
So, 11-12, under community futures, there’s 700 thousand dollars that will be coming from the Nunavut Government.
Does the Government of Canada or other bodies contribute above the 700 thousand dollars for community futures?
Is the minister going to respond?
I will try to respond.
In addition to the 700 thousand coming from the Government of Nunavut we will be seeking funds from INAC.
This was under HRDC in the past.
It is currently through DIAND and we will be discussing this further with DIAND to seek more funds.
But the money currently comes from the Nunavut Government.
Under 11-15, Community Initiative Programs, last year without our knowledge some of this money was put into Gjoa Haven when they put in for the M’Clintock Channel.
Can we get some information on what this money would go towards?
It’s very beneficial for communities for roads and other projects.
I’d just like to get an idea as to how much each region will be getting from this 2.8 million dollars.
Yes, we can clarify this region by region.
You probably want to see it in written form, it would be better for us to write it in a proper way so we’ll get that to you.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you. Arvaluk.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): Page 11-17, Nunavut Development Corporation.
There’s a contribution to support our communities Rankin Inlet, Pangnirtung, Cambridge Bay and also it’s starting in Coral Harbour.
That is the food transportation between the communities for example to transport walrus meat to another community; we don’t use that even though we have the ability to because we think it costs too much money to transport country food through the airlines.
There must be something we can do to plan how we can purchase an airplane which can be used to transport country foods between communities.
There are a lot of caribou from Rankin, they’re getting caribou from Coral Harbour and like fresh fruit they go bad before they reach the communities.
If we purchase an airplane, we will be able to get fresh fruit and vegetables to the north as well.
We are thinking of ways to, how we can make improvements through the Nunavut Development Corporation and look for ways to make more money.
We always look for ways to improve this so the communities will benefit from these programs.
I can’t say how long it would take but that’s our goal to improve the development of communities and exporting country food is one of these goals. Because the different communities want different kinds of country foods which they don’t have in their communities; caribou as an example is probably the most widely distributed meat in the Baffin, some communities run out of caribou meat because sometimes the caribou move around in the Baffin Region.
So, that’s something we would like to see in the future, how we can help to respond to the communities’ wishes.
But for that airplane purchase I can’t really say how much it would cost.
Chairperson (interpretation): It’s supper time.
We will be back at 7.15 after supper.
>>House recessed at 6.43 p.m. and resumed at 7.20 p.m.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you, Thanks for returning.
Page 11-10, Arctic Energy Alliance, contribution to the Arctic Energy Alliance for Public education on energy management in Nunavut.
Exactly what does that mean, in the amount of 60 thousand dollars, perhaps it’s for people that would like to learn, to learn how to become electricians or something?
This is to do with our climate and global warming.
It is education for energy conservation for people in Nunavut and what we can do to help and it’s an alliance.
Most of the focus is on energy conservation.
What we do is we contribute 60 thousand dollars to this alliance to help them out with the money to do their studies.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): I just wondered whether that has to do with saving energy, is this part of the NPC objectives?
Hon. Olayuk Akesuk (interpretation): This is under our Department of Sustainable Development.
We have someone that works on climate change, so that individual studies global warming and how best the government can save energy.