EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I again thank the member for his question and sharing his concerns about the alcohol issue in Iqaluit.
I want to assure the member that there will be consultations with the residents of Iqaluit. I’m not sure in what context, but we’re hopeful that the task force will hold public meetings in all communities with various agencies and groups. There are many agencies and groups working with people who have issues with alcohol and have a lot of knowledge that they can share with us, a lot of experience, a lot of good ideas and recommendations.
We’re hopeful that when the review is complete, all communities in Nunavut will have had input into the review of the Liquor Act.
Question 202 – 3(2): Nunavut Curriculum (Ningeongan)
As the minister is aware, I first asked my questions in regard to the quality of education that grade 12 students receive and graduation standards across Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask: are grade 12 exams reviewed to make sure that the students are receiving the best possible education?
The curriculum we use in Nunavut is still being developed as we speak.
All of the schools in Nunavut use the curriculum that is developed in Nunavut.
For example, the high school curriculum has been identified and they follow the curriculum that was produced.
If I understand him correctly, there is a standard curriculum that is used for the whole of Nunavut and they follow it, Mr. Speaker.
During my first line of questioning, as I stated, the smaller communities have too much work to do and too much to do in the larger communities, and they lack curriculum material.
I would like to ask the minister what kind of testing they perform with the teachers to make sure that the special needs students’ needs are met.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): When we start hiring teachers, we follow the same process we use to hire teachers. We look at their experience and level of education.
Also, the teachers and the principals are interviewed when they apply for an educational position. If there are a lot of people who apply for the position, they review the staffing process, Mr. Speaker.
I am not trying to disparage any teachers in my line of questioning; it speaks more to the level of education a teacher is supposed to have their students reach. I believe the minister misunderstood my question.
What I was referring to was whether or not teachers are fulfilling the required level of education a student is required to learn in their grade levels and whether the competencies of every teacher is reviewed periodically.
With respect to his question as to whether teacher competency is reviewed, I cannot ascertain that as I do not have those details.
However, with respect to the question of exams, which test the retention of the material learned by each student, we do indeed have these exams, usually at the end of each school semester and school year.
These processes are followed more closely and if the students are affected by the lack of teachers, I am unsure what factors we are discussing, but every situation has different factors and outcomes.
However, with respect to his question regarding the periodical review of teacher competency, I will have to take that part of his question as notice as I do not have the pertinent information on hand.
For your information, Mr. Ningeongan, your question has been taken as notice.
Oral Questions. (interpretation ends) I have no more names on my list. (interpretation) I want everyone to know that the next time you will be able to direct your questions will be during our next session in 2010.
Tabled Document 103 – 3(2): 2008-2009 Interim Financial Report (Peterson)
Yesterday, in my opening comments for Bill 7, I told members I had previously tabled the 2008-09 Interim Financial Report.
Today, I would like to clarify the record and table the 2008-09 Interim Financial Report.
Tabled Document 104 – 3(2): Final Report of the Independent Commission to Review Members’ Indemnities, Allowances, Expenses and Benefits (Speaker)
As required by section 37 of the Legislation Assembly and Executive Council Act, I am pleased to table the Final Report of the Independent Commission to Review Members’ Indemnities, Allowances, Expenses and Benefits.
Bills 12, 18, and 19 with Mr. Ningeongan in the Chair.
>>House recessed at 15:04 and Committee resumed at 15:39
In Committee of the Whole, we have the following items to deal with: Bills 12, 18, and 19. What is the wish of the committee?
We would like to commence with the review of Bills 12, 18, and 19.
Are we in agreement that we first deal with Bill 12, Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Protection Act?
Bill 12 – Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Protection Act – Consideration in Committee
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) I would now like Minister Kusugak, who is responsible for the Department of CGS, to make his opening remarks.
Hon. Lorne Kusugak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) I am pleased to appear before the Committee of the Whole on the proposed Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Protection Act, Bill 12.
Currently, there is no legislation in place that protects the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan or protects its members from creditors.
Unlike other pension plans and RRSP schemes that do enjoy protection from creditors, if a member of the NEBS pension plan has financial difficulties, a lending agency can potentially access the member’s pension and use those funds to satisfy any debt the member may have with the creditor.
It is very important that we protect the members from risk of losing their pensions.
In March 2009, the Northwest Territories passed a bill to protect members of the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan in the territory.
This legislation is a mirror of that bill, as it affects the same group of people in Nunavut.
This Bill 12 would provide protection from creditors for the pension entitlements of the Nunavut members of the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan.
The bill restricts the ability of members to pledge as security their pension entitlements under the plan. This is the first step in seeking overall regulation of the NEBS pension plan.
It is an important step that will protect the retirement benefits of plan members from potentially being seized to satisfy debt and ensure that those benefits go toward providing for the plan members’ retirement.
While many municipalities and housing organizations participate in the NEBS pension plan, there are a number that do not.
This means that we have hard-working municipal employees who spend their entire career serving our residents that do not have the benefit of a secure income in place for when they retire.
As Minister of Community and Government Services, I am prepared to take further steps and introduce draft legislation in the next session of this legislature that will regulate the overall operation of the NEBS pension plan.
Such legislation would give greater certainty to the plan and would strengthen it for the benefit of all its members.
I also see this draft legislation having provisions that would make participation in the NEBS pension plan mandatory for municipal employees in Nunavut, thereby ensuring that all of these hard-working employees have income security for their retirement years.
My department regularly consults with municipal community mayors through the Nunavut Association of Municipalities and SAOs through NAMA on the NEBS pension plan and will continue to do so to promote the importance of a pension plan for municipal staff.
I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman and colleagues, for this opportunity to outline this bill before the committee.
I would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have.
Thank you, Minister. (interpretation ends) Please introduce your witnesses.
To my right is my Deputy Minster, Kathleen Lausman, and to my left is Mr. Darren Flynn from our department.
Does the Chair of the Standing Committee on Legislation have opening comments?
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) As Chair of the Standing Committee on Legislation, I am pleased to make some opening comments as we begin consideration of Bill 12, Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Protection Act.
The standing committee recognizes that this bill mirrors legislation that was passed by the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories earlier this year.
During the minister’s appearance before the standing committee, members took the opportunity to raise a number of concerns in relation to the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan.
The standing committee notes that the 2009-2010 Business Plan of the Department of Finance of the Government of the Northwest Territories indicates that work has been undertaken to study the implications of splitting the existing NEBS pension plan into separate NWT and Nunavut pension plans.
During the minister’s appearance before the standing committee, he indicated that the Government of Nunavut is not in favour splitting the plan.
Members are in support of this position.
The standing committee also noted that although every municipality in the Kivalliq and the Kitikmeot provides pension benefits to their employees under the NEBS pension plan, only three municipalities in the Baffin do so.
The standing committee urged the minister to bring forward legislation to ensure that all municipal employees in Nunavut participate in the plan.
Mr. Chairman, a number of non-governmental organizations, including the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, the Nunavut Water Board and the Nunavut Literacy Council, participate in NEBS.
The standing committee supports clear information being made available by the government with respect to the process for interested employers to join the plan.
The standing committee recommends the passage of Bill 12 to all members. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Are there any general comments? Mr. Rumbolt.
In the minister’s opening comments, and also in the standing committee chair’s opening comments, they talked about many municipalities not participating in the plan.
Information provided by your department indicates that employees of the Municipalities of Arctic Bay, Cape Dorset, Clyde River, Igloolik, Iqaluit, Kimmirut, Pangnirtung, Pond Inlet, Resolute Bay, and Sanikiluaq do not participate in the NEBS pension plan.
Employees in all municipalities in the Kivalliq and the Kitikmeot participate in the pension plan.
Why do so few municipalities in the Baffin participate in the pension plan? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Hon. Lorne Kusugak: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Very good question.
The reasons differ from community to community. Some of the municipalities not on the NEBS pension plan do offer RSP plans to their staff. Most, however, do not.
So there are a number of reasons they choose not to.
It is my understanding that the communities are funded for this program. Are there any present rules regulating what this funding is used for?
CGS does fund all communities on a similar basis, so funding should not be an issue.
It’s all part of funding we give to all municipalities.
Mr. Rumbolt: So I’m assuming then the reason it’s not being done in these communities is because of either housing managers or senior administrative officers not taking the initiative to have staff participate in the NEBS program.
With regard to unionized communities compared to non-unionized, what is the difference? Are unionized communities more inclined to be involved with the NEBS pension plan?
Hon. Lorne Kusugak: Thank you. Thank you for the question, Mr. Rumbolt. If I may be allowed to have Mr. Flynn respond to that question, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Flynn.
Mr. Flynn: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Generally it’s our experience that most unionized communities are covered under the pension plan.
Chairman: Thank you, Mr. Flynn.
Mr. Rumbolt: Thank you.
Just lastly a comment, I am pleased to see in your opening comments the drafting of legislation to make it mandatory that municipalities be involved in the NEBS program because it’s like he said, too many people out there are leaving municipalities and housing after many years of service without any kind of income support or income security after they leave the jobs.
Hon. Lorne Kusugak: I couldn’t agree with you more and we will make sure that we communicate with all the parties involved or not involved with NEBS that could and should be.
It is very important, I think, that we go forward with ensuring that they all do because I think, in a lot of cases, they don’t realize the benefit of it at the time when it’s being discussed with them.
So we will make sure that the benefits are clearly identified to the employees.
It is a very important issue.
At times, as elected members and when we have to show our appreciation, we have to recognize individuals.
When I was the SAO in Kugaaruk, the regional staff at CGS in Cambridge Bay used to go to Kugaaruk to give us briefings on the pension plan. They used to be called the local government then, but they are called CGS now.
Some of the hamlet employees were reluctant to join the plan, but once we got a briefing on the pension plan from the employees based out of Cambridge Bay, we approved and joined in the plan.
In the opening comments of the Chair of the Standing Committee on Legislation, it recommends that we pass this bill, and I support it.
It was because of the briefing that we got from the employees that we are part of this plan.
In regard to having the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan, when you retire, you don’t have steady revenue anymore, and then you start thinking that you should have been a part of our pension plan.
If this bill is passed, we will start preparing to implement this so that anyone qualified can become a member so that they will have a fixed income at the end of the day.
What we are focusing mostly on is right now, the creditors can take the retirement benefits and that’s what we’re trying to stop here or protect its members from creditors.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me to speak.
I am quite happy that the minister has agreed to review this matter and that he will introduce this bill down the road. I think it’s mostly focused on the hamlet staff so that they can partake in this program.
The people who retire today undergo tremendous challenges, as the Canada Pension Plan doesn’t meet the cost of living up here. However, it comes nowhere near the cost of living in Nunavut.
We have to ensure we protect our residents and ensure that our employees are protected and are a part of the pension plan.
I don’t think that they should experience monetary problems in the future when they retire after a long career.
This is for the protection of the members.
I urge the minister to push this legislation through to protect our retirees, and I am happy he has committed to this initiative.
I’ll take that as a general comment of support.
Hon. Lorne Kusugak (interpretation): I am very pleased that we’re getting the support of the members. Possibly at our next sitting, we would like to introduce legislation.
I want to make sure that the hamlets do get funds so that they can join in these types of plans, the government and the employees putting in matching contributions.
I would like to thank you and we look forward to our winter sitting. At that time, I will make an introduction.
My question is a general question, it’s not in the bill itself and it’s not really in the opening comments.
With the recent troubles in the market in the past year, do we know what the status of the pension fund is?
If I may again, Mr. Chairman, I’ll have Mr. Flynn respond to that question.
The fund, as of November 30, has a market value of $64.5 million.
It had slipped last year to $51 million as a result of the market’s deterioration.
That was a 14 percent drop in the fund at the time, but it has since recovered that and is ahead of what it was at the time the market started to slide.
Absolutely nothing came through the microphones at that time to me, so I didn’t hear anything he said, sorry.
If I could again have Mr. Flynn respond to that, but this time maybe he will be audible.
That’s one of the few times I have not been audible, I guess.
The fund, as of November 30, is at a market value of $64.5 million. During the market downturn last year, the fund had actually slipped to approximately $51 million.
It has regained in the time since and is, like I say, at November 30, $64.5 million.
If I might add to that, when the fund was transferred to NEBS from the Government of the Northwest Territories in 1999, it had a market value of $18.9 million at that time.
I have no more names on my list for general comments. We will now proceed with the clause-by-clause review of the bill starting with page 1.
Clause 1. Allow me to clarify. We’re dealing with Bill 12, Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Protection Act.
Chairman: Is the committee agreed to Bill 12 as a whole?
Chairman: Do members agree that pursuant to Rule 62(2) that Bill 12 can immediately be placed on the orders of the day for third reading?
I would like to ask Minister Kusugak if he has any closing comments.
Hon. Lorne Kusugak: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank my colleagues for agreeing to the item. I would also like to thank Mr. Flynn, Kathleen Lausman, and others who have been active in bringing this Protection Act forward.
Thank you to your staff. (interpretation) Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses.
I would now like to ask the Minister responsible for the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, Minister Tapardjuk, to make his opening remarks.
Bill 18 – Language Statutes Amendment Act – Consideration in Committee
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman and fellow colleagues.
I would first of all like to thank the Members of the Standing Committee on Legislation for their review and support for Bill 18, the Language Statutes Amendment Act.
Bill 18 proposes only technical changes and will not impact the substance of either the Inuit Language Protection Act or the Official Languages Act, nor do we intend to alter the rights and duties enacted in 2008 in any way.
As Member Ningark correctly pointed out, Bill 18 essentially responds to the need to link back together the Official Languages Act and the Inuit Language Protection Act as we originally intended.
My colleagues will recall that clause 50 was approved by the Committee of the Whole in September 2008 and exceptionally added to the Inuit Language Protection Act.
This extraordinary measure allowed the government to begin immediately the implementation and consultation process we had agreed, without any unnecessary delay.
The concurrence of the federal Parliament with Nunavut’s Official Languages Act became effective on June 11, 2009.
As a result, we now have the authority to proceed and prepare the Official Languages Act for its coming into force after the government has completed mandatory implementation steps.
Bill 18 will first reverse many of the clause 50 provisions that are now unnecessary and will correct some minor punctuation, grammar, and spelling errors, as well as harmonize the wordings of our language statutes with those approved under the new Education Act and the Child Day Care Act.
Mr. Chairman and colleagues, as I mentioned in my Minister’s Statement on December 3, 2009, the implementation of the language legislation is currently our main project and focus. Bill 18 proposes only incidental and technical changes, but nevertheless important to ensure the continuation of our implementation and planning work.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would be pleased to answer any questions that you might have.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Minister Tapardjuk. (interpretation ends) Do you have witnesses that you would like to bring to the table?
Chairman (interpretation): Sergeant-at-Arms, if you would escort the officials, please.
Susan Hardy is on my right, who helped draft this legislation from the Department of Justice, and on my left is Stéphane Cloutier, who is with the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Minister Tapardjuk. (interpretation ends) Does the chair of the standing committee have any opening comments?
As Chair of the Standing Committee on Legislation, I am pleased to make some brief opening comments as we begin consideration of Bill 18, Language Statutes Amendment Act.
Nunavut’s new Official Languages Act and the Inuit Language Protection Act were passed by the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in 2008.
However, because the Official Languages Act had not yet obtained the required parliamentary concurrence, as required under the federal Nunavut Act, provisions were added to the Inuit Language Protection Act during its passage through the House to allow it to stand alone in the event that this concurrence was not obtained.
On June 10 of this year, the Minister of Languages and I had the privilege of appearing before the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs to provide testimony on the occasion of its consideration of a motion to concur in the passage of our new Official Languages Act.
On June 11, 2009, the Senate adopted the motion to concur in the passage of Nunavut’s Official Languages Act.
The standing committee recognizes that Bill 18 has been introduced in order to reflect these recent developments and reinstate the relationship that was originally intended to exist between the Official Languages Act and the Inuit Languages Protection Act.
The committee also recognizes the housekeeping nature of the bill’s technical amendments.
Since there are no general comments, we will now proceed with the clause-by-clause review of the bill. (interpretation ends) Bill 18, Language Statutes Amendment Act.
Chairman: Is the committee agreed to Bill 18 as a whole?
Chairman: Do members agree that pursuant to Rule 62(2) that Bill 18 can immediately be placed on the orders of the day for third reading?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Legislation.
As the Minister for Languages, this is just to clean up the legislation and I believe that they will start implementing the Act this winter.
I also would like to thank our staff, Stéphane and Susan Hardy, very much. I also would like to thank my colleagues for providing support to this bill.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Minister Tapardjuk and your staff, for working hard on that. We thank them.
(interpretation ends) I would now like to ask Minister Curley, responsible for Department of Health and Social Services, to make his opening remarks.
Bill 19 – Child and Family Services Act – Consideration in Committee
I thank the members for giving consideration to Bill 19.
I also thank the Members of the Standing Committee on Legislation for their supportive comments during our discussion of the bill.
The Department of Health and Social Services is committed to conducting a full review of the Child and Family Services Act during the next two years.
This broad review will include community consultations to allow Nunavutmiut the opportunity to influence the future direction of child welfare and family services.
In the meantime, however, certain aspects of the Act have been challenged in the Nunavut Court of Justice and were ruled to be in violation of the equality guarantee of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The court made it clear that the Government of Nunavut must make changes as soon as possible to address the needs of young people not adequately protected or served by the current Act or risk further court action.
This time-sensitive revision of the Child and Family Services Act is the Government of Nunavut’s response to the decision of the Nunavut Court of Justice.
Under the current legislation, when a person reaches the age of 16, they are no longer a “child,” and the Department of Health and Social Services has no authority to protect them from abuse or neglect.
In practice, the department has provided services to youth at risk through extensions of court orders or through voluntary support service agreements.