EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
As departments working together, we will define what the timelines are going to be. (interpretation ends) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The reason why I’m so concerned about this is because when we were speaking with the Minister of CGS at one point, we were made to understand that once a project has been identified as a priority of the government, it goes on the capital list and it’s identified as a priority.
It usually takes another five years before anything is built.
It’s just the nature of government; we’re very slow in what we do.
I’m concerned that you don’t have something already identified like elder housing. How long is it going to take to get on that list? And then we’re going to have to wait at least five years minimum after that date.
That’s why I’m bringing this up. I’m trying to push this because we have waitlists now. We have communities that have no elder housing.
This is a critical area that I really want to draw some urgency to because we need to address this.
We all need to be on the same page with this matter and that’s why I’m really pushing for this.
I do have other questions, but they may want to respond.
This question from my colleague involves two departments, the Department of Community and Government Services as well as the Nunavut Housing Corporation. They can both deal with this issue, so you can approach either department as there are slight differences.
That is a very good question about this issue, Mr. Speak…oops, Mr. Chairman.
I almost called you Mr. Speaker.
Ms. Kimball can respond with specific details to the member’s question with your forbearance. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
CGS’ planning horizon is longer than NHC’s simply because the buildings they construct are much larger and much more complex.
For NHC, our typical planning horizon is usually about two years from start to finish, so we’re able to be a bit more responsive.
Because we have the budget planned and we do have a five-year horizon on our public housing funding planning, if we are able to identify projects, we should be able to redirect as long as we meet the tendering timeline, which again is about the two-year horizon.
When I look at the budget here, I don’t see anything that says “elder housing.”
I know you said that there are ten units and there is $10 million that is for public housing units.
You have an action plan that identifies elder housing.
Where is the budget for that and how much is it at?
I don’t want to provide a hurried response and I want the member to receive an appropriate response. In order to clarify this issue, I would like to refer this question to Ms. Kimball.
I am a bit confused about this, so I would not be able to respond clearly.
Furthermore, with respect to the (interpretation ends) action plan, (interpretation) which we are discussing at this moment, (interpretation ends) the blueprint for action (interpretation) will result in the start of the planning process of the issue we are debating, for example, for the elders’ housing units.
It is included in that plan about how the planning process would be initiated as per my earlier statement.
However, I would ask that Ms. Kimball be allowed to respond to the members’ question. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Our public housing construction budget would cover any new facilities if we were to build a new residence dedicated to seniors.
However, the discussions that we’re having right now with the Department of Health are to really try to get some numbers in terms of what the volume of assisted living would be, the degrees of assistance that would be required, and what level of care because it can range from just having someone to provide some basic services to, for instance, a facility for Alzheimer’s. It’s a completely different thing.
If we’re able to use a five-bedroom home for some light assisted living, we can actually re-profile existing stock. That’s something that could actually be done in a fairly short amount of time.
It’s more the research that needs to go in, in terms of the logistics of how that would work and all those details.
Ms. Angnakak: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank Ms. Kimball for that as well.
I’m happy to hear that you’re able to speed things up.
I’m wondering: when do you expect this new research to be completed?
If I understood your question with the (interpretation ends) blueprint for action plan, (interpretation) we’re going to be starting work in the fall and in 2015-16, we will put together a report on what we have found during this research. (interpretation ends) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
In keeping with your opening comments, you talk about increasing the limit of the seniors and persons with disability preventative maintenance program from $1,500 to $3,000, but when I look at your substantiation sheet, it actually says $1,500.
Is the new amount $3,000 or is it $1,500?
It’s $3,000. (interpretation ends) The new amount should read $3,000.
It says in the substantiation sheets that it’s 77 clients. I’m wondering how many applicants were denied under this program.
For 2013-14, there were four that were declined.
Part of the reason was arrears. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Can you explain to me too this amount, is that for the lifetime of an applicant or is that per year that they could access it?
It’s per year. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
In the budget, I don’t see any plans to increase that amount. It stands at $116,000 for Nunavut.
Are there any plans to maybe look at that again and see if you need to increase the total amount?
It’s that amount for this year, but if we’re looking to the long term, I’m sure we will be able to do a review of it at a later date. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
I think, at one time, I had spoken about how complicated the application process was for really quite a small amount of money.
I think seniors had to get three years worth of salary, if they had any. I don’t know. There is a lot of paperwork that they have to fill out.
Is that still the case or have you adapted that now?
That has been a concern over the years since it was created. There are a lot of forms.
I know the money is minimal, but there’s a lot of paperwork involved.
We have made it into one form, one page, and we will be using the CRA form.
That will be the only form that they will have to fill out. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Can the minister tell us then, if a senior citizen applies for a program and it’s granted, “Here’s my income, I’m a senior citizen, I’m 75 years old, I don’t work, I get limited funds,” and then the next year, they apply again, you want them to say the same thing all over again, even though they have actually aged by a year?
Why do they have to keep proving every single time when senior citizens around that age, very unlikely, they’re going to work and going to be earning a lot money and it’s very unlikely that their situation has changed?
Is that something that the Nunavut Housing Corporation can look at in making the application process a lot simpler?
It is for that exact reason that we have recommended improving the application process to be a single form application through the CRA process.
If an applicant is applying for the benefits, they only have to fill out one form, which is a (interpretation ends) very simple form (interpretation) compared to past-year application forms. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Ms. Angnakak: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m going to go on. My colleague talked about heating oil tank replacement.
We talked about the fact that you have a program to access this kind of service where you wanted your tank replacement.
In the House, I have stood up and I have talked about recycling and my concerns over that. What are you doing with all the old tanks? They seem to be, I think, going to dumps.
Are you assisting the community in dealing with all these oil tank replacements? I don’t know if you have been doing this for public housing units, but where are they going and what’s the plan in dealing with that?
Relating to oil tanks that are collecting, these concerns have been raised about the collection of so much metal.
Mr. Chairman, there is a (interpretation ends) waste management program (interpretation) that concerns itself with the disposal of numerous metal wastes that are collected. Community and Government Services and the municipalities are the ones that have the responsibility of dealing with these things. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Following the names on my list, Mr. Savikataaq.
Most of the stuff has been covered, but I just have a few here.
Just earlier, Ms. Kimball stated that ten-plexes are being built where land costs are high.
That way, they go up if you’re using more land, which makes sense. I know that some communities prefer five-plexes.
If the land cost is reasonable in that community and the cost of gravel is reasonable in that community, then the community would rather, instead of getting one ten-plex, get two five-plexes. Would that be considered?
Hon. George Kuksuk (interpretation): Yes, we can consider those things. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
I thank him for that response.
I know that in Arviat, when I was on the hamlet council there, they did request if the housing corporation could build five-plexes instead of ten-plexes and they were told no.
This was about two years ago. I am glad that now you have reconsidered because it may be cheaper, but there are other social issues that come with building a whole bunch of ten-plexes.
Staying on housing but a different subject, staff housing, in your substantiation sheet, there is $5 million for staff housing and you also say that you are exploring other options, such as construction of larger multiplexes in communities with greater needs.
I see that most of the staff housing is duplexes. Also, you are looking at purchasing existing buildings to be added as staff housing inventory in communities where these buildings are available.
Have any decisions been made regarding the use of these approaches? Are there any current plans to buy any existing buildings and turn them into staff housing?
Relating to the issue of staff housing and the shortages thereof, we will begin to look into the shortage of housing everywhere, for everybody, in every community. Everyone is aware of this issue.
In some communities, it may be possible, if there are leases or we could lease private homes and houses, then we would look at the issue of leasing private housing to be used by our staff. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
The minister just stated that if there are staff housing needs in the community and there is a private enterprise that may be able to lease them staff units… . Can the minister just explain the process or who these private or potential [lessors] are? What’s the process and who do they go see to possibly lease one of their units for staff housing?
If we go this route of leasing for the purpose of using them for staff housing, we would need to go through the request for proposals route. If we got responses, then we could make an appropriate move. (interpretation ends) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Are there any RFPs right now for staff housing?
Hon. George Kuksuk (interpretation): I’m not aware if there are some. Ms. Kimball would be the best person to provide that information. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
We did go out for a request for proposals this past spring. We are actually working on preparing another request for proposals. The request for proposals will be looking not just for existing units, but also trying to find if there are any plans for new units to be constructed where the owner would be looking to lease it within the next two years.
These requests for proposals, you said you put one out and now you’re putting another one out, are they community-specific or are you just asking for one that’s Nunavut-wide?
Those requests for proposals are geared towards specific communities. Let’s use an example of Arviat. If we want staff housing in Arviat, we would put out a request for proposals in that community. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
I thank the minister for saying what they’re going to do, but Ms. Kimball said they did put one out. I would just like to know if that one was community-specific or was it Nunavut-wide.
I don’t want to further complicate the process and befuddle everyone, so I would like Ms. Kimball to answer the question. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
We advertised the one that we put out in the spring for any community in Nunavut, so it was Nunavut-wide.
However, the respondents can respond to specific units within each community. They didn’t need to be able to provide units everywhere. An individual with one home, for instance, could respond and have their home, in a given community, and put forward a price that they would be willing to lease to us for.
Was this RFP successful?
Hon. George Kuksuk (interpretation): I would like Ms. Kimball to go further into that and be more specific. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
It wasn’t as successful as we hoped it would be. We did receive quite a few responses, but we are hopeful that in the second round, with lessons learned, we can do a little bit more in terms of advertising and communicating with the private sector.
Maybe I should rephrase it instead of using the word “successful.” Did it result in the housing corporation acquiring more staff housing?
Yes, it did. Yes.
I would like to ask: how many?
Hon. George Kuksuk: Again I want the answer from Ms. Kimball. She will have the numbers.
I don’t have the exact numbers with me, but I can tell you that our budget had increased by $2 million annually and we have fully expended that additional funding for those new leases.
Going on to a different matter, in your budgets, you have talked about a lot of initiatives that will be coming on for next year’s budget about replacing local housing associations’ offices/workshops and the budget in there is for $3.2 million.
With that $3.2 million, the scope of work is to get one 40 by 100 warehouse, which would be the maintenance shop and admin. offices and a warehouse, and then another 40 by 60 heated garage for, I assume, storage of vehicles and other stuff, and then a 100 by 40 foot fenced-in and enclosed area for storage.
I wonder if it’s realistically possible to build that in there because currently, right now, when you build a Department of Environment office/garage, and they’re roughly 30 by 40, the budgeted amounts are at $2 million.
I’m just wondering if they’re going to fine-tune their pencils a little bit more.
Hon. George Kuksuk: Thank you, Itsivautaaq. (interpretation) This issue the member is asking about is in the 2015 fiscal year and they are called (interpretation ends) class “A” estimates (interpretation) within the budget estimates for fiscal year 2015 and this will be looked at then.
Additionally, we want to use the same standard or rather, to have similar standards developed for these (interpretation ends) warehousing facilities.
Just one last question just to follow up on my colleague, Ms. Angnakak.
She was talking about the fuel tank replacement stand, wondering what’s being done with them.
It’s probably going to the landfill.
I know that’s the CG&S department, but are there any guidelines for what the housing corporation does in that program?
This is under the (interpretation ends) waste management program (interpretation) operated by the Department of CGS for purchasing furnaces or boilers that require replacement.
It falls under that (interpretation ends) program (interpretation) and that is how it was set up to operate. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Following my list of names, Mr. Akoak.
My colleague, Ms. Angnakak, talked about elders’ buildings.
Has the Nunavut Housing Corporation or other departments talked about getting any homeless shelters?
Earlier today, I talked about a lot of people living with their relatives in their homes.
I applaud the house renters who put in a lot of people into their homes, where they sleep on couches and even in the porches.
I’m just wondering if you guys have ever talked about any homeless shelters in Nunavut in the smaller communities.
I remember my colleagues asking about this.
At Nunavut Housing Corporation, we haven’t made any plans to put up homeless shelters per se.
However, homelessness is dealt with by the Department of Family Services. However, we are working with them and the Department of Health to try to do some work on this. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
That would be a great idea to work with the Minister for Homelessness along with you guys and also with CGS. Maybe you could talk to them.
We do need that in the smaller communities.
We’re just not putting names out there for the sake of saying that there are a lot of people not living in a home.
For the other one, we talk about private homes being leased as staff housing.
There might be private companies that are buying houses right now that are being taken over by the banks and the private companies are buying the homes. They might be thinking along these lines.
Is there a cap on how much they can ask for a rate and how much they can pay or how much the government can pay to the private company?
If I understand his question correctly, you’re asking how much money can be borrowed from the bank in order to convert the house into a rental unit.
If I understand his question directly, we would have to come up with a good understanding with the companies or individuals we would lease from or if the corporation would buy a house, we have to make sure that there are no financial liabilities attached to that unit. (interpretation ends) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I was asking if a private company buys a homeowner’s house that has been taken over by the bank.
There are some homeowners that lose their homes for some reason and a private company buys that home and they would like to make it into a staff house.
How much would you guys allow for them to set the rate?
If you can understand me. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Hon. George Kuksuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to provide an adequate response by myself, but that question seems to contain many details that I don’t know, such as the question about banks, as many people use banking institutions to finance their home or to purchase a house.
Anyway, at the Nunavut Housing Corporation, we would have to be aware of quite a (interpretation ends) few things. (interpretation) I would ask that Ms. Kimball be allowed to provide the details the member asked about.
Mr. Chairman, with your approval, I would like Ms. Kimball to provide those details. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Any new leases that we enter into, we do have a standard template, so we try to ensure we have standard terms and conditions. We do review the amounts being proposed for the lease for reasonableness, as we have to make sure that it is within our budget limit.
If there’s anything excessive or out of the norm, then we wouldn’t go into that lease.
I just have one more and I’m going back to the homeless shelters.
I guess you won’t have any units that are owned by NHC that can be turned into a homeless shelter, at least one or two in our community.
This issue surrounding (interpretation ends) homelessness, (interpretation) as per my earlier response, involves other departments, for example, the Department of Family Services or even the Department of Health.
Additionally, due to the importance of this issue, our department can’t deal with this issue alone. As an example, we would have to involve the local LHO or even to work with the local hamlets and collaborate with all of these parties in order to deal with this issue. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you very much. (interpretation ends) We are on Nunavut Housing Corporation.
Yesterday, in the minister’s opening comments, he stated that the Nunavut Housing Corporation “has successfully tendered all 213 units planned under the additional $100 million in the economic action plan funding…”
I know there has been a history in Nunavut, not only in my community but in a lot of communities, and not only with the housing corporation but with other contractors, where they have a way of saving money by avoiding staying in hotels.
I’m just wondering if the minister can update us on what safeguards are entered into these new contracts to ensure that contractors utilize the use of local hotels.
Some parts have been explained in detail earlier.
Nonetheless, with respect to the construction contractors who are awarded these contracts, the details are laid out in the contract agreement, such as the requirement to utilize local hotels for accommodations or other (interpretation ends) local accommodations. (interpretation) These requirements are listed in these agreements.
Although I am only using this one example here, any requirements that apply to the local community are spelled out in these contracts. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Since it’s stated in the contract that they have to utilize local hotels during the life of the contract, how does the Nunavut Housing Corporation monitor if the contractor is using the hotels or not throughout the life of the contract?
In some part, we use the contractors’ progress payments receivable from NHC.
That’s how we keep track, through the progress payments, because each contract has difference terms and using those details, we are able to monitor them. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
If it’s observed during the life of the contract that a contractor is not using the hotels, what penalties are in place that could be applied towards the contractor?
If we look at the figures, once that occurs, then we have to look at the contractor’s breach of contract. I’ll ask Ms. Kimball to talk about the details. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
There is a specific bonus and penalty clause within all GN contracts. It’s under the General Terms and Conditions, GC55.
It’s a complex formula.
Basically, there is a formula approach based on the commitments made at the time of tendering.
Each contractor would submit something called the B2 Schedule where they estimate the amount of local and Inuit labour and Nunavut labour.
That’s considered as part of the bid evaluation.
Upon completion of the contract, we compare their actuals to what they had committed to do, and then the bonus and penalty is calculated and assessed accordingly.
I thank Ms. Kimball for that explanation.
At the end of the contract, the contractor can be penalized for not using local hotels. Again, at the end of the contract, the housing corporation imposes penalties, so they save a few dollars on the contracts, but our local hotels are still out X number of dollars because they did not utilize the hotels.
Is there anything in place in the contract where local hotels can put liens on the contracts so that they can apply for lost profits towards the contract?
No, we don’t have such policy that the member is questioning.
At the end of the day, our local Co-Ops or local hotels end up losing a lot of dollars because a lot of contractors do not utilize hotels in our communities.
The last thing I will say is I wonder if the Nunavut Housing Corporation… .
They already stated that all the contracts have been awarded.
I wonder if they can issue a letter of directive to the contractors advising them that they are to utilize hotels from the very beginning just so that the local hotels have the opportunity to make money while they can.
In regard to utilizing a hotel for accommodation, everything is clearly spelled out. If a contract is awarded, everything is spelled out in the contract that they are to utilize the local hotel for accommodation. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Mr. Rumbolt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If the contractor decides not to use the local hotel, you guys at the housing corporation are probably not going to find out until the end of the contract.
All I am asking is some kind of assurance that contractors will utilize hotels, if space is available in our communities, at the beginning of any contract.
We can have face-to-face meetings with the contractor and we can resolve this issue. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
I just need clarification in regard to some of the questions that may not have been answered.