EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I was wondering if the minister can consider a centralized payment office for your power bills.
As I said earlier we’ve set up the office in Baker Lake to specifically to do that; to handle all the accounts receivable and accounts payables on their power bill.
The first point of contact for any customer, for example in Sanikiluaq, would be to contact the power plant operator and if I got an issue with my bill, that person would then give them a contact number and say to phone this office in Sanikiluaq, it may be in Iqaluit, it may be Baker Lake, and then from that point, we would ascertain what the issue was.
Sometimes, depending what the issue is it may be because of issue of the line going into the house and so on.
So the office in Baker Lake is set up as the accounts receivable and accounts payable office. There is a staff of bilingual people who speak in Inuktitut and can provide that information.
There were questions today that were posed very well.
Members, I am sorry.
Question 378 – 2(3): Food Mail Program (Alagalak)
Although this was asked previously I do want to ask this question again. It was asked by the Member for Cambridge Bay, but I do want to talk about it and it varies a little from his concerns in regard to the Food Mail Program.
This program is provided by the federal government so I would like to ask the Premier. I believe he is responsible for the Food Mail Program. First of all, the money that is identified by the federal government through news releases or through the media; Inuit people don’t understand exactly what they are.
The Inuit people don’t think that they are useful because the Inuit people believe that this money is all depleted by the stores even before it arrives to the community and many residents of Nunavut don’t believe that this Food Mail Program is beneficial.
Kivalliq residents and I am going to talk about lots of people who go to Winnipeg as patients. They know that basic foods that they have they know exactly how much they cost and then they go home and they look at the different prices between southern prices and northern prices.
First of all, my question to the minister is that in Nunavut does the federal government have an agent to monitor the Food Mail Program? Does the Premier’s office measure the impact of the Food Mail Program subsidy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Alagalak. Mr. Premier.
There are various entities that did research on this to make sure that it was an effective program.
They identified the point where they enter and I was glad that the minister stated the point would be from Winnipeg and not from Churchill.
I was glad to hear that on the point of destination, especially for fresh produce.
I know that this will be reviewed again; the system will be reviewed again.
This program is run by the federal government, and I had told the minister responsible that if he wanted us to provide any responsibilities that they should provide funding for it, at the same time because there’s room for improvement.
I am very pleased to hear that. I am very pleased to hear that you had responded that way and that there’s room for improvement.
I do want to state that we know in our community there were four points of destinations in Winnipeg, especially at the stores and also the expediters that are used.
I know for sure that they were applying for funding from the federal government for the Food Mail Program, but that funding is depleted right away.
I know that usually we look at the food prices, like for example ten kilograms of flour is $26. If that price is $26 how much did the federal government provide funding or provide benefits for?
The women who do all the shopping, they try to go shopping and they can’t even fill up the cart with lots of money, because it’s so expensive.
I know that the Premier...if a woman goes to the store that cares for her children, if she could see something written that this portion of it was supported by the federal government.
This kind of proof should be written out because Inuit people are not pleased with something that they cannot see; they’d rather see something tangible.
I was wondering if you can respond to the question that I had just posed because the people out there would like to see the actual results. As the minister what can you do to make sure that you show all these benefits to the public?
This has not been studied. Nothing has been shown.
I can approach the federal minister to let us know how much assistance they provided through that program.
There is a benefit, but the stores don’t identify how much of a benefit there is, because we’re not responsible for that.
So I could relay that information to the federal minister so that it can provide more assistance to the public out there.
Yes, I’m very pleased that you will relay that information to the federal government, and I’m sure that our Premier, we will be supporting the Premier in his work in regard to this.
Not too long from now, if you can identify this problem as soon as possible to the federal government.
And I’m sure that you will be receiving a report from the review that was done in the past.
In the new year of 2008, I know that we will have another session, perhaps you can provide, at that House, that information or table that information to the House at that time.
Yes, it’s very interesting to hear so I cannot respond to that question right away because I have to convey this information to the federal government and discuss this matter.
I’ll get more information on how they provide that assistance to the communities and how that programs works for the whole of Nunavut.
And that program is not just used for Nunavummiut it’s also used for other jurisdictions such as Quebec. So it’s combined with other Provinces, so this will have to be reviewed again by the federal government to see how much money is provided to Nunavummiut.
So after they accumulate all that information then I will be able to table that information by working with the federal government.
Also, I would like to tell the member that I cannot respond to that right away, but I can only tell the member that I can deal with this issue and inform the federal government but I will be able to report to him in 2008 as to what kind of response I receive from the federal government.
As you will notice the time for Question Period is now over.
Returns to Written Questions. Item 9. Returns to Opening Address.
Reports of Standing and Special Committees. (interpretation ends) Item 12. Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills.
Tabling of Documents. (interpretation) Member for Kugluktuk, Mr. Evyagotailak.
Tabled Document 178 – 2(3): Satellite Cultural School Correspondence (Evyagotailak)
Recently, it was announced that the Nunavut Cultural School would be built in Clyde River with two satellite campuses in Baker Lake, and Igloolik.
The setting up of this school is very exciting for all Nunavummiut, and I look forward to opening up those campuses.
Today, I would like table a letter from the Mayor of Kugluktuk, who was asking about the possibility of a third satellite school for the Kitikmeot region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Please bring the document up.
Tabled Document 179 – 2(3): Photographs of Beluga (Mapsalak)
I would like to table today some disturbing photographs of beluga recently caught near Repulse Bay.
This beluga’s muktuk was inedible, the whale appeared to have suffered from starvation, and the meat was inedible.
The whale was extensively tagged with what appeared to be a radio transmitter to track its movements.
I urge the Minister of Environment and his officials to review these photographs carefully.
Tabled Document 180 – 2(3): Embrace Life Council Annual Report 2005-06 (Aglukkaq)
I wish to table the Annual Report for 2005-06 for the Embrace Life Council.
Tabled Document 181 – 2(3): Nunavut Adult Learning Strategy (Picco)
It gives me great pleasure to be able to table today the Nunavut Adult Learning Strategy.
Tabled Document 182 – 2(3): FPT Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Culture and Heritage (Tapardjuk)
I wish to table the following document: the Federal/Provincial, and Territorial Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Culture and Heritage.
Minister of the Environment, Mr. Netser.
Tabled Document 183 – 2(3): The Polar Bear – A Guide to Safety DVD (Netser)
Hon. Patterk Netser: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following material: The Polar Bear: A Guide to Safety DVD in Inuktitut, English and French.
Please provide the document to the Clerk’s table and also the DVD.
Bill 28 – Deficit Reduction Act – Notice
Bill 29 – An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act – Notice
Firstly, Mr. Speaker I give notice that on Thursday November 30, 2006 that Bill 28, Deficit Reduction Act, will be read for the first time. And further Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on November 29, 2006 an Act to Amend the Income Tax Act will be read for the first time.
Speaker (interpretation): Please bring the document to the Clerk’s table.
Item 16. Motions. Item 17.
Bill 23, Bill 24, Bill 25 and Bill 26 with Mr. Evyagotailak in the Chair.
Before we proceed, we will take a 20-minute break.
>>Session recessed at 15:05 and resumed at 15:30
Chairman (Mr. Evyagotailak)(interpretation): Good afternoon. (interpretation ends) I will call the committee meeting to order.
In the Committee of the Whole we have the following items to deal with: Bill 23, Bill 24, Bill 25, and Bill 26.
We wish to proceed with Bill 26 and continue our review of the capital estimates for the Department of Community and Government Services.
If time permits we will commence the review of the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth.
Are we in agreement to continue with the capital estimates of the Community and Government Services?
Chairman: Thank you, kindly.
Minister Brown, do you have any staff that you would like to sit with you at the witness table?
Chairman: Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses.
For the record Madame Minister please introduce your staff.
On my right is Pam Hine, who is the Deputy Minister of Community and Government Services. On my left is John Dawe, the Director of Infrastructure.
And in the Gallery we have Mr. David Akoak, who is the ADM for Technical Services.
Everyone also knows Shawn Maley, who is also an ADM for Community and Government Services.
Members, yesterday we were on page J-7.
Questions from members. Questions to page J-7.
I didn’t finish my questioning yesterday, so I will continue.
The minister stated yesterday, and I did understand where she was coming from, when she stated that the monies will have to be re-directed because of the government finances.
Even though she didn’t say it, and when we’re having our Spring Session, we will probably talk about the operations and maintenance for the fuel division.
My line of questioning yesterday was in regard to the government and to the communities where they negotiated and because of circumstances, they will only be building a community hall, not a multiplex unit.
They won’t be able build the arena now because they’re in a deficit situation, and the minister stated that the arena would be put back in the capital plan if the government should be able to find the money.
Why do we have future years in here when we don’t know when that would be? Why is it that they have identified projects for future years when you don’t know that they’re going to be built?
There is $3,895,000 and down.
Why is it that after the negotiations between the government and the community, why is it that this project is not here in the capital plan?
Hon. Levinia Brown: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, colleague.
As he stated, there are slight changes every year, and it’s true, and I’ve gone through it as I used to be one of the council members for a hamlet.
Sometimes, and I’m well aware of it, there is a change in the priorities.
And, looking at the five-year capital plan, it’s not here as it was deleted. The infrastructure committee was involved and staff of Community and Government Services.
I probably can say that because of the shortage of funds that there were some cuts to some projects, and very likely we will be seeing more changes next year because the communities have to be fully involved in the discussions and identify what their priorities are.
If that’s not the case, then there are not going to be any changes to what we have put together.
Again, after having said that, we do make changes when we don’t have the money to start a project.
The Nunavut Association of Municipalities is also involved in these discussions, and again, the arena is not in the five-year capital plan.
Mr. Dawe can make a supplement to my response.
The Pond Inlet Community Hall project started out as a complex which would have contained both the community hall and the arena combined together.
When we got to the detailed design and construction stage we found of course that there was not enough money allocated.
This was a particular time just about at the start it seems of the general rise in prices in the construction industry throughout.
We’ve seen that in a number of other projects that we have current as well. This particular one, there was just no way that we had anywhere near the money that was required to complete the combined project.
So, rather than defer the entire project, we thought that we could come up with enough money to complete the community hall part. The design for the arena part is proceeding, and there have been arrangements made in the site work that’s already on the way so that when money is identified we should be able to complete the project and put the arena back on the community hall as it was originally intended.
That decision, that action, had more or less been taken by the time the NCIAC considered this project. In our consultation process, the community did indeed identify the arena as its very top priority project, but there were the financial issues, as I have already mentioned.
Also the fact that with any project this large, there is also some real concern for the capacity within the community and within the contracting industry to undertake a single project, or two sets of projects that large, so we really felt it was best to be defer it when the project came before the NCIAC, the Infrastructure Advisory Committee.
A part of that process involves analyzing these projects and applying a series of ranking criteria, which is basically descriptions of the project that resulted in a number that gives it its importance coming through.
The arena actually ranked somewhat lower in the priority rankings than quite a number of other projects.
Some projects in Pond Inlet, itself, even ranked higher than the arena project.
So given the financial realities that we are faced with it was hard to scrape together enough funds for this large project, or fund instead some other very important projects, some within the community and elsewhere within the territory as well.
That was the kind of the basis which went behind the decision to leave this project deferred for the time being. Hopefully if fiscal times improve a little bit within the next year or two we may be able to re-identify that and work the project back into the capital plan.
Mr. Arvaluk: Does the department already know more accurately what it would have cost to build a complex rather than just the community hall.
If he does know, then what would that have been and why is it not in the future years?
Why is it not identified in the future years, when the money can be found that would have been the identified amount for future years?
I would like Mr. Dawe to respond to that question.
The current works that we have awaiting contract for, for the construction of the community hall right now is standing at about $5.8 million, and that’s for the community hall section alone.
We do not have the detailed design completed on the arena part yet, it’s in progress as we speak, so to nail it down exactly, will not be possible until we get the detailed estimates.
However, there are earlier past estimates that we did have, and I think at the time where this $5.8 million, was estimated fairly recently, it looked like the arena was going to run possibly in about the same area of cost.
Perhaps the $5 to 6 million range additionally for the arena alone, so as you can see it would have doubled the cost and that extra $5 or 6 million dollars would have had to be found in addition.
So it’s, we just figured with the financial pressures that we are under, that there were more important projects that we should put that money into for the time being.
In the summary sheet for 2007-08 Capital Estimates targets the Government of Nunavut five year Capital Plan 2008-12 that I see in the prior year similar to $1.7 million and 2007-08 is 400.
And there is nothing else identified for it to total $5.8 million in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.
How do you expect to get that done by next year without actually identifying the total for $5.8 million?
I would also like to Mr. Dawe to respond to that question.
This project is a multi-year project and it’s been underway for quite sometime. The money the member refers to as previously allocated was indeed collected up over for the past couple of capital budgets.
Some of it has been spent.
The figures there are not actually reflective of the total of everything that we have.
We have identified a further $800,000 and I should point out as well that the figures that we see here are the Government of Nunavut 50 percent of the total figures required.
So this is a project that is under the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, one of the federal programs that we have been referring to during this session, and that is 50 percent federal money and 50 percent Government of Nunavut Vote 2 money.
So what we are looking at here in the document before us is the Government of Nunavut’s 50 percent.
So that is in affect doubled. Again, the totals may not be necessarily added up to the exact $5.8 million, but that is because some of the work is already in progress. Some of it has been done and we are confident that we have sufficient money to undertake the work as we’ve awarded the contract.
I understand that over a million dollars difference from what is being identified that it will be identified through federal contribution.
My next question is not going to be so much on the budget but for the department that gets funding from the federal government for that kind of projects. We also know that in some mining communities the mining companies will build arenas, community halls, airports and etcetera. We have seen that in Nanisivik.
And the Baffinland wants to use Pond Inlet as their base for their supplies and transportation for their personnel rather than actually drive directly to the mine site.
I would like to ask the department if they had discussions with Baffinland that under Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement negotiations with Qikiqtani Inuit Association and the community of Pond Inlet, if that can be placed as part of the Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement.
Have they had the discussion in that area?
Hon. Levinia Brown (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What the member is saying is very good to hear and that the mining communities when they want to assist they help a lot and we have seen that, but I don’t think the government can negotiate with Inuit Impact Benefit Agreement.
Maybe they can negotiate with the mining companies.
It’s very nice to hear if the mining company would do that and that would benefit the community a lot.
The Government of Nunavut has the design; the Government of Nunavut has the information; the Government of Nunavut has the budget identified in their internal information.
The Government of Nunavut would save, I think Mr. Dawe said, approximately $5 to $6 million if this can be built from other parties.
Would the department be interested in giving all that true information to the negotiators of Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreements and encourage the Government of Nunavut when they are participating - I believe that they will also be participating on the Land Claims Agreement - to identify what is needed, what’s the priority of the community but it cannot be budgeted by the government? Would they at least do that?
I’ll let my deputy minister, Pam Hine respond to that.
The Inuit Impact Benefit Agreements, the IIBAs are actually negotiated directly with the regional Inuit organizations. It’s not the Government of Nunavut that negotiates those agreements.
However, we would certainly be interested in talking with the regional Inuit organizations and mining companies, as well, if they are interested in participating in the construction of infrastructure in the communities for the benefit of the community.
So we would be willing to have discussions, but just for clarification the Government of Nunavut or the Department of Community and Government Services do not directly negotiate IIBAs.
Did I hear the answer that they have not spoken to any Inuit organization or the mining companies for the possible inclusion of the IIBA from the point of view of the government and the communities?
By identifying that they have a capital plan with the community but they cannot fund it right now.
If I understand that part correctly then would the department be willing to do that?
If the answer is yes, I think that I heard that the answer is yes; would they do that as quickly as possible because, I believe the negotiations have been planned already if they have not started already with Qikiqtani Inuit Association and the Baffinland, and the federal government?
As the government we have not talked with the IIBA, or Qikiqtani Inuit Association but we are waiting.
It sounds like Mr. Arvaluk is asking us to do that.
If they are willing to do that we will be quite open, but they haven’t approached us.
If they’re willing then we are in full agreement.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): Mr. Chairman, I appreciate her response because they’re already negotiating and if the government just waits they will not be involved because the government has to support what the community needs.
If they cannot accommodate the community needs, then they have to look for other sources.
The government annually states that we have to help the youth, we have to provide them with proper schools with proper sports complexes or gyms, and the minister is aware that the arena has not been entered by any government officials.
It doesn’t look very nice, and Jordin Tootoo is now in NHL; since he joined the NHL, a lot of people are playing hockey.
The only time they can use the arena is when the weather is nice, maybe they can if you’re wearing a qullittaq.
If the minister or the government believes what they say that we should help with the youth we’ll have to look for or wherever whether it’s through IIBA or federal government or Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated to come up with resources because they know the plan.
The community themselves or myself personally, we even have the different figures because the community or the department is fully aware.
Are you going to be looking for resources in any way you can to complete, to renovate the arena.
Just before I get to Madame Minister, I would like to recognize a couple of ladies from my region. Nora Niptanatiak, Cindy Roach, they’re with the Department of Health and Social Services and they’re from Cambridge Bay.
I am in full agreement to some of his comments but as a department, as a government we have policies and regulations to follow.
We don’t have that many resources and we wouldn’t have much power to negotiate with Inuit Impact Benefit Agreements.
Maybe if they approach us or the Qikiqtani Inuit Association because I believe IIBA is under QIA. We are open for any talks or negotiations.
What the member was saying, yes, it’s very true that we have to look for resources for funding from different groups. Those groups can approach us, but we have a different way of planning.
My last question. The federal government will fund 50 percent of the proposed arena.