EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Even though I’m the Minister of Education, I can say that Piqqusilirivvik employees have the same benefits as the Nunavut government employees.
I do apologize for making that error. Now I know that it’s under Nunavut Arctic College.
Can the minister further clarify? I mentioned that patients sent out on medical travel are not well looked after. When Piqqusilirivvik employees go on medical travel, they think they have to stay at the Tammaativvik Boarding Home because the staff there are elders.
Can you indicate whether Piqqusilirivvik employees are fully informed that they can be accommodated in a hotel if they do not wish to stay at Tammaativvik?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) The Hon. Minister responsible for Nunavut Arctic College, Mr. Paul Quassa.
I can’t really respond to that question because it’s not my responsibility. It is not my responsibility to care for the medical patients. It would be appropriate to direct this question to the Minister of Health.
Speaker (interpretation): I apologize, Mr. Keyootak.
Your questions are going all over the place, so I’ll end it at that.
Going back to the orders of the day. Please note that the time for question period has expired.
Reports of Standing and Special Committees on Bills and Other Matters. (interpretation ends) Item 13.
The Hon. Minister of Hudson Bay, Mr. Rumbolt.
Tabled Document 090 – 4(3): Correspondence and Other Items Concerning the Hudson Bay Consortium (Rumbolt)
It’s the second time today I have been called minister. I don’t know what’s up here.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table today a collection of letters and other items concerning the Hudson Bay Consortium, which is a working group to protect the health of Canada’s largest inland sea.
These documents also address the important work that is being undertaken by the community of Sanikiluaq concerning these issues.
Mr. Speaker, I will have detailed questions for the appropriate minister on the issue of the GN’s support for these initiatives before the end of our winter sitting.
Mr. Rumbolt, I’m sorry for not addressing you properly.
Tabled Document 091 – 4(3): Correspondence to the Members of the Legislative Assembly from the Kivalliq Wildlife Management Board (Sammurtok, T)
Mr. Tom Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I wish to table today a letter that has been sent from the Kivalliq Wildlife Board to the Members of the Legislative Assembly.
The Kivalliq Wildlife Board’s correspondence concerns caribou habitat.
Mr. Speaker, I will have detailed questions on this issue for the Minister of Environment at the appropriate time.
[Consideration in] Committee of the Whole on Bills and Other Matters. Bills 10, 11, 12, and 13 and Tabled Documents 73 – 4(2), 116 – 4(2), 140 – 4(2), 149 – 4(2), and 70 – 4(3) with Mr. Mikkungwak in the Chair.
>>House recessed at 15:49 and Committee resumed at 16:18
Chairman (Mr. Mikkungwak): Thank you. I would like to call the committee meeting to order.
I have a very long wish list today. We wish to continue with the review of the 2016-17 Main Estimates of the Department of Family Services, followed by the departments of Finance and Economic Development and Transportation.
If time permits, we will proceed with Nunavut Arctic College, followed by the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Minister, please introduce (interpretation ends) your staff.
I also thank my colleagues and those who are watching the proceedings.
I wish everyone a good afternoon.
To my right is my Deputy Minister, Rebekah Williams, and our (interpretation ends) Director of Corporate Services, Sol Modesto-Vardy.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you very much. (interpretation ends) We were on page D-5.
Branch Summary. Children and Family Services. Next name on my list, Mr. A. Sammurtok.
On page 130 (interpretation ends) of your business plan, (interpretation) I have a question. (interpretation ends) Your 2016-17 business plan indicates that the department will be conducting an assessment of the residential care needs for Nunavutmiut.
I just want to point out that the Department of Health had done the assessment. What aspects of the residential care service will be focused on this priority?
I’m sorry, but I’ll have my staff respond to that question.
The member asked a question on page 130. I might have a different copy. Which bullet did he asked about?
Please clarify your question, Mr. A. Sammurtok.
Mr. Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) On 130, (interpretation) it’s written twice, (interpretation ends) 2015-16, last bullet, and then 2016-17, last bullet. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman: Thank you. (interpretation) I believe it’s now clear. As the minister indicated, Ms. Williams.
I also thank the member for clarifying that.
The Department of Health and the Department of Family Services have slightly different mandates.
For Family Services, they have it as categories 1 and 2 related to the level of care.
For people with more mobility, we set aside space for them.
This is still in development. We are trying to ascertain the actual numbers, as well as determining who amongst our southern care institutions can be returned to our territory.
This is in relation to our wish to properly evaluate our practices.
This is proceeding fine at the moment.
Mr. Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) Costs of delivery of facility-based residential care are projected to increase significantly in 2016-17.
Can you provide further clarification on why these costs are expected to increase?
I don’t have the details on those subjects, so my deputy minister will respond to that.
Chairman: Thank you. Ms. Williams.
Perhaps the member can state which page that is.
Mr. A. Sammurtok, please clarify the page that you are referencing.
Mr. Sammurtok: D-5, Compensation and Benefits (interpretation) as well as (interpretation ends) Grants and Contributions. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Maybe he can restate his question.
Mr. A. Sammurtok, can you please repeat your question.
A. Sammurtok.  Mr. Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends)
Costs of delivery for facility-based residential care are projected to increase significantly in 2016-17. Can you provide further clarification on why these costs are expected to increase?
I would like to clarify that instead of Compensation and Benefits, it’s Contract Services. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Hon. Johnny Mike (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With respect to finances, Ms. Vardy will respond.
That increased amount is around $4.7 million in contract services between 2015-16 and 2016-17. It’s due to an amount that we have to have to establish residential care. That amount was sunset this year, 2015-16, so we have to ask for that money.
Also, that increase is due to the re-profiling of some of our contract services, which used to be in other areas, as mentioned yesterday, in adult services.
That’s why we moved some money to that part, which is supposed to be contract services. This is just for realigning our budget to the proper expenditures.
Mr. Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) In your business plan, if you go to page 129, residential care facilities for 2015-16, it was $29,306,000. For 2016-17, it’s now $34,122,000. Can you explain the increase?
Our official, Ms. Vardy, will respond again.
If I can ask the member to repeat the question so that I can properly look at the information here.
Can you repeat your question, Mr. A. Sammurtok?
Mr. Sammurtok (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) If you go to page 129 in your business plan under Residential Care, it was $29,306,000 for 2015-16.
Under 2016-17, it increases to $34,122,000.
He’s referring to page 129, $29,306,000 to $34,122,000.
That increase is due to increased rates of residential services.
As well, we’re getting more increased costs due to the Consumer Price Index.
Costs are increasing every year, especially this year. We sent out a tender for contracting and once we get all the outstanding offer agreements, we’re expecting that contractors will be asking for more increased rates. That’s the reason why our residential care costs are increasing.
If you look at the main estimates document, D-5, you will see the actual expenditure already like $31 million.
The trend is increasing and we have to meet that budget requirement.
This will be my last question. How many elders are on the waiting list?
Maybe I’ll say it in English. (interpretation ends) How many people are on the waiting list, elders at home, but due to continuing care services having no room, they have to wait?
Ms. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation) With regard to the figures and the number of elders awaiting space in these facilities, they are housed by the Department of Health.
The Department of Health as well as Family Services officials determine which patient would be eligible to be housed.
There is a process they have to follow to deal with elders on the waiting list.
Unfortunately, I cannot recite any numbers related to that question because the numbers are kept by the Department of Health.
We are on children and family services. Next name on my list, Mr. Okalik.
My first question is in your business plan for next year on page 130. The fourth bullet states that the Inuit Custom Adoption Recognition Act will be reviewed.
How will that be reviewed?
Hon. Johnny Mike (interpretation): Thank you. My deputy minister will respond to that question.
We have prepared a procedure to follow, but we will be reviewing it more closely to see how we can incorporate the  Aboriginal Custom Adoption Recognition Act, as this legislation is already in use.
Further, the previous review request is not new. It was sent prior to my secondment to the Department of Family Services.
What I can say is that this legislation has been misinterpreted in the past or that they tried to sidestep the legal requirements. However, what I can tell the House is that we don’t anticipate any major changes or amendments to the legislation.
Officials in the past who worked in this department highlighted the concern about sidestepping the legislation related to the Aboriginal Custom Adoption Recognition Act to ensure that we are in compliance.
That’s the only legislation we have for Inuit custom adoption that we actually use.
I know that there’s going to be a review. I will want to see how it will be reviewed so that we will know exactly what’s going to be done.
Hon. Johnny Mike (interpretation): Yes, I concur with my colleague totally. Indeed, when discussing aboriginal custom adoption and the practices related to that, with respect to that review, the Department of Family Services cannot really be involved. However, we want to review the legislation, as per my colleague’s question, as Inuit custom adoption needs to be properly recognized.
With respect to the review, I believe it can be collaborated on and resolved, not just by our department, and that is why I say that it cannot be done solely by us.
This is the only legislation that provides for Inuit custom adoption. Although the commitment to review it is there, other barriers remain, such as child apprehension, which results in disruption of many Inuit families.
That is what I would prefer reviewed in that light to move towards Inuit custom adoption practices because our traditional social practices can alleviate many problems, such as healing families.
If we were to incorporate them into the legislation instead, that is the preference here.
What we have endured for many years by complying with this legislation will most likely change again after the review of the legislation. That review should be withdrawn and let us review how to insert our traditional practices so that we can resolve these issues in our future.
I also thank the member for that question and stating that.
Indeed, I can only state that I agree that Inuit traditions should be assessed to see how to resolve our current malaise without looking at other issues.
Within that context, I do agree with the member, so I will direct our departmental officials to commence this work.
Mr. Okalik, are you done? Okay.
We are on (interpretation ends) Children and Family Services.
I would like clarification first. In your business plan, perhaps under page 129 at the top bullet, on page 137 in Inuktitut, if we look at the funding for last year, it was a little over $ 1 million and there’s an increase in headquarters.
What is the reason for the increase in headquarters?
Our official, Ms. Vardy, will respond.
That $1 million that’s added to child family services headquarters is slated for legal services.
That money was reallocated coming from the Guardianship Services. You will see a big drop in the other lines. We moved that $1 million to this area because that’s where it’s supposed to go.
This is the provision of legal services to advise child protection workers on the obligation in complying with the Child and Family Services Act.
That’s the $1 million for legal services.
Perhaps they will be dealing with the legislation.
Just below that, Child Protection Services, if you can give me the figure today of how many foster care children there are in Nunavut.
I know that some of them are in care outside the territory. So if you can give me a figure on the number of foster children.
Overall, at this point, we have 209 children and youth in foster care and we have about 250 foster parents providing this critical service for us.
The 209 that she just referred to, can she break them down for Nunavut and outside the territory?
My deputy minister will elaborate and respond to the question.
Children under care out of the territory who have a physical or mental disability are 61 and there are two that have been returned.
There are close to 60.
The others are in Nunavut. As of February 10, there were 376 foster care children.
The 60 that are out of the territory are not just foster children; they are housed in residential care facilities where they are physically or mentally disabled.
Perhaps you can clarify.
There are some children in foster care and there are various reasons for that.
If a child is in foster care for a day, how much do they pay the foster parents for one day for one child?
My deputy minister will respond to those questions.
Ms. Williams (interpretation): Thank you for asking that question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
If you have a foster child for one day, you get paid $43 in Rankin Inlet, Iqaluit, Whale Cove, Sanikiluaq, Pangnirtung, Arviat, Cambridge Bay, Kimmirut, and Cape Dorset.
They are paid $45 a day in Qikiqtarjuaq, Igloolik, Chesterfield Inlet, Clyde River, Naujaat, Coral Harbour, Hall Beach, and Baker Lake.
They are paid $47 in Pond Inlet, (interpretation ends) Resolute Bay, (interpretation) and Arctic Bay.
Foster parents are paid $50 a day in Taloyoak, (interpretation ends) Grise Fiord, (interpretation) Kugaaruk, and Gjoa Haven.
Those figures have been set up for quite some time. I am very pleased that the member is asking that question because we know that these figures are a bit on the low side for a daily fee in Nunavut.
How about for out-of-territory care? How much does it cost per day out of the territory?
Ms. Williams (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Down south, they are not just under foster care; they are in a residential care facility, which is more expensive.
If we look at a year, for example, it’s close to $300,000 per year. Sometimes they go over because they need to see a doctor or need other services. They’re not just fostered because they’re in the facility.
In Nunavut, if they need care and they have physical disabilities, they are paid over the figure that I gave according to the level of care they require.
I also thank her for her response.
I’m talking more about foster care children in Nunavut, not out of the territory. It’s evident that sometimes the children are fostered for a short period of time and some for a longer period of time.
Can you tell me the average? If we look at that, how long would one child be under foster care when we have to provide funding? Perhaps monthly or weekly, you can estimate the figure so that we can have it.
My deputy minister will explain that.
It works this way: some of them are just taken on an emergency basis for 72 hours or up to three years or even more if necessary.
If it’s a young person 18 or 19 years of age or older up to 25 to 27 years of age, they can be fostered in a home.
There are different types of foster children. There are those that are given to us by the courts.
I don’t want to make a guess.
Although I would like to provide a definitive answer, many different cases are dealt with through the foster system.
I may not have responded correctly to the question.
Mr. Joanasie (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, even though you did not respond to the question.
If you could have that available, then we could get that answer at a later time when we ask the question again.
There was discussion earlier about the review of the adoption legislation. Can you indicate to us how many children are adopted under the Nunavut adoption legislation?
From the information that we have and in response to your question, in Iqaluit, there are 20; in the Baffin, 50; in the Kivalliq, 70; and in the Kitikmeot, 21.
Those are the numbers of adoptions.
Does that include orphans?
Are there any orphans that need to be adopted?
That’s a good question. My deputy minister will respond to that.
When discussing Inuit custom adoptions in the context of aboriginal custom adoptions, when parents adopt a child, they do so in agreement with the biological parents and the prospective adoptive parents.
They first need to document their agreement, which is generally done with an adoption commissioner who documents the arrangements between the parties.
Further, the adoption commissioners are now trained by the Department of Family Services on the paper trail requirements and we also pay them $200 for each case they arrange based on this documentation.
There are major differences with an orphan who has lost their mother and father since relatives have the first right if they agree to adopt that orphan, so that can also occur.
However, with respect to the other avenues of adoption related to Inuit custom adoptions, sometimes a family will foster a child for many years who cannot return home and they end up being adopted by the family.
This is a more complicated process since there is a requirement to conduct a case study of the home by identifying the family members, what status they have, and this includes the kind of lifestyle that family practices.
The biological parents have to release their parental rights and transfer the children to social services.
That is another aspect of adoptions.
These are called (interpretation ends) departmental adoption and private adoption, (interpretation) as well as personal adoptions if they have agreed beforehand.
As an example, if I gave birth to a child, I can come to an agreement with any other prospective parent, irrespective of whether they are Inuit or non-Inuit, as that would constitute a private adoption.
There are three different kinds of adoptions handled by the Department of Family Services. The department doesn’t really handle the actual adoptions, but we document the adoption as per the paper trail requirements to ensure that that child’s birth certificates and social insurance numbers can be set up properly in the future upon the child becoming of age.
This includes the documentation required as to their identity or (interpretation ends) identification (interpretation) that require the correct information.
Today, how many adoption commissioners are there in Nunavut?
There are currently 28 adoption commissioners in Nunavut.
Do all the communities in Nunavut have an adoption commissioner?
With those 28 commissioners, is there one in every community in Nunavut?
The communities that don’t have an adoption commissioner are Cape Dorset, Chesterfield Inlet, and Whale Cove.
What are your plans to make sure that those communities get an adoption commissioner?
In Cape Dorset and the three communities, they have been spoken to and they are made aware through the Department of Family Services that they don’t have an adoption commissioner right now and if someone is interested, that person would be trained.
I also thank her for the response. I want to urge the minister to make sure that all communities have an adoption commissioner so that the next time when we go through this again, they will have adoption commissioners.
It was mentioned earlier that there is legislation on the use of the Inuit way on custom adoptions and that it’s being reviewed. I believe your deputy minister responded by saying that there may be a way to abuse that system.
How has there actually been abuse of the system?
The Department of Family Services fully supports Inuit custom adoptions.
Let us be aware of that because it always happens and we support it.
We would like you all to know that when there is an adoption happening, the Department of Family Services does not take part. The groups that are involved agree; the biological parents and adopters involved in the adoption.
I may not have explained it correctly the first time I tried to explain it.
My deputy minister will expand further on my response.
Regarding the potential for abuse that I brought up, we’ve had two or three incidents, no more than three, where the biological parents and adopters were not all Inuit who tried to take advantage of this system.
That’s why we decided that we need to review this to ensure that there are no loopholes that inadvertently allow non-Inuit to make an adoption through this piece of legislation on Inuit custom adoption.
Mr. Joanasie (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for answering my question.
This is just a general comment. I want to thank the social workers when it involves the future of children.
As parents and as a government, we have to have more options to make sure that they don’t turn towards a negative way of life, as some do seem to.
I just want to encourage the Department of Family Services to ensure that our children, boys and girls, are taken care of properly when they are under the care of the government.
We often hear through the news, especially in the south, where the government’s social workers had taken these children and then they ended up being neglected or abandoned.
We want to make sure that does not happen up here and we want to make sure that they are well taken care of until they are able to take care of themselves.
I’ll stop there.
I really feel strongly about this. We have to make sure that the future of Nunavut is good for our children.
We want to make sure that your department takes much better care of the children that are in your care.
I take that as a comment. I didn’t hear a question.
We are with Children and Family Services.
I would like to ask a question under Children and Family Services on page 129. Looking at this, it’s under item six.
Under Family Violence Services, “Community Social Services Workers (CSSWs) provide family violence intervention services.”
I’m sure that social service workers in the communities have to get involved in those types of situations.
What about using elder counsellors in those types of situations? Has the department been asked about this? Has this been considered by your department under Children and Family Services?
Hon. Johnny Mike (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will refer this question to my deputy minister.
If I understood your question, whether the Department of Family Services should intervene on a neglected or mistreated child, there’s usually a meeting with the parents and the family members of that child. If there are parents, grandparents, and family members who can make a contribution to the particular case, we would have meetings with them.
Children are considered to be very important. As Member Joanasie indicated, we have to make a better future for our children. It would be for the best interest of the child that we involve the parents, grandparents, and other family members.
It doesn’t stop there.