EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Our mandate however, effects everyone in Nunavut and touches on issues that are of great concern to our people. The health of our land, our economy and our communities.
With a limited budget, this broad mandate can only be effective through developing effective partnerships with the government of Canada, with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, with the business community and with our harvesters.
At this time, are you finished with your opening comments.
Hon. Peter Kilabuk (interpretation): Mr. Chairman, yes I am completed.
At this time I will ask Mr. O'Brien to do the Standing Committee report.
Report of the Standing Committee on Community Empowerment and Sustainable Development on the 1999-2000 Main Estimates for the Department of Sustainable Development
Mr. Chairman I will only be half as long winded as the Minister because I only have half as many pages to read.
Minister Kilabuk appeared before the Committee on the afternoon of April 27, and the evening of the 29th.
The main estimates summary provided to the Committee indicated total 1999-2000 expenditures of $33,095,379; of which $1,121,00 is capital spending.
Appointments to Boards
Members of the Committee noted that an advertisement calling for nominations to several boards established under the Land Claims Agreement had recently been placed in the media.
The Minister indicated that this initiative had been undertaken in consultation with the Premier, in order to foster an open approach to such appointments.
The Committee expressed its wish that such ministerial appointments be made with input from members of the Committee.
The Committee expressed its appreciation for the candour of the Minister in discussing this issue.
The Committee was informed that the program is under pressure from a number of factors, including forced growth of approximately 6% per year.
The Minister indicated that review of the program will be undertaken, and that the views of the public will be taken into consideration.
The Committee agreed that a major review of this issue is necessary, and looks forward to an update on its progress.
Insurance for Hunters' and Trappers' Equipment
One Member expressed concern about the lack of insurance for some HTOs' equipment.
The Department indicated that the possibility of group insurance is being looked into.
Nunavut Tourism
The Minister indicated that he had just recently met with Tourism officials, and had stressed the need for more effort to be put into product development, training and communications.
The Committee was supportive of the Minister's efforts to make progress in this area.
Outpost Camp Program
The Minister indicated that the funding system in this sphere would have to be reviewed.
The Committee looks forward to an update on progress in this area.
Grizzlies in Baker Lake
A Member expressed concern over the issue of compensation for people whose caribou caches had been destroyed by bears.
The Minister indicated that he would review the issue.
Nunavut Carving Industry
Members of the Committee expressed concern over the lack of funding for carving associations.
The Minister stated that this issue would be looked at.
Concepts and Communications
The Committee appreciated the Minister's forthrightness in stating that the term 'sustainable development' is itself not easily translated.
The Committee stressed the need for Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit to be incorporated into the activities of the Department.
The Minister indicated that the Department was making efforts to make the term a working reality.
He also indicated that the Department has plans to distribute a one-page communications piece to all residents of Nunavut.
Legislative Review
The Minister indicated that the Department would be working to develop a new Wildlife Act, as the current legislation is outdated and inappropriate to Nunavut.
The first phase would involve amendments to the Act, with a view to ultimately introducing new legislation.
The Committee welcomed the initiative, and expressed its desire that broad consultations be held on the issue.
Business Incentive/Article 24 Policy Review
The Minister indicated that review of these policies is under consideration.
The Committee indicated its support for strong efforts being made to ensure compliance with Article 24 of the NLCA.
The Minister indicated that a transition plan was under development for the Department's decentralization plan.
Members of the Committee expressed their concern that final figures for the Department were not yet available, and that their communities might be negatively impacted.
Grants and Contributions
The Committee was pleased with the detailed information provided by the Minister on the Department's 1999-2000 G&C program.
Some figures, however, were not available for certain Nunavut Development Corporation projects.
The Minister indicated that Departmental officials were in the process of meeting with Development Corporation managers.
The Committee would like to be provided with this information upon its availability.
I am also pleased Mr. Chairman, to note that we have just recently received this information regarding the above issues.
That completes the comments by the committee Mr. Chairman, I also have three motions to put forward.
Committee Motion 36 – 1 (2): Appointments to Boards, Agencies and Other Bodies
Mr. O'Brien: Mr. Chairman, I move that this Committee recommends that ministerial appointments to boards, agencies and other bodies be undertaken in consultation with Regular Members of the Assembly.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. O'Brien has moved a motion.
The second motion please.
Committee Motion 37 – 1 (2): Legislation Consultations
Mr. O'Brien: Mr. Chairman, I move that this committee recommends that the department undertake broad consultations as it works to amend departmental legislation.
Proceed with the third motion.
Committee Motion 38 – 1 (2): Mid Year Progress Report
Mr. Chairman, I move that this committee recommends provide a mid-year progress report to the Standing Committee in October of this year.
There are no more motions.
Minister of Sustainable Development, you can ask your officials to join you at the witness table. If your officials are ready.
I expected to see many more officials than one.
General comments, the floor is open for general comments and questions.
Minister of Sustainable Development, can you introduce your officials.
My Deputy Minister is Kathryn Trumper who will be sitting with me at the witness table.
I think she has been working a little bit over eighteen years within our department.
Ed Martin is our finance comptroller, Sandy Teiman, for income support policy analyst.
The floor is open for general comments or questions.
Are there any questions or comments.
Please indicate if you have any questions.
If there are no further questions we will go onto the main estimates.
When he did his opening remarks, that Nunavut residents have been bypassing the department.
What does that mean, what did you mean when you said that at the beginning.
Perhaps I mistranslated it, if perhaps I could ask the member to identify where that comment is made in the presentation paper.
Mr. Nutarak: When you were under mining, exploration, that you stated that there are entities already existing.
Water Board, Impact Review Board, which the companies have to go through to get approval, so I was wondering if that was in line with that.
Chairperson (interpretation): Minister of Sustainable Development, or your official can respond.
Yes, I found it on page four.
What I was trying to say is that our economy is dependent on the land and we should be using the traditional economy.
We have not been using the traditional economy up to our potential in the communities.
We have to find traditional ways to enhance the economy in the communities because other people outside of Nunavut have overlooked the traditional economy.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): How are we going to deal with the outsiders overlooking Nunavut's wealth and economic prospects.
Chairperson (interpretation): Minister of Sustainable Development.
Perhaps when the researchers come in they overlook the traditional economy.
I don't know how many times we have met with officials, we have reiterated about the traditional economy, each time we meet with these officials.
This is part of the Nunavut economy so it has been overlooked by outsiders so we would like to include this in our overall economy.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Minister of Sustainable Development.
The members may identify if they have any questions or comments so I can put your names down on the list.
I have a few questions in regards to the Ministers' opening statements.
That's what I was doing when I wasn't here I was trying to review it in a little more detail.
In the comments that were just made on our traditional economy, I am wondering if the Minister knows, or the department knows what percentage of our territorial products are from that sector of our economy.
Minister of Sustainable Development, if you wish to respond.
Hon. Peter Kilabuk: …(inaudible)…
Chairperson (interpretation): Hold on, your microphone is not on.
I am sorry that I had to stop you but one of the members couldn't hear the translation.
Hon. Peter Kilabuk (interpretation): As I was trying to say … we knew that this was going to be brought up, but I will be working with the NWMB and we were to make an announcement about what our decisions were.
We wanted to do a joint announcement but I can say in the interim, since I am not going to be talking about the actual number, but we've been looking at the same thing for two years and comparing the price of northern food to the food that comes in from the south.
I can only say it is between 20 and 40 million, the money that is being made from northerners that would traditionally have been in the north.
Did you have another question.
Mr. Chairman, I can appreciate the Minister saying that they would like to do a joint release but I would like to ask the Minister if he could indicate that they have targets that they would like to strive for to see what percentage of our economy they would like to see for the traditional economy.
All throughout here in his statement the Minister talks about the people and drawing on the talents of the people of Nunavut, right now I believe the majority of those people can earn a living through traditional means and through the traditional economy.  So I am just wondering what those numbers are now and if they have targets for where they want those numbers to be in the future.
Minister of Sustainable Development, did you have a comment.
I would like to make a clarification about what I had said about this survey.
It has been ongoing for two years and it is going to continue for another five years.
We are just trying to find out now how beneficial this is for the northerners.
We won't know until we have some statistics, what our targets are.
We won't know that until the survey and the tracking is done.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Tootoo, did you have another question or comment.
I guess, I am trying to put it in a way that we might be able to get a response.
Traditionally in most territories, provinces and countries, they have a target for what they would like to see in manufacturing, services, those types of industries.
Does the department have targets in these areas and what they would like to see, not only in those areas, but also in the traditional economy area as well.
I am not Mr. Speaker, I am just a Chairperson.
Minister of Sustainable Development, you wanted to respond to that.
As I indicated earlier that is all I can say at this time.
Now the traditional economy should be, I can't say what it should be.
We haven't as a department set any targets that the member is talking about.
Mr. Tootoo did you have something else?
Sorry about that error there.
Mr. Chairman, I’d like to just ask in his statement the Minister states that he’s committed this thing seeing the number of unemployment employment rate reduced significantly over the term of this government.
Does the Department have any again, target figures, that they’d like to see or is it just a general statement and targets will be figured out down the road?
Minister of Sustainable Development.
As I said earlier in my opening remarks, we want more young people getting higher education so that unemployment levels would be reduced whether it be in traditional economy or in 9 to 5 jobs.
I’m just using that as an example because we have seen through surveys and how many people are employable and by age we can draw lot of strength from that and I think that these can help reduce a number of unemployed.
If more took advantage of education system and taking on the opportunities that are offered in private and in public sectors.
Mr. Tootoo did you want to say something else?
Mr. Chairman, also I guess this is something that I learned and the Minister’s statement said that between 1991 and 1996 there was a greatest percentage of increase in jobs in Nunavut than any other part of Canada.
I’m just wondering Mr. Chairman, does that increase equal the increase in population in that area because to me it would the population rate increases faster than the job rate.
It’s not really doing anything.
So I’m just wondering if there has been a look at that comparison as to whether its keeping up with the population growth as well.
We have not had a per se tracking of that.
But when we’re looking at the job availability in Nunavut, that’s all we looked at. Not the way you’re saying.
Mr. Tootoo: Thank you Mr. Minister.
I want to talk about the business side of the operation in Community Futures Program where they provide loans to viable businesses in Nunavut.
Mr. Chairman I wondered if the Department has given any thought to these services and the economies in the communities be increased through the provision of Financial Services in the communities like banking type services in the community.
I’m wondering if that’s something that the department is looking at.
Mr. Minister or your Deputy Minister may respond.
The Department is mandated to undertake such programs but it has not been started.
Mr. Chairman, just a comment on that.
If there were those types of services available in communities that are and I’ll use an example of what I’m familiar with is a credit union system locally owned and operated within a community.
That would enable those businesses and ventures to be able to utilize those services again freeing up dollars that the department or the government would have to put into that.
So I’m just, as a comment, that the establishment of those types of services in the community could have the potential or free up a lot of dollars that the department the government is putting into loans and stuff like that to businesses and also be used as a delivery mechanism in each community that is in for all these types of services.
Mr. Minister if you want to respond to that comment.
What he was talking about is known.
We have been told that maybe the Arctic Co-ops will be looking at this area and if they’re interested in establishing such financial institution and if they want to talk to us for assistance then we would be willing to do that and we’d be willing to work with the Arctic Co-operatives to establish a credit union.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Tootoo, did you have something else?
Thank you Mr. Tootoo.
Mr. Chairman we spoke earlier in the day and I asked some questions to the Minister regarding exploration and mining and so on and what the potentials were for I guess some of the areas in the Keewatin such as Baker, Arviat, Rankin and so on.
To follow up on that you know, I believe anyway, myself that I think the sooner we can get to develop and open a mine the sooner we’re going to have, I guess the impact on our communities is going to be phenomenal.
I think it’s one of our salvations is to see this happen, a mine open.
I want to make it clear from the start that, you know, and I understand and I agree that we have to do all we can to make sure that we protect the land and the environment and the way of life.
But I believe that we can do this at the same time protect the land and still get into mining opportunities and mines could employ hundred of individuals and in my case for example, 70% of unemployment in my community.
A mine in my community, or close to my community would have a tremendous impact.
One of the concerns, I think, that is out there now, and I know we’ve been dealing with it for a number of years is that there seems to be a number of road blocks, I guess, and hurdles for various mining companies to overcome before they even get to a point where they can get exploration permits and the various permits needed to get into exploration and mining and so on .
I believe that it would help if some kind of a central location and we heard this word thrown around for the last number of years, one stop shop, I thing we should probably get rid of that one.
It didn’t seem to really have any impact.
But I think what we need is a central location where we can make it much easier and simpler for mining companies out that are interested in doing some business up here to get the various permits and to meet the various regulations that are in place.
I guess my question then is to the Ministers if he can speak to this as to what he would do or what his Department tends to do to make things somewhat simpler and keeping in mind that the companies still have to meet all the regulations and comply as it relates to the environment.
How would his department make this situation somewhat easier to encourage enhanced mining exploration and mining development in Nunavut.
Mr. Minister of Sustainable Development.
As I mentioned earlier in my opening comments, I think that we have the poorest administration of exploration, in Nunavut.
We are having discussions about that through trade shows and other means of publication where a Nunavut Tunngavik is working with us and I know that NTI has been taking part in active discussions regarding this area especially in the area of mining.
And that there is and we all know that there is potential for employment if mining was opened up in a bigger sense in Nunavut and those are the only areas I’m aware of that we’re doing some work in this area.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. O’Brien, did you have something else?
Mr. O’Brien: No Mr. Chairman I believe what the Ministers saying that they’re just looking into this now, and that they don’t have anything concrete at this time but hopefully down the road in the future we will.
Because every year that passes, and every season that passes there exploration that doesn’t take place is a loss of jobs and it just delays that much longer at the, you know the fact that we, we will not see the creation of a mine, I guess we’d rather see it sooner that later and hope that the Minister in this Department pull this together so that it will make the situation somewhat easier and simpler.
I’m not saying anyway that we should be doing favours to anybody especially the mining companies.
I think we have to do what we can to make the process more streamlined and more simplistic so that they don’t have to run to 5 or 6 different communities or regions where the offices are all spread around on the various boards in order to get the paper work done that they need in order to do to carry out this work.
Minister of Sustainable Development did you wish to add anything?
Hon. Peter Kilabuk (interpretation): Yes, thank you Mr. Chairman.
We agree that we need to streamline the mining administration in the north and if its going be really hard to get various permits and licenses I think that we would be that would be detrimental to employment.
I think I’ll ask my Deputy Minister to further respond to that.
Ms. Trumper if you want to make additional comments.
Ms. Trumper: Mr. Chairman, I will offer a little bit background on what we have done to prepare for this year in the mining industry.
We just completed a survey to all mining exploration companies operating in Nunavut.
They were written by the department and asked to comment on the very thing that you’re talking about.
How easy is it for you to operate in Nunavut?
We had a fairly good response in that survey and identified some of the areas that they have concerns about in terms of setting up operations in Nunavut.
We’re in discussion with NTI on creating a one channel through which mining companies can operate and with the Nunavut Impact Review Board and finally I should note that the GEO Science initiative .
Which the Minister mentioned in his opening remarks is intended to get at this problem that mining companies have identified and that is there is just not a good enough information base on what resources are in Nunavut.
So that initiative this year is to try to catch up to the other jurisdictions in Canada who have considerably better geographic science data base than we do.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you Deputy Minister of Sustainable Development.
Mr. O’Brien are you done or would you like to make further comments.
Mr. O’Brien: No, that’s fine Mr. Chairman.
Thank you and I thank the Minister and his Deputy for their response.
These are just my comments.
I’ll get into questions on line by line.
Outside investment to me is very, very, important for the economy in Nunavut.
How do we attract that outside investment?
Whether its joint partnerships which I would encourage, or whether its non-renewable resources sector or even the renewable resource sector like fishing and seal pelts and caribou pelts and things like that.
I think there should be some alliances made with provinces
Because I think if we got past those barriers of trying to sell products to them, I think our products in Nunavut would be well received because of the cleanliness of them and the natural process of them. Down south anything that’s grown without chemicals or things like that or any animals that are harvested that aren't full of steroids and stuff like that, I’m just trying to find the word.
Green or environmental friendly and stuff like that so we have a health environmentally friendly products here in regards to that.
Internal investment. Maybe I know that this is not your department it should be maybe the Minister of Finance's.
But there is a lot of flow of dollars, a tremendous amount of dollars, from people living here going south to bank accounts and mortgages and things like that.
if there is any way we could track that I think it would astound us on how many dollars from northerners goes south and sit in bank accounts, and if there is some way that we can get them to invest in the north, it would attribute to our own local economy whether its partnerships or investments groups, or just trying to keep dollars in the territory that are going south and getting people to reinvest it back in rather than put them in GICs.
Or like I say in bank accounts if we could keep a little bit more because the dollars from Ottawa they circulate a bit, they circulate a few times, they go to the northern store or the co-ops or to the Royal Bank and then they go back south.
There is nothing to retain the wealth that’s given to this territory and it's also what used to happen in the Northwest Territories. Nothing is here, to retain the wealth that’s given to us so we can keep it to reinvest it and build up equity in Nunavut.
Nunavut tourism.
We invest as a government 1.2 million. What do we get back? One hundred thousand, two hundred thousand?
Fifty thousand? Do we actually know what we invested there? If it’s one point three million, in tourist coming up and putting that kind of money in the economy I think we’re doing a tremendous job, as long as making a profit from it.
Unemployment rate.
I know we’re not really directly responsible for studies and stuff like that but if you eliminated Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Cambridge Bay and did an unemployment survey in January I bet you the unemployment rates in Nunavut would be around 50% mark.