EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Even though both my wife and I are working, including another household member’s income, it gets quite costly after paying for home heating fuel, insurance, property tax, lot lease, power bills, and other expenses.
Considering Nunavut’s dearth of housing, this sends the wrong message to individuals struggling to make ends meet with the various bills associated with homeownership.
Further, they have to prioritize these bills in order to provide proper nutrition to their children and this is affecting most homeowners.
I want to collaborate with my colleagues to search for solutions and to provide further assistance to our homeowners.
Question 043 – 3(2): Effects of the National Isotope Shortage on Nunavummiut (Aupaluktuq)
Mr. Speaker, two very serious health issues have recently received national and international attention, the spread of H1N1 swine flu virus and the shortage of radioactive isotopes which are used in tests to detect cancer.
The minister has been very proactive in providing up-to-date information on the status of the H1N1 virus in Nunavut.
Can the minister provide an update on what effect the national shortage of radioactive isotopes is having on the delivery of health services to Nunavummiut?
I would like to thank the member for posing that question on a very serious health issue both at the national and international levels.
Nevertheless, I can state to the member that Ms. Leona Aglukkaq, the Minister of Health, and I had a discussion on this very issue.
She stated that she would inform me as soon as possible if the shortage of radioactive isotopes becomes a serious concern and would keep me up to date.
I can also state that I spoke to our MP today and asked for assistance if Nunavut experiences any emergency issues and Ms. Aglukkaq wants to be informed.
I can also say that radioactive isotopes are used in tests to detect cancer as well as heart arrhythmia and other cardiovascular diseases.
We don’t utilize that technology up here in Nunavut, but when patients are sent out to Edmonton, Winnipeg, or Ottawa, radioactive isotopes are used to conduct these diagnostic tests.
As a minister, I would like to assure the member that I will keep the House informed with any updates I receive on this matter.
Mr. Aupaluktuq (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I thank the minister for the response.
The supplementary question has been partially answered, but I would like to proceed with it.
The federal Minister of Health has stated on a number of occasions that she has been working closely with medical experts as well as with the provinces and territories to address the isotope shortage.
Can the minister clarify how he has been working with the federal minister, medical experts, and his provincial and territorial counterparts on this issue?
I thank the member also. As per my earlier statements, if this becomes a serious issue, all health ministers in Canada, including myself, were included in a teleconference whereby she notified us of this issue.
As I stated, I spoke to my federal counterpart today and she again asked to be kept abreast of any developments in our territory.
As I stated to the federal minister, we will keep her informed as she also asked about the swine flu.
I will be notifying her of the concerns expressed in regard to this pandemic illness and I will also be requesting more information on this matter.
As soon as I am apprised of any updates, I will commit to providing an immediate update to the members.
I am very glad to hear that as well.
You basically answered this but I just want to formally ask it.
Can the minister update this House on how many Nunavummiut will be directly affected by the shortage of radioactive isotopes and what contingency measures are in place to ensure that Nunavummiut continue to receive adequate and timely health care?
Mr. Speaker, we can state that the Department of Health and Social Services is ensuring that all Nunavutmiut are informed about health issues and that they are taken care of properly. We want proper tests conducted, especially for people with cancer or heart diseases who need this type of testing. We will not swerve from this mandate.
However, if it looks like the shortage of radioactive isotopes may impact our residents, I will provide further updates as I receive them. I will also look into this issue and provide more information before the end of our session.
Question 044 – 3(2): Costs of Telehandlers (Schell)
First of all, I would like to apologize for the document that I tabled yesterday in the House. On the last page, all that writing shouldn’t be there, that’s not the minister’s writing; I should have attached a different one.
All of the other stuff is actually what the minister had given me, but you’ve got to ignore the writing there.
But going back to when we asked a question there to Mr. Scott, he insisted that the price of the New Holland Farm telehandlers was cheaper than Toromont CAT. If you look at page one, the price per unit is $162,563 plus an additional $578 a unit for arctic oil. If you look at page two, the total price for Toromont telehandlers is $140,900.
When I do my math, it seems like the Toromont CAT price is cheaper. Can the minister explain why they bought the New Holland telehandlers?
I would like to thank the member for two things: one, clarifying that that’s not my writing in the back there and two, for tabling it for me and getting me out of my commitment to table it.
Mr. Speaker, I must first off say that in providing the information to the member, it was my intention to get rid of the numbers that were in there.
Some of the numbers that are there were missed; they shouldn’t have been included in there. But the total number and the numbers that he is referring to are not all inclusive.
Based on the proposals with all of the numbers received, on the last page, Mr. Speaker, that he tabled, the total bid from Weagant was $621,640 and the total bid from Case Toromont was $704,500.
Mr. Speaker, as it shows on there after the NNI bid adjustment of 21 percent on the first $100,000, the Weagant bid still came in cheaper by $61,860.
So that’s why we went with the New Holland Weagant bid because the total price on everything was $61,860 cheaper after the NNI bid adjustment to the Case Toromont bid.
Mr. Schell: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, it’s quite obvious that on the first page, I mean he left $162,563 as the price for each unit.
On the second page, the price for sure on Toromont CAT is $140,900 and that’s including the same specifications. If you go back to the last page, that’s fine. But if you do the math and you multiply five units by $140,900, you come up with exactly $704,500.
I would like to know how they came up with the figure of $621,640 for New Holland because it doesn’t make sense. It’s obviously not five units, it’s probably four units.
It’s misleading and that’s the problem that I was trying to get across here. Why did they not go to a tender instead of a quote?
I would be more than happy to have my officials put all of the numbers together so that the member doesn’t get confused by partial numbers that shouldn’t have been in there.
I would say that I take full responsibility for that, that I actually crossed out those numbers because I didn’t want to jeopardize numbers from different bidders in providing information out to everybody.
But, Mr. Speaker, I would be more than happy to have my officials put a complete list of all the numbers there so that it will be clear, in black and white, for the member as to how the numbers totalled up.
Again, as I said, Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the reason for going out for a request for quotations is that there are limited numbers of manufacturers of this type of equipment... actually there are no manufacturers in Nunavut, all of the manufacturers are down south.
There’s one dealer being the Cat Toromont dealer here that would have went through the same manufacturer that the quote was received from.
Even with the 21 percent bid adjustment under NNI, it still wasn’t successful.
So I will commit to ensuring that the member has all of the numbers just so he can see how the math totals up and see beyond any reasonable doubt that everything there is on the up and up.
I guess the part that I just don’t quite get is that the original tender or quote was for 22 units.
So if it was for 22 units for both parties, how come we got figures of $700,000 and $621,000?
The original quote was for 22 units.
I want to see the original proposal for 22 units for both parties. I want to know who ordered them, who the cheque was made out to, to pay for it. Was it made out directly to the farm supplier or was it made out to a consulting firm?
The original quote was for 22 units, so I would like to see what the 22 units cost for telehandlers from this farm equipment and from Toromont CAT.
Again, in discussions with the member on this issue previously, I had indicated to him that the contract was directly between the New Holland dealer, Weagant Farm Supplies, and the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
I can confirm that because there was myself who handed over the purchase order for those units.
The request for quotations was 22 pieces of equipment, but I will review the Hansard tomorrow and get the list that the member read off and I’ll ensure that he gets that information.
But I want to assure the member that, as he seems to be implying that there was a middleman involved that was able to take something and benefited out of it somehow, I can assure him that that was not the case.
The reason I asked that is because when you look at the quote from Toromont CAT, it has this consulting firm that it’s addressed to and it says, “Attn: Bill Gofton, Cc: Peter Scott.” That’s the reason I’m asking.
On the prices, I definitely want to know how many units were ordered because it’s confusing.
I’m pretty sure there are five Toromont CATs included in that last price and only four of New Holland, so I want to know exactly how many units each one quoted.
If you also look on the information that I provided earlier to the member, which he subsequently tabled, the quantity on the first page is for 22 units from Weagant Farm Supplies for the New Holland telehandler.
I believe it’s on here somewhere from Case Toromont.
On the second page at the back, it says that all pricing is based on a minimum of 22 machines. So I can assure the member that the request for quotations from both of them was for 22 units.
As for the rest of the information that he is requiring, I will review the Hansard to make sure I don’t miss anything and make sure we get him that information.
Question 045 – 3(2): Contingency Funding (Elliott)
In keeping with holding the government accountable for what they’re doing, I have a question for the Minister of Finance, Hon. Keith Peterson.
In his Budget Address, I noted that the contingency fund for this year is $75.9 million. As I was going through the notes, he didn’t really elaborate on where that money was going. I was wondering if he could tell the House today where that money is planned to be spent.
I thank the member for asking that question, it’s the first question that I have received on the budget and I congratulate him for that.
As we have said in briefings prior to the presentation of the budget, $75.9 million for contingency costs, those are costs for the said contingency.
What we’re anticipating would be funds for the Business Canada Fund, which the Government of Nunavut has to put in 25 percent. It could be infrastructure stimulus funds or gas tax funds at 50 percent.
We’re anticipating a settlement with the union and there could be other costs which may come up that we haven’t budgeted for, we just can’t see the entire future. So I wish there could be more detail, but unfortunately, we don’t have a crystal ball.
In 2008-09, it was $35.4 million. Is there any reason why it’s considerably higher this year?
Hon. Keith Peterson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the member for that question.
The reason it’s higher is because we do have to contribute our share of the costs towards Building Canada projects and other infrastructure projects announced by the Government of Canada.
As the member is well aware, Canada is in a recession.
The Government of Canada, in their budget in January of 2009, announced split infrastructure stimulus projects. The Government of Nunavut has to participate in terms of accelerating those projects and has to complete those projects within two years.
We have to come up with anywhere between 25 and 50 percent of the funding as our share of those infrastructure projects.
We’re anticipating more infrastructure projects starting this year.
The minister mentioned the gas tax and I just want clarification. I think I heard him say 50 percent. Is it matching funds 50/50 or is the gas tax specifically federal government dollars that doesn’t require voting in the House?
The gas tax funds, I believe, are Vote 4/5, which don’t require voting in the House.
Speaker: Your final supplementary, Mr... No more? Thank you.
Question 046 – 3(2): Income Support Levels (Ningark)
As per my Member’s Statement, I mentioned homeowners that require further assistance and I would like to ask several questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services, Tagak Curley.
Several individuals conveyed to me that they received income support and that there was an allowance of $500 a month included for their home heating fuel purchases in the past.
Today, they only receive an allowance of $250 a month to pay for heating fuel, which is insufficient in the winter months. That results in them having to pay for fuel out of their food allocations and affects their food budgets.
Can the minister identify if that is the case and if he is aware of this decrease in the fuel allowance?
The minister you are directing the question to is not responsible for that matter and the Minister of Education is unavailable today, so I will ask the Premier if she would like to address that question.
I will look into the matter that the member has brought up so that I can provide a proper response to the member and I will take it as notice.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. The Premier has taken the question as notice. She will provide a response once she has the information.
Question 047 – 3(2): H1N1 Update (Komoartok)
The recent events in Nunavut, specifically the appearance of the H1N1 virus is causing concerns since it apparently caused a few deaths here in Canada.
We are inundated with reports of its arrival into our territory and we have received updates on this illness, although not on a daily basis.
We have yet to be apprised of whether this virus has indeed surfaced in Nunavut or in our communities. Therefore, I wish to ask the minister if he knows whether or not this disease has been confirmed here in Nunavut.
Our department is quite concerned about this new virus and receives daily updates on the progress of this illness from our Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Sobol.
The samples are sent to a lab in Alberta for analysis to see if they test positive for the H1N1 virus and many samples have yet to be completed.
However, as we provided in our press release yesterday, the infections have increased to date. Currently, we have between 93 or 96 cases in Nunavut, but I will look into the correct number.
I can state unequivocally that no H1N1 cases in the Baffin region have been confirmed to date.
Our chief medical health officer will be providing announcements to the public through daily press releases in the afternoons on this new virus.
Mr. Komoartok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the minister for his concise response.
Nonetheless, those of us who reside in smaller communities know that many families live in overcrowded conditions due to housing shortages.
If this virus appears here, there is a serious likelihood that it would spread and quickly become a pandemic.
Due to the size of our communities, it can very easily infect an entire community practically overnight.
This is why we want to be fully informed so that we can be involved in dealing with the sickness in the smaller communities, such as cutting down on hours of operations at our schools and other public facilities.
We prefer the cold, hard truth if at all possible, especially if this virus lands in our communities, so that we can initiate appropriate measures. If it were to arrive in our community, we prefer to be informed about it.
So I strongly urge the minister to inform the members if this virus surfaces in any of our communities.
Thank you for your question. I would like the Member for Pangnirtung to know that our official pandemic committee is supporting our department along with the involvement of a planning committee.
This committee includes our department, CGS, and other departments both federal and territorial to deal with this issue.
I just wish to inform the member that we are working closely with local health service providers.
The local community health officers are kept abreast of any developments as to the protocol they are required to follow should this become a pandemic sickness.  In addition, they were directed to make radio announcements outlining the protocols that our department wants followed to keep the communities informed and to initiate the pandemic strategy action items so that residents can be prepared.
The symptoms are exactly like cold symptoms and when you acquire that virus, it can become serious and affect your health.
However, we have been informed that personal hygiene is the best defence and we are urging the public to keep clean to protect themselves effectively and to do it religiously.
I can also tell the member that we are waiting for announcements from the federal government and the World Health Organization to see if they will classify the H1N1 virus as a pandemic. We will keep all members updated on that.
Question 048 – 3(2): Arctic Bay Health Centre Update (Elliott)
Mr. Elliott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman or Mr. Speaker.
We’re not in Committee of the Whole yet.
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
In the 2009-2010 capital budget, there is no line item for the continuation of planning for the replacement health centre in Arctic Bay.
As we’re going through the O&M, it continues to not be showing where there is any planning, or design, or continued planning for the nursing station.
The minister, in the questions I posed yesterday, is assuring us that planning will continue. We’re being told that the new capital process is underway for September when we come to do another session.
I’m sure his department is busily working on getting that ready. I was wondering if he could give me an update as to what that’s going to look like in September in terms of the Arctic Bay Health Centre.
I understand the member’s question clearly. As I stated yesterday and during Committee of the Whole, I reported on this when a question was posed on the subject and I was able to respond by saying that the design phase drawings had to be completed.
As I stated subsequently, I was going to look into the status of this project with the capital planning team. They have completed some of the preparatory work, primarily on the cost estimates. However, as per my prior statements on this matter, until the capital budget is approved, I cannot tell you exactly what the details will entail as it pertains to this particular project.
As our department receives more information, I will provide more updates. I hope to provide that information prior to the end of this session, especially on the design phase that we have contracted out to architects. I will check if they have completed the work and whether they will visit the community and when.
I haven’t received any details with respect to that matter but upon receipt of this information, I will provide it to the member through the House.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) Your first supplementary, Mr. Elliott.
I thank the minister for those answers.
In talking with the community and speaking with the SAO there, they have plans this year to construct the road that will be able to have access to the nursing station and also get the power lines and everything in place.
So I know the community is really concerned and was hoping for some answers sooner.
I remember we did and I did ask questions in Committee of the Whole back in March, and I was looking over my notes and it was noted that by April 1, you had said that the planning would be done and the designs would be done.
So what’s the hold-up today?
If you had said the planning was done on April 1, obviously something has happened between then and now to slow up the process in terms of the planning.
I’m just wondering if the minister could tell me what the hold-ups are.
Hon. Tagak Curley (interpretation): Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I would like to mention that the date he mentioned is the end of the fiscal year for the government appropriations approved by the House and this fiscal year-end is on March 31.
We wanted to complete these projects. However, some projects are carried over into the next fiscal year, especially those that haven’t been completed as of April 1.
The reason for the hold-up is fairly obvious in this case as the architects didn’t quite complete the design drawings in time for the year-end, so I can’t speak to the matter at this time.
Once I receive this information from the architects, I will include those details in my response to the member and I will outline whether or not the drawings have been completed hopefully prior to the end of the session.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) Your second supplementary, Mr. Elliott.
I’ll be anxiously awaiting your reply before the end of the session.
If I understand what you said correctly, I know there was $1.2 million that was spent on capital planning for last year. It came out of the Qikiqtani Hospital PPE fund and you had mentioned carryovers.
Are you saying that the planning and preparation for the replacement nursing station in Arctic Bay is being carried over this year? Is that what you are saying?
Hon. Tagak Curley: Thank you. (interpretation) Mr. Speaker, as the member says, it was supposed to be completed on April 1. Yes, that is generally the case.
Although the fiscal year ends on March 31, not all of the planning and designs are always completed by that date.
When that happens, we ask FMB to approve the carryover funds in order to be able to appropriate it to that deferred contract. We don’t just stop the activities related to these projects when the work is carried over and we don’t throw them out.
I can tell the member though that the health centres and design drawings for Arctic Bay, Taloyoak, and Repulse Bay are priorities. If our capital appropriations are sufficient, then it’s obvious that work will commence on these projects. I just can’t tell you which one it would be.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Minister. (interpretation ends) Your final supplementary, Mr. Elliott.
I’m not sure if I got an answer for the last question.
I was just going to say that if money was carried over from last year in terms of the planning, then maybe I could just rest a little easier at night knowing that there is money in this upcoming budget to do the community consultations that he was talking about that are going to happen, where he goes to the community and talks to the hamlet council and whatnot.
I guess we’ve got three nursing stations that we’re working towards.
So could the minister confirm that the money was carried over and will be looking at having some money in this year’s capital budget, for this year, 2009-2010, to carry on with the project?
I appreciate the member for asking a supplementary question on that, that’s precisely what the supplementary questions are all about.
I’m used to these questions because I used to have a business partner and friend who would ask me a question three times just so that he would get consistency with the answers.
I can say to the member that just because we have a fiscal year ending on March 31, it doesn’t mean that projects are normally cut off and forgot about.