EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
It is my understanding that that audit committee is up and running and indeed Mr. Clark, who was recently appointed to the board, is actually the chair of the audit committee.
I will get the information on that committee and so on for the members and, also, who else is on that committee.
The minister seems to have indicated that the audit committee is going to be doing this as part of it.
I know that there are some very capable people on there, as the minister indicated, Mr. Phillip Clark.
But, in the statement it said that it would be an independent body, and I would assume that would mean it would be made up of people from outside the power corporation.
So, I’d like to ask the minister if he could clarify whether it is actually going to be an independent body as was stated last year, or if there has been a change in plans.
It was my understanding, from that minister’s statement, that some of the processes that were being formulated for and by the corporation included, as the member has said, an outside body and internal work.
As I indicated earlier, the internal follow-up has been accomplished and direction has been given by the and to the audit committee, which Mr. Clark will be heading.
And that consists of the board of the corporation itself.
At the same time, the other body that had been mentioned in the report, again, I have to ascertain from the corporation, has that board been constituted or has the body actually been put in place.
I hope it is in the works.
I guess it has almost been ten months and that is something that a lot of members have raised issues on, on the billing of the corporation, over the last number of years.
The minister indicated, if it hasn’t been made up already, which he is going to be finding out, and there is going to be an independent body, for the process of selecting the people to be on that independent body, will the minister be looking into putting out a call to members and the public for nominations for that? Or, is that something that he is going to hand pick himself?
Yes, all we have to do is review the terms of reference for this body, if it has been constituted, and exactly what those terms of reference for the committee are. And then at that point, after ascertaining that, then we would look at how that call works.
Question 260 – 2(2): Caribou Population Count – Coral Harbour
I would like to address the minister responsible for wildlife and his officials.
The minister for economic development went to Coral Harbour last year, and he stated that they would do a survey or a review of the caribou.
We are now hearing that the caribou are starting to die off, and those harvested are skinny.
So, I just wanted to know if they are going to be doing a count of the caribou population.
The counting of the caribou will begin this year, during the harvesting, by Coral Harbour harvesters.
I wonder if the minister can tell me in which month.
They have just started recently.
Mitch Campbell will start this month and finish in June.
Question 261 – 2(2): Repatriation of Patient Files
I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services to respond to me, if she knows the answer to this.
There are a lot of people in Nunavut who have died down South in hospital.
Do you keep the medical records of those patients that have died down South?
Are the medical records brought back to the Government of Nunavut, or where do they keep them?
There’s a policy in place in Health and Social Services where if an individual dies down South, the body is brought back and this is paid for by my department.
There are morgues down South, so what they do is they keep them there until they are ready for transportation back to Nunavut.
That’s our policy.
Maybe she didn’t understand my question.
There’s usually a diagnosis made when the individual is in the hospital: do they keep the medical records down South, or are they brought back?
My mother died years ago, but we still don’t know what sickness she had.
There have been a lot of people asking me what kinds of sicknesses those people died of.
I just want to know what happens to the medical records when an individual dies down South?
Do you just throw them away, or what happens to them?
Perhaps I didn’t understand you properly.
The individuals that died down South, their medical records can be explained to the next of kin.
There is also a policy in place in our department that if an individual’s kin wants to find out, they have to go through the court because it becomes a legal matter.
They have to go through the proper procedure, because there are a lot of policies in place for different things.
If someone wants to find out what the individual in the hospital died of, and if it is dealing with one particular individual, I can’t really state what he wants.
I have always wanted to find out.
My mother died in Moose Factory, Ontario, but when I was down there, I was trying to find out what she was sick of for about three hours, and I wanted to see the medical records from the Moose Factory General Hospital, but I didn’t get any response from anyone.
I was made to feel very uncomfortable.
I wonder if the minister can look into what procedure we can go through in order to access the medical records of our relatives so we can find out how they died or what they died from.
I wonder if the minister can look into that to make it easier for us living in Nunavut, because a lot of people probably don’t know what their relatives died from; if they died in a southern hospital, they would like to know.
So for that reason, I would like the minister to find out how the next of kin or the families can find how those individuals died in the southern hospital?
I feel the same thing that the member feels, because obviously this is very sensitive matter to the relatives.
We all have to abide by the policies.
If you come to my office, I could probably assist you, and perhaps we could see what documentation we will be able to find to find some information.
I will work with my officials and it would be easy for us.
I would like to make it easier for us to access that information using the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
I can find out with the member if he will approach me.
Question 262 – 2(2): Housing Allocation Policy
Some of the housing corporation staff gave us some information, but there are some people in the communities that are provided with housing, and the housing corporation is responsible for distributing or building of houses.
There have been a lot of young people who have been on the waiting list for a long time.
I wonder if the minister, just before the budget is done, could provide us with a policy or rules as to how those young people can be provided with housing a lot sooner.
I can sympathize with the member and the young people that have been waiting for a house for quite some time.
I stated that there would be a local housing authority meeting to talk about how much sooner the people that are on the waiting list can receive housing.
I am sure that the communities would appreciate it because this policy is quite outdated now.
Since it’s outdated now, you stated that they could go through the point system, and when they first apply for housing, their points are quite high.
Once they receive the correspondence from social services... . Some of them are given eight points, and some of them are two points.
They are ready to move in, but I don’t know what that means, but sometimes without letting the applicant know, they lower their points.
I would like to thank the minister and ask if he can inform the House of when you change the allocation of units policy.
Yes, I agree to inform the House after the local housing organization chairs have reviewed it.
Also, I am sure I will be able to provide the information to the appropriate standing committee to make sure that everything is included.
I commit to that. Thank you.
Mr. Curley (interpretation): I thank the minister.
I also want him to know that the local housing associations work really hard, and they have to provide or allocate units to the people that are in most need.
Sometimes, when their points are lowered or reduced, they are no longer a priority.
So, they have to be informed; they do this without warning, and I am sure it will be more appreciated by Nunavutmiut if you can let them know about the changes of this policy.
Yes, the chairs of the local housing association and the secretary managers, we will all have the same understanding of what they are facing with such problems.
So, in that meeting, we will have a clearer idea and have a clear understanding.
After the meeting, I will able to make a member’s or minister’s statement to the House.
Question 263 – 2(2): Plans for Selling of Sealskins
Mr. Speaker, the humane society of the United States has announced that they will be starting a campaign to ban the marine mammal hunt in Canada, starting on the fifteenth of this month.
During such a protest in the past, the previous minister for that department had made a video about the use of sealskins and how we harvest them.
When the non-native people first arrived in the North, we Inuit had to take care of them because the food supplies they brought with them went bad.
They are part of our history.
What is the minister doing or what is his department doing to ensure the sale of sealskins?
Yes, we are working within our department of environment, and it would be ideal to work with our federal government counterparts, in order to inform the world about how we use seals for sustenance and for clothing and how this protest all over the world is going to have a negative impact on us. That protest is going to have an impact on Nunavutmiut, so we are going to work harder on behalf of harvesters and Inuit.
Yes, I know that protest is going to have an impact on us.
Back in the 1970s there was a similar protest, and it had a negative impact on our way of life, which was mainly our sustenance on country food and the money we earned from selling skins.
Perhaps the minister can announce to the House if he is going to… . Like, in the past we were shown on TV programs and radio programs about the sealing strategy.
Perhaps the minister can do a similar thing to make sure that he informs the international countries.
Yes, we will work diligently on it. As I stated earlier, if it is going to have a negative impact on Nunavutmiut, we will do what we can to counter with media campaigns such as that film.
Mr. Barnabas (interpretation): I’m sure that they won’t be dealing with just sealing.
Perhaps the minister can identify to us what other kind of fur products the humane society is planning to protest against.
Hon. Olayuk Akesuk (interpretation): Thank you. Many species are being dealt with, for example, the increase in the polar bear quota. I am sure that animal rights activists are going to work against what we hunt, but we will do our best to inform them.
Question 264 – 2(2): Update on Medical Conditions of Staff in Cambridge Bay
In Cambridge Bay last week, and again this week, we had a crisis situation with our public health facility.
Last week there was a fuel spill, and then this week after it was cleaned up, the staff were moving back in and many of them got sick.
One was put on an IV.
I think, as members of the Legislative Assembly we want to provide all of our staff, the workers, with the right to a safe workplace.
So, my question for the minister: can she update the House on the medical condition of the people who got sick and who were sent home?
Basically, I have the same information that we shared with you yesterday.
There have not been update reports since this morning.
I have not heard anything further, but they are being maintained and the staff are being looked after to make sure that they are under medical care.
There’s only one so far that was under medical care; the rest were under observation and were sent home immediately.
That’s all of the update I have so far.
I have been in contact with the mayor of Cambridge Bay, and there’s a great concern in our community about the level of medical services with the closure of the old health facility.
The mayor is asking me if there’s going to be any decreases in the level of medical and patient services of Cambridge Bay as a result of the closure of the old health facility.
The member is correct that the old health centre has been closed, but they have another building where they are having a make-shift one, for emergencies only so far, but up until a day or so ago all of the services were being provided at another building, other than the old health centre.
I am not sure about the full staff compliment at the old health centre; there are quite a few, and the temporary facility in the Enokhok Centre is quite small.
There’s a bit of concern in the community that there may be some people laid off as a result of the closure of the old health facility.
So, could the minister tell me: will anyone be laid off as a result of the closure of the old health facility?
That’s reassuring news; I am sure many people that work at the health facility will be happy to hear that.
The area where the temporary facility is now is really small, and I don’t think it’s suitable, even in the short-term, to operate from there, and you can’t go back to the old health facility.
I am wondering if the minister could tell us what the department’s immediate plans are to operate a public health facility providing the same level of service as we had before, until the new public health facility opens in the new regional facility?
The report that I received was that all the staff of Health and Social Services have been accommodated in that small unit that the member is speaking of.
Assuredly, I will ask for more updates on the situation, and once I have that information, I will share it with everyone.
Question 265 – 2(2): Assistance to University Students
Before I ask my question, I want to thank you for taking the time to meet with me last night.
My question is for the highlighted Minister of Education.
We know that this government and the department have continually expressed their efforts to try and help educate our young people so they can pursue further post secondary education and be able to come back well trained and qualified to work in Nunavut.
My question to the minister is, I understand the FANS program only supports students for so long.
In cases where you have young people entering into programs that go beyond that, if you want to go into a doctorate, or a master’s, or PhD program, that over time, they run out of funding.
I am just wondering if the minister or his department is looking at anything to try and assist those young people that are trying to achieve academic excellence and come back and be productive members of Nunavut’s workforce.
The student financial assistance program, the FANS system under the Government of Nunavut, is a pretty comprehensive system.
It includes a combination of possible grants and loans under the fund itself.
It usually is based on an academic year. In most jurisdictions, an academic year and a degree, depending on the level of the post secondary education, usually includes something within a five-year time frame, which means that you have an undergraduate degree, whether it be a bachelor of arts, and then go on to do another degree, which could be a master’s, and it usually is in the time frame of five years.
If a student so chooses to continue their education and move forward with an opportunity to do a PhD or another type of program, then there are some issues around the time frame that that would entail, and the amount of money.
The member is correct, we are reviewing the current situation in regard to those types of specific issues.
I appreciate the minister’s response, that they are currently reviewing that part of the program.
But, right now, I understand that what that does is it puts those students that are in that situation right now at risk of not being able to continue their education.
I am just wondering if the minister would canvass his departmental staff and see if there are any particular situations like out there, and come up with an interim solution to help these young people pursue their education with the full support of this government.
As I said earlier, there are, under the student financial assistance program of the Nunavut government, or the FANS program itself, which, by the way, is probably one of the better ones in Canada… .
There are opportunities in there, for example, if a person is a beneficiary, for supplementary grants.
If a person is a non-beneficiary of the program, there are also available monies, plus they can have an option into a student loan, which is remissible, meaning that over a certain period of time that loan is forgiven and indeed there is no debt associated with the student.
That is something that is pretty unique to northern areas of the country.
That is the avenue, I think, that we would be looking at in a case like this.
I’m not questioning the quality of our FANS program.
The fact that they are reviewing it indicates that there are loopholes and cracks in any system or program that is out there.
My question to the minister is, will he take immediate steps to try and fill those cracks so that those students who do need that assistance to pursue their education get it on an interim basis, until the review is complete and a different proposal is brought forward.
Right now, under the program, and again I don’t know if there are gaps or loopholes… . What we have seen with the program itself, in most cases, for 95 percent of our students or more, is that the five-year program, when you actually receive a bachelor’s degree or master’s and so on, you can do that within that five-year time frame or a little bit more.
You’re allowed a primary loan of up to $26,000.
After that, you can get a secondary loan.
The case that the member is referring to is when a student prefers and intends to go on to a PhD program. In many cases, most students and most people going for a PhD program will actually go back into the workforce first and then at some other point in time they would move forward to the PhD program, or they may continue those academic studies the whole way through.
That’s the issue where there seems to be a little bit of a gap that needs to be reviewed and that’s what the department is doing right now.
I only know of one instance right now that has been brought to the attention of the department on an issue like that.
So, I think the member has raised a good point, that indeed, there needs to be a comprehensive review to see where we can make up, if there is a shortfall there, and deal with it.
If the minister is aware, as he had indicated that there is an area there, where there is a gap or a crack in the program, of an incident where that is, will he commit to reviewing that specific situation, or any of them that come up like that, and come up with an interim solution to be able to support these young people in their striving to achieve academic excellence and to become well educated and come back and be productive, contributing members of our workforce and our territory of Nunavut.
Yes, we will be doing that.
I think that the member is a member of the standing committee on education, and I think, through the auspices of that standing committee, we will be able to update the members on what has proceeded with looking into issues like that.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Hudson Bay, Mr. Kattuk.
Question 266 – 2(2): Plans to Repatriate Artifacts
My question is in regard to the artifacts that are housed outside of the territory, in Canada.
Could the minister tell us if they have repatriation plans for artifacts that belong to Nunavut?
Speaker (interpretation): Minister of CLEY, Mr. Tapardjuk.
Yes, there are quite a large number of artifacts that are housed outside of Nunavut.
There is a wide variety of art.
In the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, there is an article outlining how they are going to repatriate those artifacts back to Nunavut.
There has to be a proper facility so that the artifacts do not deteriorate, and it has to have the right conditions, air conditions.
Only after we get that facility would we repatriate those artifacts.
At the present time, the artifacts are housed properly in other jurisdictions, like in Yellowknife and other museums.
There also have to be negotiations and agreements made where there are artifacts outside of Canada.
First of all, we have to establish a museum or a facility before anything can be repatriated.
If I understood you correctly, in my riding, there are a lot of artifacts that were sent out of Sanikiluaq to facilities outside of Nunavut.
In the 1930s, there were many artifacts that were sent abroad.
Is the minister saying that we can’t repatriate any of those articles before a facility is built?
Yes, you understood me correctly.
There are laws that have to be followed and we have to house those artifacts properly.
In the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, it states that these artifacts are to be repatriated as soon as we have a museum or a proper facility so that no deterioration takes place.
We have to establish a facility first, before we can repatriate any of those artifacts.
There is an agreement where we would repatriate those artifacts once a proper facility is built.
Could you give us an update on what’s happening with the building of a museum or a plan, if you have any?
At the present time, there was a review done in August 2002. We have a planning committee established with people from the Nunavut Heritage Trust, NTI, and the Government of Nunavut.
We are presently working on building a plan and how it’s going to be funded.
We have also set up an RFP through the newspapers, and the federal government has agreed to pay half.
We would think that it would cost approximately $55 million to build a museum and the federal government agreed to pay for half, but we will have to come up with our half of the money.
To date, that’s what we are doing: there are three stakeholders who are making those plans.
There’s Infrastructure Canada, who were up here in Iqaluit; we had a meeting with the minister and talked about how we are going to be funding those types of facilities and if we can access some of this infrastructure money to build a facility.
I don’t know if it’s going to be happening today, but it’s currently in the works.
Once we identify or find some money for this facility, we would have to, first of all, go through the Financial Management Board and have a discussion about this issue with cabinet.
To date, I can’t say when we are going to be building that museum, but we will definitely do something about it with this present government.
Mr. Kattuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you for your response.
I would like to further ask him about permits. Maybe in the future or it was asked in the past… . They usually require licences; are they given permits?
I want to get more information on that.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Yes, the Inuit Heritage Trust usually reviews applications for permits to archaeologists. We get a high number of applicants and they have to specify exactly where they want to do some work, and they are reviewed by the Inuit Heritage Trust and the government.
After the review, the applicants who want to do some archaeological work are then given permits.
For people who live in Nunavut, like hunters, or if they go out camping, especially tourists that come up, they are warned not to touch or disturb artifacts because there’s protection on those, so their permits have to be approved first.
Reports of Committees on the Review of Bill.
Committee Report on Bills 002 – 2(2): Bill 13 – An Act to Amend the Wills Act and Bill 14, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act
I wish to report that Bill 13, the Act to Amend the Wills Act, has amended and Bill 14, Miscellaneous Statute Amendment Act, 2005 has been reviewed by the Standing Committee, Ajauqtiit and that these Bills are ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.
Committee Report on Bills 003 – 2(2): Bill 11 – Loan Authorization Act, 2005 - 2006