EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Hon. Peter Kilabuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m just saying that Mr. Speaker, I’m saying that perhaps it would be better if I say that if there has to be some funding, I will have to request for more funding in order to provide more teachers in each community.
I’m not really sure exactly how it’s going to be in his home community and I will try to make an assessment of those students in his constituency before I can respond to the question.
Question 217 – 1(6): Grants or Loan Applications of Small Businesses
I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Department of Sustainable Development, in regards to the statements that I’ve made.
With the monies that are made available to the corporation or to the Nunavut Trust, there’s a difference, for example between the caribou meat plant in Coral Harbour, the meat plant in Rankin but when you are opening up a business and if you have to take a 5 million dollars loan, then you have to fill out all kinds of forms that are available from NTI and the other organizations.
Apparently they are quite complex in their present form.
I would like to ask the Minister if the birthright corporations and the Nunavut Government entities ever got together so that applying for loans or grants from those entities will be made easier.
I know exactly know where the member is coming from, and I’m also well aware of the concern he has, I think it was a week or two ago, that I had a discussion with Mr. Kaludjak to see what we can do about the problems that are encountered by the businesses that are just starting out.
In February, there is going to be meeting and we’re going to have further discussions, we’re going to be applying the Repulse Bay protocol that was set up by the ministers and of course, we’re going to have to work together with the businesses in Nunavut.
There’s presently a close working relationship between the Nunavut Government and NTI and there’s going to be an ongoing dialogue between all the parties.
So there will be further implementation of the Repulse Bay protocol.
We also wish to collaborate with the federal government and their initiatives.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you Mr. Minister.
I think we all know some Inuit who have established businesses over the past twenty years and even twenty-five years who have been very successful, and some of them are prospering.
Our late friend, Mark Evaluarjuk’s hotel in Igloolik is prosperous, and Mr. Kanguq’s hotel in Arctic Bay.
And there are other Inuit who have very well organized businesses, but if you look at the whole picture, there are a lot more businesses that are not doing business as an Inuit proprietary enterprise or individuals who are using mixed marriages to attain eligibility for funding assistance.
For example, the Inuk spouse is the one who’s given the fifty-one percent ownership of the company so that they can apply and be eligible for the loans from different entities.
There are quite a few companies, where the ownership appears Inuk.
Or two Inuit would like to start a business, that’s where they start to encounter problems.
Some of the problems are that if they are going to apply for assistance from the development corporation initiative, or from NTI, the Nunavut Government and if they want to start up a business, it’s very complex paperwork exercise.
And there’s questions such as how long you have been a resident, how many years your business has been established and so on.
There are questions about your income tax and there are insurance requirements, and WCB, and what type of licence you have or are requesting.
These individuals have a very good business idea and they see the opportunity, but they can’t get it off the ground because it’s too complex of a paper exercise to access the programs available to them, especially for the functionally illiterate.
Do you have any plans in order to make the application process easier?
We’re doing this ongoing, and I think it’s been about a year ago that we produced these pamphlets that could be used by existing and new businesses.
These pamphlets are available at the economic development offices in the communities, they’re written in both Inuktitut and English.
This can be used by the existing and new businesses.
I hope that the communities know that there is information but in November, we are going to be having a meeting, and we’ll have dialogue between the government and the organizations out there so that we can better service the businesses, both the existing businesses and new businesses.
We know this is very important and we know as a government that there is a concern out there.
We’re going to do all we can to help everybody, whether it’s an Inuit owned company and/or non-Inuit owned company.
Even though that’s the case, we will be working closely together with NTI, so that we can implement the agreements that we had come up with earlier.
Supplementary, Mr. Arvaluk
I look forward to upcoming meeting but usually we don’t see very good outcome of all those discussions of the people who encountered all those problems are not involved in the planning or setting up the directives.
And it’s very obvious that there’s usually questions whether the individuals has applied first the commercial banks, or the financial institutions, that are set up and usually the first question that bank asked is have you ever had a business, and if you go to NTI or to a development corporation and if you say that you applied for a loan at the bank because you don’t have a credit history and because of that you were turned down by the bank, than it seems like your in a disadvantage at both the bank and also at the trust fund level.
What I am trying to say is and what I’m trying to ask the minister is when you start talking to those NTI or development corporations or Department of Sustainable Development in February, using the Naujaat challenge, are you going to be involving the individuals who were turn down by the banks and the birthright corporations so that they will be an understanding, and an outcome of a solution to the problem, Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The upcoming meeting in February will involve NTI and the private businesses and individuals that’s the whole goal of the meeting is to have the meeting with all stake holders involved so that we can come up with a solution that’s workable.
We are going to be working together with the stakeholders and we will have discussion on the whole Economic Development issue, we’re still at the planning stages, we still have yet to decide on whose going to be at that meeting, I’m not exactly who will be at the February meeting but they will be individuals who can come up with some solutions.
Speaker: Members will note that, our regular question period it over, but we will add in an additional 22 minutes that we lost yesterday, so supplementary question. Mr. Arvaluk.
I would like to use my 2 minutes out of those 22.
At this upcoming February meeting, is the public invited for example, usually there is invitations, registration fees and so on to participate in a conference, our only the invited people going to participate or people like the caribou plant operators in Chesterfield, the fish plant operators here, are they going to be involved.
Is it going to be a close meeting or is it going to be open to general public.
As I stated earlier, maybe I did not make myself clear. We are at the planning stages at this point. We are still making the invitation list.
There are some results coming out.
We are going to the final stages.
NTI and our Department are going to work together to decide who is going to be at the meeting.
At this point I cannot tell you, but we will be advertising so that the general public will know that we are having a conference.
I apologize to Mr. Alakannuark, I think I missed you two or three steps ago.
Question 218 – 1(6): Plan for Building Houses in 2003
My question is directed to the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation.
In regards to the 121 houses that will be built in 2002.
There is a severe housing shortage in Nunavut.
How many houses are going to be built in 2003?
Mr. Speaker, as you know that the Capital Estimates, the Capital Project will be presented in approximately two weeks from now.
And at that time all the allocations for all government departments within the Housing Corporation will be tabled.
I thank you for your clear response.
When we were having a meeting in Baker Lake, we made a decision to put housing as a priority.
When are we going to be able to provide adequate housing to the public?
Are we looking at ten years or five years?
Mr. Speaker, as all Members know the shortage of housing, whether it is private, staff, or public housing throughout Nunavut is a serious situation.
This government has committed since its inception to put in an allocation on a regular basis to try to meet some of those demands.
At the same time our population growth and our demand continue to far out exceed what we have available for financing for construction of the units.
We will continue to do the best job we can and try I think to argue our case to the Federal Government for assistance, particularly in the area of housing.
In regards to my question, and as you probably know if there is severe overcrowding and severe shortage of housing, it goes hand in hand with health problems and social problems.
Are you going to be working with the appropriate Minister in order to alleviate some of the problems that go hand in hand that comes with the housing shortage?
Mr. Speaker, yes as Members know when the Cabinet and financial management gets together and review the policies and the financial expenditures all the Ministers put forth their concerns and issues and we try to work through them to maximize the efficiency of our programs.
Question 219 – 1(6): Plans to Hire Family Counsellor
It is my turn to ask the questions that I wanted to post yesterday.
I’ll direct the question to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
A little while ago, I mentioned a family counselling and I was making reference to abused spouses who have to go to emergency shelters and also the spouse that’s left at the home.
Spousal assault, whether it’s on the male or the female and there’s always somebody that’s hurt in the whole process.
And I also mentioned whether we are going to be able to create a position, who will be a family councillor, who will do all of the wellness programs in the communities.
I think that when somebody needs a home, there’s always somebody who needs counselling that’s left in the house.
Do you have any plans to create a position for a family councillor?
Mr. Speaker, the issue of family violence is a very sensitive matter.
It’s been raised in this house before and I think the member has raised a very interesting point.
And that is do we have a position at the community level dedicated just for issues of family violence and family counselling?
At the present time we have several positions that do that type of work, for example, the social worker, the mental health worker, as well as the community wellness worker, to give three off the top of my head.
I will be willing to look at the opportunity of having a dedicated family councillor, but then again it all comes down to the amount of constraint that is placed on the department when it comes to financial impact of new PY’s.
However I probably would suggest that the best way to work on it is to maybe expand and the scope on the rural of our community social workers as well as our other wellness workers that we have at the community level to provide maybe more expertise in this area.
I’m talking about mental abuse in a family situation, whether it’s a spousal or through separation.
The children are left in a crisis situation and that’s a contributing factor to suicide.
We’re looking at the possibility of setting up a family councillor so that these individuals can be counselled and possibly become a family again.
Could the minister make it a priority and create family councillors in each community?
It might not be a full time position, but at least there will be a family councillor who will be available to council individuals who need it.
Speaker: Minister Picco.  Hon. Ed. Picco: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, last year we brought forward a comprehensive mental health strategy for Nunavut which entailed several different areas around mental health, family violence, issues around suicide, as well as setting up the first psychiatric twenty-four hour seven day a week facility in Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, I would be willing to ask the department to look at a contingency to see if there is a need for dedicated family councillors in Nunavut, however, again I have to look at realistically say to the people of Nunavut that I have to look at the budget constraints that have already been raised today in this house by the Department of Health and Social Service, and maybe the opportunity is to look at the dedicated staff I already had at the community level like our mental health workers, the social workers, as well as the community wellness workers, and to see if there is an opportunity to work on that.
At the same time I want to point out to the member that through the mental health strategy we have placed extra resources, mental health issues, at the community level.
I had a good discussion today at the health committee here in Pang about the same issue, and we are trying to deal with it through professionals as well as semi-professionals like putting psychiatric nurses and so on here.
So I know that’s not the complete answer, but I am willing to look at it given the limitations that we have financially but also with the dedicated resources we already have at the community level.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): In the communities there are crisis phone lines available and there’s one in Iqaluit where they have a toll-free crisis line that is accessible to people in a crisis situation.
That is to help the people who are going through problems.
If I had a problem, what I’m trying to say is that it’s along the same lines that if there was a family councillor in a community or in each of the communities, there is a possibility of reconciliation between the couple and possibly counselling would be available to the child and to the couple.
This family, it’s just for my self personally, if I was in a bad mental state, I’d call that number, but what I’m talking about is a family councillor who could help council each of the individual family members.
Could you make, even if there’s no funding available at this point, is it possible for you to create those positions and for family councillors?
Mr. Speaker, I’ve been trying to say that a big part of the job and the role of a social worker are as a family councillor.
They also, at the same time, community wellness workers who are doing counselling, are they also having at the same time, mental health workers in many of our communities who are doing counselling.
To put in place a, some type of family counselling when forty percent or fifty percent or seventy percent of the three positions that we have right now dedicated to these subset positions would be a bit difficult given the restraints that are facing us and as well as fiscally and logistically.
However, I am willing to look at the situation, to see if there is an opportunity within the budgeted positions that we had and for example we talked about earlier one of the answers that we give with the community wellness money, we give a community two-hundred thousand, for example, in Pond Inlet, if that’s the amount they received, they can actually hire a person who would work for the hamlet under the Brighter Future’s money themselves, and they can hire that person and have a family councillor.
I know that some communities have moved in that direction.
So there are opportunities out there not only for the Government of Nunavut, but under Brighter Futures, and under the wellness plans that are available, communities have the opportunity and the choice Mr. Speaker, the choice to use those funds for dedicated salaries, if that’s the way they want to move and this case it could be a part timer or casual position as the member has stated and I suggest to you Mr. Speaker, that our department would provide logistic as well as administrative support to such a position.
Today, the government programs that are set, and also the social service workers, for example if I was sent out of a community or my wife was sent out to a shelter, the automatic thing would be restraining order, and this restrained order doesn’t work but if you go through the government system, there is a automatic restraining order where there is no communication between the two, and there is no way of reconciliation if you can’t talk to one another or be counselled.
I could also be restrained from my house, and the abused would be protected by the government, what I’m trying to say is if we have a family counsellor.
There is a possibility of reconciliation between the two, there is a big difference between the present system and what I envisioned.
Mr. Picco is saying that the Department of Health and Social Services can help us but it’s a totally different picture, what I’m looking at is overcoming the problem instead of putting bearers.
The minister states that there is a financial restrains, the minister is saying that the brighter future funds are available.
Can I ask the minister if he can make this a priority and create some?
And few years ago you did a suicide prevention strategy and put up posters everywhere, can you do the same thing for these family and creating council positions.
Speaker: Mr. Nutarak. Just to remind you or caution that when you go on such a lengthily preamble on your last, Supplementary, it is taking away from some of the members.
Mr. Speaker, I think the member is raising a good issue, and that an issue around family of violence and one of the clear that in most cases, 90% of the cases, when a woman goes to a shelter or sent out of her community, it’s because the abuse is ongoing and because she’s had physical abuse.
Mr. Speaker, statistics show us that these types of things are progressive as they occur, to it’s a last resort, by social services or by the health centre to take a woman out of her community. I want to be perfectly clear on that, at the same time, it is up to both parties; the man and the woman if they want to reconcile.
Mr. Speaker, we do have services right now, in communities, the social workers available to do that, so is the community wellness worker and the mental health worker as well as nurses in the nursing stations when it comes to that, at the same time, I understand what the member is saying, that in some cases, when a restraining order is put in place and that’s not always the case, there are many cases when strained orders are not used.
In some cases when the abused has been verbal as well as physical.
The law or the courts may be order a restraint to be put in place.
So Mr. Speaker, again I commit to the member to look at the opportunity that presents itself in these types of family violence to see what we can do.
And Mr. Speaker, part of the mental health strategy that the member has an opportunity to raise as well as other members of this house, we talk about quite a bit about the opportunity for spousal assault as well as family violence issues and mental health.
Written questions?
Item 12 Committees on the Review of Bill.
Tabled Document 038 – 1(6): GN Response to Committee Report on Review of 2001 Report of the Auditor General
The Government of Nunavut’s response to the Standing Committee on the Government Operations and Services Report on the review of the 2001 Report of the Auditor General to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.
Tabled Document 039 – 1(6): Staff Housing Policies
And also of the Staff Housing Policies.
Tabled Document 040 – 1(6): Nunavut Arctic College Annual Report 2000-2001
Nunavut Arctic College Annual Report.
Tabled Document 041 – 1(6): Audited Financial Statements Retiring Allowances – March 31, 2002
Members, I have two documents to be table pursuant to Section 21 (1)(b)(c), of the Legislative Assembly Retiring Allowances Act that I wish to table today the Audited Financial Statements of the Retiring Allowances Fund for the fiscal year ending March 31st, 2002.
Tabled Document 042 – 1(6): Report of Payment of Indemnities, Allowances and Expenses For Year Ending March 31, 2002
Members I would also like to table pursuant to Section 34-1 of the 1999 Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, that we wish to table the Report on the Payment of Members’ Indemnities Allowances and Expenses for the fiscal year ending March 31st, 2002.
Tabling of Documents. Mr. Clerk.
Tabled Document 043 – 1(6): Response to Petition 003 – 1(6)
I wish to table the response to Petition 3-1(6) on behalf of the Minister of Public Works and Services.
Tabled Document 044 – 1 (6): Calendar for Nunavut Arctic College 2002-2003
I would like to table the Calendar for Nunavut Arctic College.
Bill 13 – An Act to Amend the Worker’s Compensation Act – First Reading
I move seconded by the Honourable Member for Baffin South, that Bill 13, an Act to Amend the Workers Compensation Act be read for the first time.
All those oppose?
The Bill has had First Reading.
Bill 12 – The Human Rights Act – First Reading
I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Baffin South, that Bill 12, the Human Rights Act be read for the first time.
Item 18 Second Reading of Bills.
Item 19 Consideration to the Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters.
Bill 14, 15 and 16 with Mr. Puqiqnak in the Chair.
Members agreement?
We will break now for 15 minutes and there are refreshments in the lounge.
Sergant-at-arms.
>>House recessed at 3.59 p.m. and resumed at 4. 31 p.m .
Chairperson (interpretation): I wish to start the meeting.
I would like to remind you that at 7:00, there will be a public meeting with regard to the draft Education Act, if you can remember, the committee for Health and Education.
The committee will be dealing with Bill1.
We will now start our committee of the whole.
We have Bill 14, Bill 15 and Bill 16. What is the wish of the committee?
The committee wishes to start by dealing with Bill 14, Nunavut Elections Act.
Does the committee agree to deal with Bill 14?
If the Speaker can sit at the witness table, so he can give us his presentation.
Will you have witnesses, Mr. Speaker?
Your witnesses can come to the table.
Mr. Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, we have two witnesses today to join me at the table.
Ms. Kusugak, Chief Electoral Officer.
Ms. Kusugak is a long-time resident of Nunavut and lives in Rankin Inlet.
As Members know, Ms. Kusugak was appointed as Nunavut’s first Chief Electoral Officer in 2001.
Also to my left, your right is Mr. Patrick Orr; he is a legislative drafter who worked closely with us in drafting the proposed legislation.
Patrick is a former resident of Yellowknife, where he worked with the territorial Department of Justice.
Patrick has also worked with the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform.
Mr. Chairman, is it the committee’s wish that I proceed with my opening remarks?
Chairperson (interpretation): Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker: This is a review of Bill 14, Nunavut Elections Act.
Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to have the opportunity today to appear before the committee of the whole to introduce Bill 14, Nunavut’s new Elections Act.
I would like to begin by thanking the Members of the standing committee for their important work, the work they did in laying the groundwork and providing the framework for this legislation.
As Members know, free and full elections are the basis of democracy and the Elections Act sets out how these elections are to be conducted so that candidates, their supporters, elections staff and voters can clearly understand their rights and responsibilities.
The Elections Act describes procedures and details so as to ensure the integrity, transparency and accountability of the electoral process.
Our proposed Elections Act has been designed for our circumstances, lifestyles and languages.