EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Kugaaruk requested $25,000 to build an access road called the Barrow Lake access road and they were given that funding.
Sometimes requests are denied the full amount.
We look at what they request and if they have the capacity in (interpretation ends) that community to carry out the work, the extent to which the community is prepared to contribute its own resources, and the extent to which local labour and municipal equipment are used.
Mr. Qirngnuq: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) This wasn’t for Kugaaruk.
I’m talking about Taloyoak with respect to the $25,000 that was received for the Redfish access road.
(interpretation ends) The department’s Community Transportation Initiatives Program Policy provides that the maximum contribution that her department can provide to a municipality in any given fiscal year under this program is $300,000.
The policy also provides that “Contributions are normally made for a one-year period.
Multi-year contributions may be considered on a case-by-case basis.”
Can the minister explain how her department decides whether or not to approve a multi-year contribution for projects that may take more than one year to complete?
With regard to his question concerning Taloyoak, they were given $35,000, not $25,000.
Communities submit different proposals. If they want to have a project approved to build a road, they can have discussions with our staff.
If they wish to have a multi-year project, it’s done through discussions and it’s very possible.
Question 494 – 4(3): Continuing Care in Nunavut (Sammurtok, A)
Before I direct my question to the appropriate minister, I forgot to mention the birthday girl’s name in Pond Inlet. Her name is Chantal Apak Koonoo.
Mr. Speaker, on 26 February 2016 a document entitled Continuing Care in Nunavut was tabled in this House.
This document provides a very comprehensive look at the current status of care needs across Nunavut, from housing needs for elders, to home care, to the needs for residential long-term care.
Can the minister indicate whether or not he has had the opportunity to read through this document and whether he agrees with its recommendations?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) The Hon. Minister of Health, Mr. George Hickes
I don’t think anybody in this room or in this territory can argue the fact that we need more continuing care homes in the territory.
There are obvious challenges for getting care homes like that on a capital budget with the amount of infrastructure deficit and the competing needs across the territory.
I have said numerous times that there are opportunities out there for partnerships and economic development activities from other organizations to be able to provide services like that for Nunavummiut that the Department of Health and currently the Department of Family Services can participate in.
I have read the document and like I stated, I do agree with a number of the points made in the document.
Again, I don’t think anyone is arguing that the need is there.
It’s just a matter of getting the resources in place to make sure that people are cared for appropriately.
The Continuing Care in Nunavut document noted that there are approximately 51 beds available for adult care across Nunavut, with approximately 30 adults on the waiting list at any given time.
Can the minister clarify for this House what priorities are being placed on opening up more adult care beds in Nunavut?
We haven’t been inactive, and I know the member is continuing to bring up a very important issue.
When you look at the increasing bed capacity that we’ve got, that we just recently are in the process of opening in Cambridge Bay, I’m sure the member will recall on the preplanning exercise that we’re going through right now of taking a look at other facilities where maybe extensions could be explored.
Again, we haven’t been complacent in this issue. We are working with the resources that we have available to us.
We’re looking at enhancing community care so that people can stay in their homes longer.
There are a number of different initiatives that we’re working on with our elders to meet the needs in the territory as much as possible, Mr. Speaker.
That being said, sometimes the needs are too great for the facilities that we have and we do have to resort to out-of -community or even out-of-territory care.
I can assure the member that we’re all aware of the need for increased community care for elders and all people who are going through health-related issues.
The government’s home care program plays an extremely important role in providing care and support for Nunavut’s ill and elderly who remain at home and do not go into adult care beds.
Given the lack of availability of adult care beds, can the minister describe what steps, if any, are being taken to increase the resources and staffing for his department’s Home and Community Care program?
Home and community care is available in all communities throughout our territory and we’re continually looking at enhancing programming.
We currently provide rehab services and case management. They provide palliative care, respite care, nursing care, assistance with homemaking, foot care, and personal care.
The list goes on and on of the level of service that these trained medical health professionals provide to our residents.
We’re continuously looking at exploring opportunities and increased training.
We have recently done palliative care skills training here in Iqaluit in May and in Igloolik in June, and caring for people with dementia was also delivered recently in June.
The chronic health disease education and training fund provided by Health Canada supports learning opportunities for all of our home care nurses.
We’re continuously looking at ways to enhance the services that we’re providing so that people can stay in their homes for as long as possible but still have a level of care that meets their needs.
I can assure the member that it’s a continual growth.
We don’t become complacent with the programs and services that we do provide.
We’re always working.
The officials at the Department of Health are always looking for ways to enhance the service that we’re able to provide in the territory.
I can assure the member that the work is ongoing and will continue to produce results.
Question 495 – 4(3): Management of the Southern Hudson Bay Polar Bears (Rumbolt)
I would like to wish everybody a safe and happy Halloween.
Today I would like to ask questions to the Minister of Environment.
On October 10 of 2014 the federal government announced that territorial and provincial governments as well as hunters, Inuit, Cree organizations, and wildlife management boards had reached an agreement to maintain the effective management and conservation of the southern Hudson Bay polar bear subpopulation.
In that announcement the federal government indicated that “In November 2016, the relevant parties will meet to review this agreement.”
Can the minister confirm that the Government of Nunavut and relevant hunters and trappers organizations will be meeting next month with the provincial governments of Ontario and Quebec to discuss the management of the southern Hudson Bay polar bear subpopulation?
That meeting for the southern Hudson Bay that the member was talking about will not be happening next month.
The reason it will not be happening is because there has been a survey done for the southern Hudson Bay polar bear population, but the analysis of the data is not complete yet.
It would make more sense to have the meeting once they know exactly what the data says.
Last year the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board began a public hearing on the proposed new Polar Bear Management Plan, which was submitted by the Government of Nunavut.
According to this proposed plan, the total allowable harvest for the southern Hudson Bay polar bear subpopulation is divided amongst Nunavut, Ontario, and Quebec.
Can the minister clarify who is responsible for monitoring and enforcing these total allowable harvest allocations in the Ontario and Quebec jurisdictions?
As the member knows, we have no jurisdiction over in Ontario and Quebec, therefore we are working with our federal counterparts, who in turn will work with the provincial counterparts, so that when there is a management plan and a TAH, it will be usable and enforceable.
One of the recommendations included in the government’s proposed Polar Bear Management Plan is that Nunavut “Help Quebec to develop a management plan and system to ensure that TAH is respected and followed and all harvesting is reported.”
Can the minister indicate when his department plans to begin working on this management plan with his counterparts in Quebec?
We have suggested a management plan to Quebec and Ontario that is similar to what we have here in Nunavut where we manage the polar bears very well.
As part of the recommendation for a TAH, we are also recommending that a management plan similar to Nunavut should be implemented in Quebec.
We have not heard back from Quebec yet, but with the help of the federal government and in cooperation with the Quebec government, we are hoping that we will have similar management plans for the polar bears in southern Hudson Bay.
Question 496 – 4(3): Purchasing of Harp Sealskins (Okalik)
Here in our community as well as smaller outlying communities in this region, harp seals migrate north and the populations are increasing exponentially.
They have nice skins and the smaller yearlings are the ones we like to eat.
Most harp seals serve as dog food as the meat is quite good, but the skins are not used at all today.
Ringed sealskins are used in our communities and sold to the Department of Environment.
I would like to ask the minister if the Department of Environment can start purchasing harp sealskins as well.
I thank the member for that question so that we can get our message out.
In fact we do buy harp sealskins. The numbers aren’t that significant, though.
We buy mostly ringed seals, but I’ll let the member and the public in Nunavut know that we do buy harp sealskins as part of our Fur Pricing Program.
I also thank the minister and I am very pleased.
Can the minister commit to publicizing information so that people are aware your department buys harp sealskins? It’s very important and beneficial to our hunters and harvesters.
Perhaps you can commit to providing or making that information available to the public so that they are aware that they can sell the harp sealskins to the department.
I agree with the member that that information was not well distributed.
I will inform my department to make it known that we do buy harp sealskins.
Question 497 – 4(3): Activities of the Qulliq Energy Corporation (Sammurtok, T)
Mr. Tom Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Have a good day, people of Chesterfield Inlet, Rankin Inlet, and Nunavut.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, (interpretation) my questions today are for the Minister responsible for the Energy Corporation.
(interpretation ends) In March of this year it was announced that the Qulliq Energy Corporation would be undertaking a pilot project to install energy-efficient LED street lights in Iqaluit.
The announcement also indicated that, and I quote, “the lessons learned from this project will assist QEC’s future plan to extend LED street lighting to the rest of Nunavut.”
Can the minister update me today as to if and when LED street lighting will be installed in Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet?
We just recently started this program utilizing LED street lighting.
They’re pretty bright. We have been working on this program.
We have plans and according to the plan for LED street lighting, Rankin Inlet is also included.
Mr. Tom Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I have heard concerns from my constituents regarding the need to install more street lights in the airport and dock areas of Chesterfield Inlet.
Mr. Speaker, improving street lighting in these areas will improve public safety.
Will the minister commit to having QEC review the street light situation in Chesterfield Inlet and report its findings to me?
I would also like to thank the member for speaking to the concern.
As QEC was planning for the installation of LED lighting, we wanted to hear about the positive results.
I know that QEC is listening in, so I’ll ask them to include that community.
I would like to restate that moving towards using LED lighting is very important to us because our lights can only be powered with fossil fuels.
With the LED lighting in Iqaluit, we have learned that it is very beneficial and they’re very bright.
They emit good light and they use less fossil fuel.
I’ll ask my staff to consider the member’s comment or request.
Mr. Tom Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) In June of this year the Qulliq Energy Corporation’s new corporate plan was tabled in the Legislative Assembly.
It indicated that one of the corporation’s priorities was to, and I quote, “remove all single-walled underground piping that ties into QEC’s fuel system in Rankin Inlet…and replace with either double-walled underground piping or aboveground piping.”
Yes, I can look into the status of this plan and get back to the member once I have the information.
Question 498 – 4(3): Storage for School Buses (Akoak)
Good afternoon, colleagues, ministers, Nunavummiut, Uqsuqtuurmiut, and my two granddaughters watching, my Mamatsiaq and Sunshine.
Mr. Speaker, as was discussed in the House last week, the community of Gjoa Haven is very pleased to be receiving a new school bus this year.
The use of the bus is very important to the community and it helps keep up attendance in our schools.
Currently the bus is stored in the hamlet garage.
However, more and more vehicles are coming into the hamlet and there is less and less space available.
Can the minister provide an update on what kind of support his department can make available to the hamlet to access safe storage for the school bus?
Indeed the provision of buses in the communities is quite important and the program is used by the communities that also maintain the vehicles, so I first want to express my gratitude to the communities.
Each application for a bus is different and there are different reasons used in applying for them, which are critical.
To date there is a (interpretation ends) 36-passenger school bus (interpretation) in Gjoa Haven costing $105,000 and the details he provided are correct.
However, we haven’t had any discussions about communities that, for example, may not have storage for the bus.
In communities where space is not readily available, we have noted that the bus may be parked outside of the principal’s house and plugged in or what we have heard about is when space is not available, they are also parked outside of the RCMP station and if they are plugged in, they can start.
The communities are managing as best as they can, but we have not heard about requests for a garage as the Department of Education doesn’t fund garages.
Perhaps CGS would be the department to request this from as we are starting to learn that many communities do not have space.
As my colleague stated, parking space is limited and perhaps we must revisit that idea.
I do recognize that the district education authority plays a role in ensuring that school bus services are provided in the community of Gjoa Haven.
The Gjoa Haven DEA recently wrote to the Minister of Education on this issue.
Can the minister clarify what his reply to the Gjoa Haven District Education Authority suggested with respect to the storage of the school bus?
As per my earlier response, currently we are trying to discuss this issue with the DEA and to dedicate a temporary storage space.
We can revisit this issue after further discussions with the local DEA on their options.
As I mentioned earlier, some communities park their buses where it can be plugged in.
However, we would need to discuss this matter with the local DEA of Gjoa Haven.
He partially answered my third question.
Mr. Speaker, if there is no storage for the school bus, then it risks being damaged by vandalism or by the elements. Even if there is crowded storage, there is a risk of damage when too many vehicles are crowded into a small space.
Will the minister commit to working with the Gjoa Haven District Education Authority to find a solution for accessing storage for the community’s school bus?
As I indicated earlier, I am more than willing to talk to the Gjoa Heaven District Education Authority after having received the correspondence.
There are less and less spaces available for school buses, so we’re going to need to have a dialogue on this issue and it will very likely be at the regional school operations offices.
Question 499 – 4(3): Polar Bear Hides at Fur Auction Houses (Keyootak)
Mr. Speaker, this past winter I asked the same question regarding polar bear hides that are sent to auction houses but are not purchased right away.
I would like to ask the minister if he can give us an update today on what is happening with the polar bear hides since I last asked the question.
Have there been any auctions yet?
I can’t respond to his question at this time, but I can say there haven’t been any auctions as the number of polar bear hides we had were sent out when the prices were very high.
When they were sold in the past, they would get a fair return on the sale.
At that time the money was appropriate, but to date the price of polar bear hides has gone down because there are fewer buyers.
Mr. Keyootak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the minister for his response.
Mr. Speaker, all the hides haven’t been bought at the auction houses yet, and there are quite a number of people who were paid in advance prior to the polar bear hides being sent out.
What if the polar bear hides aren’t sold?
Some, I believe, are kept there for many years because they don’t have auctions very often.
Some individuals have had advanced payments. What would happen in that case? Would they have to return the money?
Regarding the advance payments, they would not owe money, but if they are sold for less than what their advance payment was, then they would have to return the remaining amount.
Does the minister have any information as to when the next auction will be?
At this time I don’t have the date as to when the next auction will be, but it will be some time in the month of December. I don’t know the exact date.
Question 500 – 4(3): Harvesting Polar Bears (Mikkungwak)
I send my regards to the people of Baker Lake and Nunavut.
As the minister is aware, Baker Lake is allocated one polar bear tag out of the total allowable harvest for the Kivalliq region of the Foxe Basin polar bear population.
Can the minister indicate what specific steps must be taken in order for Baker Lake’s allocation of polar bear tags to be reviewed and possibly modified?
I, too, raised the concern on the western Hudson Bay polar bear population many times when I sat over on the other side, and I’ll address the issue now.
The TAH for the western Hudson Bay, which Baker Lake is a part of, right now is at 28.
How it works is the Department of Environment sets the TAH and that TAH is allocated to the regional wildlife board, the Kivalliq Wildlife Board in this instance, and the Kivalliq Wildlife Board allocates it to the communities.
Baker Lake has one right now.
The allocation is done through the Kivalliq Wildlife Board. If the Baker Lake HTO wanted more, then they would lobby the Kivalliq Wildlife Board to get more than their allotted share.
We rarely hunt polar bears, but I believe our polar bear quota comes from the Foxe Basin area. That one tag that we have comes from the Foxe Basin area.
According to the government’s current Harvesting Regulations, an individual who kills a polar bear in self-defence must deliver the bear to the conservation officer.
The conservation officer may then decide to return the bear to the individual; give it to the appropriate hunters and trappers organization or regional wildlife organization; retain it as government property; give it to a school or museum; dispose of it; or sell it by public auction and credit the proceeds of the sale in the Natural Resources Conservation Trust Fund.
Can the minister clarify under what circumstances would a conservation officer decide not to return the polar bear to the individual who made the kill?
I thank the member for clarifying that the polar bear tag he was talking about was for the Foxe Basin.
The process would still be the same. KWB would make the decision on what community gets the tag.
As for the member’s concern about defence-killed polar bears, when a polar bear is killed in defence of life and property, normally it’s not an easy decision for the person who shoots it, but once any wildlife is killed in defence of life and property, and in this instance he is talking about polar bears, the process starts.
The polar bear will be seized by the conservation officer and an investigation will be done.
Once the investigation is done, the normal process is the polar bear hide will be turned over to the HTO in the community where it happened because the HTOs are the ones that hold the tags. The HTO will determine how to dispose of that polar bear hide.
On the perspective of the department, we highly recommend to the HTOs that the polar bear skin does not go back to the person who shot the bear because that could just encourage or could be seen by others as a reward.
The polar bear hide is turned over to the HTO and the HTOs will decide on how to dispose of the hide.
I just want make it clear that my Member’s Statement is enshrined in the Inuit of our population.
As the minister is aware, once a polar bear is killed by self-defence or during a hunt, only the animal’s hide is viable to sell by public auction.
Can the minister tell us today: once a conservation officer has decided to sell the hide of a polar bear that is killed in self-defence, what is the conservation officer expected to do with the animal’s meat?
Let me just clarify something here: the conversation officer is not the one who decides to sell the polar bear hide.
As I stated earlier, the hide is normally turned over to the hunters and trappers organization and so is the meat.
When there is a defence kill, the meat is turned over to the HTO if they want it. In many instances this can’t happen if the defence kill is far out on the land and in the summertime because the meat might spoil before it gets to the HTO, but the normal process is the hide and the meat are turned over to the HTO.
Motion 035 – 4(3): Extension of Question Period (Enook)
Mr. Enook (interpretation): Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Rule 39(7), I move, seconded by the Member for Baker Lake, that question period be extended.
All those favour. (interpretation) Thank you. (interpretation ends) Opposed.
Question 501 – 4(3): Departmental Vacancies (Enook)
Mr. Speaker, I want to revisit the issue of vacant positions in the minister’s department.
Earlier in our sitting the minister informed me that there are currently five vacancies in his department’s Pond Inlet office.
He also indicated that only one of the positions can be advertised due to a lack of allotted staff housing units.
Mr. Speaker, since it appears likely that these positions will remain vacant for the foreseeable future, can the minister explain who is actually doing the work that these positions are supposed to perform?
There are a number of positions that are vacant. The member is right. As I stated earlier in his answers, there was one position being advertised.
Since then there are two positions being advertised, but we are allotted only one staff housing unit, so hopefully we will get one successful applicant.
In terms of these jobs that are just vacant, the regional director of infrastructure is being filled by an interim job right now.
The Nunavut Housing Corporation’s recently tabled Blueprint for Action on Housing indicates that one of the government’s actions will be to, and I quote, “review the process for reallocating vacant units based on the staffing waitlist of each community.”