EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
The Canadian Government has some programs to reduce the cost of living in Nunavut, but of course these programs do not go directly to the consumers, for example, those on social assistance.
I had a meeting with Nav Canada, when we took on the Department of Transportation, we had a meeting with them to see if they could further reduce the costs.
For example, giving reduced fares for goods and services, for freight.
We had a meeting with Nav Canada, and we talked about reducing the costs of freight and of course we also have to pay for landing fees.
We haven’t set up any programs but we would like to review the cost of living through my department.
Like I said, we haven’t completed all the reviews that we would like to do and I cannot respond to your question right at this time.
Speaker: Mr. Tootoo.
Question 21 - 1(3): Funding for Classroom Supplies
Mr. Speaker my question is for the minister responsible for education.
Mr. Speaker, during the last little while since school started I have been approached on a number of occasions by parents that have expressed concern over the fact that they had to do fund raising in order to provide supplies for their childrens’ class rooms.
I would like to ask the minister responsible if the schools are funded for providing supplies necessary in the class rooms.
The funding is given to District Education Authorities from the Regional Education Council on a per student basis.
The school receives O&M funding on a per capita basis.
It is strictly up to the District Education Authorities how they spend that money.
What they buy with that money is not up to the Department of Education.
If for example, additional purchases are required that are not authorized by the Education Authority, then an individual teacher has the freedom to do fund raising, for example if they want a kayak for the class room, the teacher has the freedom to do fund raising for that equipment or those supplies.
But I would like to tell the member that they are funded on a per capita basis and we have no direct control as to how they spend that.
I would like to thank the minister for confirming how the funding is allocated to the schools.
On that basis Mr. Speaker, one of the schools here in Iqaluit, the breakdown per classroom in order to supply them with the materials necessary for the class room, I will just outline what those materials are.
Basic materials, notebooks, workbooks, visual aids, markers, crayons, construction paper, maybe if they want to have a sand table for kids to use, the younger ones, water table, blocks, encyclopaedia, dictionaries, manipulative or solid items that the children use for math and things like that.
Paint, pencils and pens, anything besides furniture.
A class room in one of the schools here is allocated, based on the formula, 400 dollars a year to provide all of those materials necessary for the students in that class.
Mr. Speaker with an average class size of 25 students per class that works out, in order to provide those basic materials to each student, to 16 dollars per year.
I would like to ask the Minister of Education if he feels those are adequate resources in order to provide supplies to our young children in the class rooms.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I will provide the member those details.
There are approximately, I can’t even count how many schools there are in Nunavut now, but lots.
I will provide the details for the particular school the member is referring to, but first I have to get the information from the Regional Education Council and in turn that particular organization will have to ask the DEA for those details. I can attempt to provide that but the member will have to give me a little bit of time to get the information on everything that has been spent.
Third supplementary Mr. Tootoo.
Mr. Speaker, I wasn’t asking the minister to provide me with a list of materials that were provided, I was asking the minister if he felt that was an adequate amount of funding for the provision of supplies to the class rooms for the schools.
Speaker (interpretation): Mr. Tootoo, you cannot ask for an opinion from the minister.
Maybe you can rephrase your question.
How can I rephrase it.
Mr. Speaker, I guess according to the formula through which funding is allocated to the schools, I would wonder if the minister could provide how those numbers are arrived at in the formula and maybe a review of that formula would show if there is adequate funding or not.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Mr. Speaker, thank you.
I certainly could have told the member how I feel about this.
Mr. Speaker, the budget that is given to the department, the last figure that we had in the Main Estimates, is 133 million dollars.
That creates a pie and all of these allocations are given equally on a ratio basis, to District Education Councils, or Divisional Education Councils.
That in turn, through a per capita formula system is given, as I said, to the schools.
Of course these are not adequate, because from this pie when we disseminate those funds, then we no longer have control because they still have to pay for the teachers and the O&M and everything that goes with it.
So until such time as they are given specific instructions as to how much they must spend on those materials and supplies and etc, they will continue to have that freedom to allocate money for the supplies required.
From that, once we are given a budget from this Assembly, through the Main Estimates, we really don’t have much of a role to play in it.
Oral questions, Mr. Nutarak.
Question 22 - 1(3): Administrative Support for Elders Societies
I have a question for the Minister of Culture, Language, Elders & Youth.
There are elders’ societies established in our communities and we have one in our community.
They don’t have employees or support services.
They don’t have secretaries to handle their administrative matters.
My question to the minister is if he could look into providing positions for these so that the elders’ societies can have administrative support services.
Minister of Culture, Language, Elders & Youth, Mr. Havioyak.
I could not hear him.
Speaker (interpretation): Mr. Nutarak had a question regarding administrative support for the elders.
Mr. Havioyak was going to respond as the Minister of Culture, Language, Elders & Youth.
We had technical difficulties.
At this point we will give Mr. Havioyak an opportunity to respond to Mr. Nutarak’s question.
Sorry, we were cut off.
Thank you very much Mr. Speaker.
I just want you to recognize that the person who was going to be assisting me with elders has not yet been hired.
I will confirm with you who will be assisting me when the hiring is done.
Right now it is not confirmed and this will be looked at, at a later date at which time I will confirm.
I have another question for Mr. Havioyak.
When we had our meeting in April, I asked this same question regarding the larger communities with larger populations.
My comment in April was that if we had a full time position for the elders societies it would cost too much.
So I made the suggestion that perhaps the larger communities elders’ societies could get a secretarial support position on a half time basis.
That was just in relation to the larger communities where they have elders’ societies and if it’s possible to get a half time position to give administrative support for these societies.
The reason I am saying this is that we need to retain the elders knowledge and to have everything written down so that we don’t forget our culture and our language.
So my question again is would you be able to give us half time positions for the elders societies in the larger communities.
Hon. Donald Havioyak: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again I want to point out that the senior advisor for the elders is still not hired today but will be hired very shortly now.
That’s one of the options that will be looked at by the staff.
Question 23 - 1(3): Rent Supplement Program
I have a question for the minister responsible for housing.
Given the concerns that have been raised by many members in the House on the lack of social housing and the urgent need for both a short and long term solution on this issue, is the minister aware of the rent supplement program that was in existence under the old GNWT and still is, whereby the private sector provided housing to the Corporation for people who were unable to pay for, or to find suitable housing?
Minister responsible for Housing.
I apologize, we grandfathered the legislation from the past government and we are reviewing the legislation and I understand your question.
Until the time when the Task Force on Housing has completed its work and brought forward its recommendations, is the Minister for Housing prepared to give consideration to re-introducing such a program as soon as possible, by discussing with the Finance minister and her cabinet colleagues the need for additional dollars to put this program back into effect.
Speaker: Ma'na Mr. McLean.
I could work with the Minister of Finance and other appropriate ministers to review those programs.
Third supplementary Mr. McLean.
I appreciate the minister’s response so I will ask her one final question on the issue.
Will she commit to advising the House in the January session what steps she will take to bring this important issue forward and into effect by the new year and will she commit to this.
Ma'na Uqaqti.
Speaker: Mr. McLean, that’s three questions on your final supplementary, but, again, once more I will remind you that on your final supplementary it has to be one question.
This time I will allow the minister to answer.
In regards to your issue, it effects us all and he has been working on the issue of housing for a long time and he is well aware of what the problems are.
I can assure you that I will look into this further and I will make a comment in our January session.
Speaker: Mr. Kattuk.
Question 24 - 1(3): Oil Tank Upgrade Project
My question is for the Minister of Public Works, Ms. Thompson.
When we were in our budget session it was agreed for my constituency that there would be some renovations done on our oil tanks.
I was told that this was not going to go ahead any more because there was no funding available for these renovations.
The contractor and I had a discussion before I came here and I was told that these tanks weren’t filled to full capacity because they were going to be working on them this fall.
Could you give me an update on what is happening.
Speaker: Minister responsible for Public Works, Ms. Thompson.
Our department is called Sanajiliriji in Inuktitut.
Department of Public Works.
I know that we have to come up with a better term in Inuktitut, but our department is called Sanajilirijimi, Department of Public Works.
The member for Sanikiluaq informed me about his concerns on this issue and the member is also very busy dealing with other concerns.
It is true that there was a proposal to renovate the tanks, we were lacking in funding, but now we have revised the proposal for April 2000, we will deal with that project again.
So that is the information that I can give you, that we will have funding for April 2000.
Perhaps I will rephrase my question.
Thank you Ms. Thompson for your response, but I would like to ask if the oil tanks were filled to capacity.
I was wondering if we are going to have an adequate fuel supply prior to April.
If the oil tanks are not filled to capacity will we have a sufficient fuel supply for the winter.
If there is an insufficient fuel supply, we will rectify the problem but at this point in time I have not heard about Sanikiluaq being supplied with insufficient fuel.
I don’t know if it will be sufficient for the winter but if that has happened we will rectify the situation when we experience it.
Question 25 - 1(3):Elders Living Below Poverty Line
Mr. Speaker my question is directed to the Minister responsible for Culture, Language, Elders & Youth, for elders in particular.
Mr. Speaker through the course of the morning we spoke with the elders and then had some comments made about the importance of elders.
To my mind Mr. Speaker, we seem to always be looking to the elders for advice and looking to the elders in general.
I would like to take the issue an unusual step further and say what can we do for the elders, not only in this Assembly, but also through the other aboriginal bodies that exist in Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker my question to the minister in this regard is, does the minister have any idea as to how many elders may be living below the poverty line in Nunavut.
Hon. Donald Havioyak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the member for his question.
At this time we are looking into this and I want to reply to your question accurately.
I will keep this in mind and I will get back to you on that.
Speaker: He is not aware how many people are on the poverty line at this time until research is done.
I think that is a hypothetical question Mr. O'Brien.
Mr. Speaker, I made an assumption that there may be some statistics on this particular issue.
My second question to the minister is, would the minister commit to follow up this issue with a study, a survey to find out exactly what the numbers are if they do exist.
Hon. Donald Havioyak (interpretation): Yes, I will look into this and get back to you again.
Speaker (interpretation): Mr. Puqiqnak.
Question 26 - 1(3): Lack of Job Opportunities for Youth
I am not too sure to whom I should be directing this question, but perhaps to the Community Government minister.
In Taloyoak we met with the organizations in the community.
I think they are called interagency committees, they had a concern, and it’s a fact I believe, that the children have no place to go after school.
Perhaps the appropriate minister has some plans to rectify this situation, because there are no opportunities available for young children and that is a concern of Taloyoak residents, because the students have nothing to do after school.
I was wondering if the Minister for Community Government and Transportation has any plans.
I appreciate your question and I think in most of the communities we have discussed the lack of employment for young people or for young students.
When they are bored at night they get into mischief. Even last night during our meeting we discussed how we can work with the Hamlet Councils and the Iqaluit Town Council and I was thinking that we could meet with the municipalities so that we could start working on this issue.
If our young children had things to do and if they lived a healthier lifestyle, they would be better educated.
I just want to point out to you that at this point, yes we have felt it and we are looking for ways to deal with this issue by working with the members of the Legislative Assembly, and with the communities assistance.
(interpretation ends) I'll take it as notice Mr. Speaker.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Anawak, the question is taken as notice.
Question 27 - 1(3): Education Act Review
When Mr. Arvaluk was making his statement, he said they would be working on the Education Act and he would table that some time in the future.
I know the Education Act will have to be amended to reflect Nunavut.
How do you see proceeding with the review of the Act.
Will you be involving the communities, how are you going to be working on the amendment of the Act?
Minster responsible for Education.
As I stated before, we are now starting to consult with the communities and are receiving their input.
Now we will start drafting the act in Inuktitut first.
We will continue to consult with the communities and the members of the Legislative Assembly on the drafting of the bill in Inuktitut.
We expect in the upcoming winter session, perhaps a January or February session , we will table the bill to be read for the first time and if we have the opportunity we will read it for a second time.
If we read it for the second time it will be up to the members of the Legislative Assembly how they want to deal with the bill.
If we are going to give it to a standing committee, once it has been given to the committee, you will be able to consult with the communities and get their input to the bill.
So once we give it to the Standing Committee it will be at their discretion whether they want to consult with the communities.
After it is read for the second time it will be up to your discretion how long you want to work on this amendment.
There was a bill passed that the Regional Boards of Education will be dissolved.
If we can have the Education bill read for the third time in the spring session we will be able to implement and it will reflect Nunavut’s needs.
It will be up to the cabinet when the third reading will happen.
Question 28 - 1(3): Changes to School Funding
This question is directed to the Minister of Education.
My colleague just discussed the reform of the Education Act.
I would like to ask the minister if through this reform process the way the schools are funded would also be looked at.
I know, as you indicated earlier, that it is all on formula funding and it switched to that from program funding as we were having all kinds of problems with program funding.
So I would like to ask the minister if they will be looking at changes to how they are funded and not only the enactment.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Mr. Speaker, naturally.
What we will be doing in our department will be looking at the old act and all of the concerns that were brought before, that were not instituted into the Act, and we will also be looking at all the concerns of the Education Authorities, private citizens, the parents, the children, including how the funding system has been allocating funds.
The government has indicated that education is one of our priorities and we will be looking at how our goals and objectives and mission statements can be effectively changed to reflect exactly what we want to do with education for now and for the future.
So everything, all the responses we will be getting from the citizens of Nunavut, will be considered in the rewriting of the Education Act.
Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to ask for a clarification from the minister.
The way that the schools are funded, is that something that is stipulated in the act. That it be formula funded or program funded, is that something that is stipulated in the act?
Hon. James Arvaluk: Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the word stipulation would be proper at this time, because we are looking at everything that needs to be included or excluded from the Education Act re-write.
But I will assure the member that every possible subject of discussion will be included in the rewrite including how the budget is distributed to Education Authorities after the Divisional Boards of Education are dissolved in July 2000.
So I don’t want to contemplate or stipulate any specific matter because I want to be completely open on this consultation process and that will be the basis of it.
Mr. Speaker then I guess what I am hearing is that the minister is committing that the public has some input into how the schools are funded.
In his letter that was sent out on the principals, it doesn’t address that.
So I would like to ask if he would commit to informing the appropriate bodies for input on that exact thing.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Mr. Speaker, it is more or less stated in the principles, I did not want to put any kind of specific detail in these principles, but one of the basic principles is that we will be open to all of the discussions that the citizens of Nunavut would like to present to the Department of Education.
Question 29 - 1(3): Public Housing Repairs
Mr. Alakannuark (interpretation): Thank you.
My question is directed to the Minister for Housing.
When I went to visit my constituency last summer some of the houses had not been retrofitted.
There is one house with oil burner heating and I was wondering if your department can look into my constituency because they are still using the old system of heating.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Alakannuark. Ms. Thompson.
This is the very first time that I have heard about it.
I don’t know whether it is in Repulse Bay or Pelly Bay.
Could you elaborate on which community you are talking about so that I could direct my staff to look into this situation and find out what we can do to rectify the problem.
In Repulse Bay their houses are not built adequately, they even seem to be unsafe to live in and that has to be rectified.
Some of the houses are still using the old stove heating system and they only have one heater in the house and it seemed to be unsafe.
It is that heating stove, it is so old, I felt that it was unsafe.
I will direct my staff to look into your concern, but I think that each and every one of us are aware that O&M dollars for housing are eating up the majority of our budget.
This is the very first time I have heard about this concern of Repulse Bay, but I will direct my staff to deal with this and I will keep you updated.
Thank you very much for your response.
Question 30 - 1(3): Status of Clyde River Hamlet Funding
My question is directed to the Community Government minister.
Last June during the session of the Legislative Assembly, we had a crisis in Clyde River and I tabled that to the House at that time and this was going to be dealt with.
Work has been done on this issue, but I have not been updated as to what you have done and I have not heard your position on this, or how much work has been done and what kind of developments have occurred.
In regards to Mr. Iqaqrialu’s question I know exactly where he is coming from.
One of our employees has been working on this issue for quite some time.
We have agreed that we will cost share a position with the Hamlet Council to hire a bookkeeper and I have had discussions with the SAO in the community.
There have been ongoing discussions with the Hamlet Council and my department and I would suggest that I have a meeting with Mr. Iqaqrialu and also the Mayor of Clyde River.
I think that we will be able to meet and discuss this further.
I know that there have been ongoing discussions between your department and the Hamlet.
I had a discussion with the SAO, the Hamlet Council and the employees of the Hamlet Council.
In order to carry out proper operations I was told by the SAO that they were contemplating cutting down their hours or their salary because of the deficit situation.
Those are some of the options that we heard from your department.
If that is going to be the case it is going to create a problem for the people of Clyde River and it is not a small problem.
We are going to have to deal with this issue and your department and your staff and the people of Clyde River are going to have to have further discussions.
If you cut down on their wages or you cut down on their hours…
Speaker (interpretation): Please sit down Mr. Mr. Iqaqrialu.
During oral questions you can not talk about general issues, but you can direct your question to the appropriate minister if you like.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): I apologize, of course we all make mistakes once in a while and it doesn’t intimidate me either because I learn from my mistakes.
My question, following the statements I made, are you going to be cutting back on the employee salaries or are you going to be cutting back on their hours?
Hon. Jack Anawak (interpretation): The union negotiates the wages of the employees.
The Hamlet Council, since they were established, get formula funding on a per capita basis.
The Hamlets, if I can use an example, if they are thinking about cutting back on the wages of their employees, we can’t do anything about it.
If they went into a deficit situation or went over budget, of course, the Department of Community Government will deal with the issue and we will talk with the Hamlet Council or the member of the Legislative Assembly about the problems.
We haven’t said that this is what we are going to be doing, but we have had discussions with the Hamlet Council and the appropriate member of the Legislative Assembly.
If they don’t want cutbacks, then we would have to start dialogues again.
If this problem cannot be rectified by the employees, then we would meet with the member of the Legislative Assembly and the elected Council of the Clyde River Hamlet.
We have reached our hour.