EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
So I would like the communities to have the best quality of flooring in each community.
Member's Statement 327 – 1(5): Recognition of Pangnirtung Volunteers II
I’d also like to thank my colleagues and the members that travelled to Pangnirtung with me.
I will be adding on to my statement about volunteers from Friday and name some individuals.
Meeka Arnakkaq, Qaunaq Qupee, Tauk Etuangat, Ita Qaqqasiq, Lisa Akpalialuk and Laisa Machmer.
Those are the individuals in my community that are well known for volunteering at different activities.
They also assist people that have lost relatives and in 2001 they collected over 10 thousand 500 dollars including 1 thousand 733 in March, 880 in April, in June they collected 1 thousand 191 dollars, September 963 and in October 4 thousand 628 dollars.
This is a group of people that collect money for compassionate travel.
They are lacking funds at the moment.
They fund raise to help individuals in their community that might want to travel to other communities to visit families.
I want to recognize them for the work that they do within the community.
Member's Statement 328 – 1(5): Providing Support for Suicide Prevention
Mr. Speaker I am glad to be in the House.
I had to travel home for a few days.
The community went through at hard time with the passing of a community member.
Mr. Speaker, I feel that we have a very large task today within the House.
I think we need to make changes in regards to suicide programs.
We need to do something about suicide prevention.
The communities need support and we don't always know the answers about how to support people, but as a government we need to work together, instead of ignoring this growing issue in the communities.
We all know that if I was out on the land and was stranded or I couldn’t find my way back the government would spend a lot of money for search and rescue.
I think that is how we have to look at this.
We need to seek more funds from the federal government.
Even though I raise this issue, I cannot stop it alone.
We, the Members of the Legislative Assembly have to start thinking about how to stop this.
We need to work together to collect ideas as to what needs to be done.
I know that there is a lot of work that we have to do and because of this we are not able to do anything even though we feel for them.
Member's Statement 329 – 1(5): Iqaluit Billets for Coaches and Athletes
Mr. Speaker, over the past two weekends including this past weekend, Iqaluit has hosted various territorial trials for the Arctic Winter Games.
Mr. Speaker, Iqaluit has hosted team members from all over Nunavut.
For some youth it was their first time in Nunavut's capital.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many Iqaluit families who have opened their homes over the past few weekends including this past weekend Mr. Speaker, to accommodate and house these young athletes and coaches.
I should also mention Mr. Speaker, that many of the Members of the Legislative Assembly here today have opened their houses over the last couple of weekends to house athletes and coaches from their home community.
Yesterday, the Iqaluit girls' soccer team won an exciting game against a strong Rankin Inlet team and I would like to congratulate the girls' soccer team.
I would also like to congratulate all the teams, the players and the coaches.
A special thank you to the residents of Iqaluit for their well known hospitality again for housing the coaches, players, and a special thank you Mr. Speaker to First Air, Calm Air, and Canadian North.
Our airlines not only brought forward reduced airfares but also were able to arrange some charters so that people could come from Arviat, Baker Lake, the Kitikmeot and from all over the Baffin.
Member's Statement 330 - 1(5): Carving to Chairperson of Health Committee
I would just like to say that within the Legislative Assembly procedures there are many committees like the Health Committee, Education Committee and so on.
The Health Committee worked with the Minister of Health and Social Services in starting the smoking cessation program.
Today he was presented a carving for this work.
I think it would only be fair if he passed it on to the Chairperson of the Health Committee.
Member's Statement 331 - 1(5): Ovilu Tunilee Carving Donation
As we all know on September 11, there was a great tragedy in New York.
In the constituency I represent there are a lot of carvers.
Ovilu Tunilee was recently in Toronto at a carving exhibition.
She did a carving of a female praying and it was in the newspaper down in Ontario and it was also in the Nunatsiaq News.
I would just like to thank her for donating that carving in memory of the tragedy in New York.
Return to Question 277 - 1(5): Sewage Lagoon & Trail System, Kugluktuk
I have a return to oral question 277-1(5) asked by Mr. Havioyak on November 19, 2001 regarding the sewage lagoon and trail system in Kugluktuk.
In response to your inquiry, I have discussed this problem with my colleagues and have agreed that the Department of Community Government & Transportation is responsible.
Community Government & Transportation has come up with a solution to this problem and the Minister of Community Government & Transportation will be happy to discuss this with you.
I hope that you find this information useful.
Please don't hesitate to call on me again if you have any further questions.
Item 6. Oral Questions. Oral Questions.
Question 331 - 1(5): Replacement Social Worker for Hall Beach
Mr. Speaker, last fall our very capable social worker who was a Qallunaaq and had children, moved to Iqaluit so that his children may have a better education.
His position is still vacant so I would like to ask the Health Minister if this position is going to be replaced.
Mr. Speaker, we’ve been through Human Resources for advertising for the positions of social workers in several of our communities.
We’ve just had a competition for four communities.
We’ve had several applications and we’re in the process of screening the applications right now.
So we’re hoping to make at least four job offers in the coming weeks.
Irqittuq, so my name will be pronounced properly it’s Irqittuq.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister for the Health Department mentioned that there are going to be four applicants for social workers.
Is one of these going to be for Hall Beach.
Mr. Speaker, we advertised for several communities and it’s through Human Resources that social workers are hired.
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services identifies the need at the community level for positions and Human Resources is responsible to hire and fill those positions.
Of the four positions that we’re doing job offers Mr. Speaker, I can’t say that one of them would be for Hall Beach at this time.
Some time last year the Minister of Health went to Hall Beach and he was asked about this position.
At the time he was there, I think it was some time in September, this job opportunity was going to be opened.
This position has been open for quite some time now and there was never any replacement. So Mr. Speaker is it because there are no qualified people who might fill this position.
Mr. Speaker, we’ve had some difficulty in recruiting social workers.
We have an on-going program.
We just had ads placed in the paper two weeks ago.
As I suggested just now we’ve had some good applicants.
We’re in the process of hiring four people right now for four of the positions.
So I’m not sure where the identification of the community would be yet or where those positions would be offered.
What I can say to the member is that we’re aware of the situation in Hall Beach.
And I would like to pass on my condolences at this time Mr. Speaker to the families who experienced a dramatic loss last weekend in Hall Beach.
And we will Mr. Speaker, fill that position.
Mr. Speaker, last fall the Minister of Health and I went to some Baffin communities.
At the time we were in Hall Beach he was asked if the job could be filled by an Inuktitut unilingual person from Hall Beach.
He said he would be open to this.
Is there going to be a job opportunity made available to this counsellor in Hall Beach.
Mr. Speaker, I am not aware who has actually applied for the position.
As the members know, the only thing that I retain under the Department of Health and Social Services is the hiring of nurses specifically.
All the other hiring in government by any department is through Human Resources.
So I don't know who has applied for the position or who the applicants are.
I wouldn't know that as minister.
What I can say to the members is there were several social service's graduates from Igloolik.
My understanding is Mr. Speaker, we have tried to approach some of those graduates to see if they were interested in the position in Hall Beach.
At the same time Mr. Speaker we are trying to get people who are qualified for the position.
That is done through Human Resources.
Question 332 - 1(5): Passports for AWG Athletes Travelling to Greenland
This is a question for the Minister of Community Government & Transportation.
He was mentioning earlier that there will be Arctic Winter Games held here in Iqaluit.
We know that there are going to be games in Greenland also.
With respect to the athletes that will be attending games, they'll be going out of Canada.
Will they be provided with passports.
Are they going to need passports.
Yes, even though people from Greenland are still Inuit, because they are out of Canada, it is obvious that they'll need passports.
But I will get some information on this about if they have passports and if it can be dealt with quickly.
We will see if they can be provided on an emergency basis.
The AWG Host Society will deal with this.
If this is going to be a problem with respect to travel, Community Government & Transportation will try and assist.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): I think some communities are trying to get passports in Nunavut.
The parents are really worried about the passports.
That is why I was asking this question.
If he is going to look into this can he inform me before we finish our session. I would appreciate it.
Perhaps by tomorrow I should be able to get back to him.
But with respect to our responses, I think we have to wait for 48 hours according to our rules.
So by tomorrow I should be able to respond to his question after I find out more about this.
As I stated earlier this is not really our responsibility, there is a society that is responsible for this.
The Host Society for the Arctic Winter Games is responsible for this.
But as our department tries to help with this type of issue I will look into it.
The day after tomorrow I will be giving a response to his question.
Question 333 - 1(5): Preservation of the Inuktitut Language
Mr. Speaker, in my Member's Statement I said I would be directing this question to the Minister for Culture, Language, Elders and Youth.
I was speaking about the Inuit language and we very much support the survival of our language.
Some communities in Nunavut are losing the Inuktitut language.
Culture and language, that's what it means for this department.
Mr. Speaker, my question is about language.
In what way are you trying to preserve culture and language in your department so that the Inuktitut language will not be lost.
Perhaps his question would be better directed to the Department of Education.
My colleague here may be able to respond to your question as it has to do with education and school activities.
We are all in support of preserving Inuktitut, but I would like him to direct this question to the Minister of Education.
I am not sure whether according to the rules you are permitted to pass the question on to another minister.
But in this circumstance, I will allow Mr. Puqiqnak if he wishes to refer the question.
Question 334 - 1(5): Preservation of the Inuktitut Language
I thought this was going to be directed to Culture, Language, Elders and Youth.
I thought it had to do with language issues and I was directed to put this question to the Minister of Education.
Respecting our language, there are other issues involved as well.
But with respect to Inuktitut in Nunavut communities, it is weak.
As I said earlier, the grandparents and the grandchildren can't communicate with each other.
They do not understand each other.
So I am wondering if the Department of Education can do something to help preserve this language to make our language stronger.
As a government department what can he do.
I informed my colleagues earlier that I would be bringing out a document regarding the language of instruction in Nunavut's schools.
The document that I am referring to responds to the member's question.
It talks about preserving the Inuktitut language and if we are going to be using the Inuktitut language as a working language. This would be very helpful.
All of this is in this document that I am talking about.
If we work closely together with our colleagues, it is going to show that we are in support of preserving the Inuktitut language.
I also want to work closely with the member on his concern.
It is obvious that many communities are losing their Inuktitut language.
I will be working harder on this.
I would like to thank the minister for the response that he gave me, that he will do more for the Inuktitut language.
Today even the daycare centres in Nunavut don't have very many kids that speak Inuktitut. They should have an Inuktitut speaking person so the children can keep on with their language.
They should teach the children Inuktitut in the daycares to preserve the Inuit language because some of them are not understood by their parents.
When they aren't understood they turn around and start speaking English.
Is there something that can be done in the minister's department for that kind of thing.
I would like to remind the members that the Bathurst Mandate states that in the year 2020 the Government of Nunavut would like to have staff speaking in Inuktitut and English for our government.
If we are going to try to preserve the Inuit language alone then we won't be following the Bathurst Mandate.
I would like to tell the member that the daycare workers are trying their best to hire unilingual Inuit people.
I told the Members of the Legislative Assembly when I first became a minister that the language of instruction should start at home, which is Inuktitut according to the wishes of the parents.
The parents are the ones that are responsible to preserve the Inuit language in their home.
Yes, I understand according to the Bathurst Mandate that we want the working languages for the government to be English and Inuktitut.
But the year 2020 is a long way away still.
In some of the communities the Inuktitut language is very weak.
It is not just myself, I know the communities themselves have to start preserving the Inuit language.
A lot of people in our communities would like to listen to the local radio about what is happening with the Nunavut Government.
As Members of the Legislative Assembly, we have said to our constituents that we would like to help them.
But we would also like to hear from the minister himself as to what his mandate is in his department.
We want the public to hear themselves that this is the mandate of the department.
I understand the minister's response, that the language of instruction has to come from the parents themselves, but the Bathurst Mandate has a goal for the year 2020 and I am just wondering when the minister will be tabling this document that he is talking about.
I would like to let the Members of the Legislative Assembly know that we have said Inuktitut will be a working language. We have recognized that we are already using it.
English and Inuktitut are already being used in the government departments.
I want to let him know what we have been doing as a department.
We have been getting Inuit instructors and we have been supporting Inuit instructors in the schools.
In Arviat there is Inuktitut curriculum being developed for the schools and this is continuing, Mr. Speaker, as you know since this is your community.
We also have a mandate whereby the language of instruction that should be used in the schools is identified.
This is continuing.
As I said, Mr. Speaker, before the end of December, I will be tabling a report on the language of instruction.
The parents want their day care services to have Inuktitut speaking day care workers. We are doing this in the day cares, hiring Inuktitut speaking day care workers.
I will be working with the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth on language issues and the cultural traditions of the Inuit people.
Those are the goals and objectives that we are aiming for.
Question 335 - 1(5): Ensuring Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is Used in Publications
This question is for the Minister of Education about his Minister's Statement.
I will read it briefly.
It says, "the mandate for the Department of Education is to produce a Nunavut curriculum and the resources needed to support this curriculum.
These books are the result of the partnership between three groups, Qikiqtani School Operations, Nunavut Wildlife Management Board and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans."
This is very impressive to have a list of words for wildlife but it doesn't have anything to do with Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
I don't want to always complain about things like this, but I feel that Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit should be included in those books, because we could have danger whereby if they produce a book and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is not included in it, then it could pose a danger to the public out there.
I wonder if the minister could make sure that Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is included in the curriculum.
I would like the member to retract those words because he has not read these books yet.
The minister would like the member to retract.
When I made my statement I said that in Nunavut we are developing curriculum coming from Nunavummiut, and it does not come from southern Canada.
It came from the people of Nunavut and the groups of Nunavut.
It is about birds and other sea mammals.
Mr Speaker, I don't want the minister to table documents that we have not read. Because whenever something is provided as a ministers' statement and we have not seen it then we don't know what it consists of.
This document does not mention Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit or that Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit would be incorporated.
It probably is but when the ministers provide something like this then we have questions.
I believe the issue here is that the minister has indicated that he will table a document.
So until that document is tabled it is difficult to make predictions or assumptions that there are certain statements are in there.
So I would strongly recommend Mr. Iqaqrialu, that we wait until the document is tabled and we all have a chance to read it and then we can discuss it further in the House.
Question 336 - 1(5): Suicide Prevention
This is in regards to the same question that Mr. Irqittuq asked of the Minister of Health & Social Services.
I have personally experienced trying to retrieve somebody who attempted to hang themselves and it is very hard on a person.
Mr. Irqittuq said that if an individual is lost, it is very expensive to search for them.
We already know that we have to rescue people, we have to provide search and rescue.
I want to ask the minister what kinds of things are they doing to try and prevent suicide in the communities.
Speaker: Minister Responsible for Health & Social Services. Mr. Picco.
Ever since last year, when we unveiled a very strong and aggressive anti-suicide campaign for Nunavut based on traditional values and beliefs, the things that we have heard from communities, for example we have trained over 20 counsellors alone in the Baffin Region in the last few months.
We have held workshops, suicide counselling workshops along with every Nunavut community in the last year.
We have an active protocol that is in place now with the Department of Education as well as Health and Social Services on intervention as well as post-intervention programs and activities in suicide.
We also have continued, Mr. Speaker, with radio messaging and commercials on TV and APTN.
As well as the posters and the advertising that we have talked about before.
I recognize and appreciate that.
I wonder if we have missed the boat somewhere by not making that much of a difference from the statistics that we see.
Does the minister plan to re-visit the methods that are used for suicide prevention and make a proper budget accordingly in the next budget session in February.
Mr. Speaker, I think the member has made a point that we are trying to do right now.
We have in place a mental health strategy, which includes the areas surrounding suicide.
Mr. Speaker, we actually have a trained psychiatrist now and are integrating with education, with our community health committees and the regions.
A strategy that would not only be culturally sensitive Mr. Speaker, but addressing the core need.
At the same time Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to point out that the Nunavut Government cannot stop suicide in Nunavut.
It is important to point out Mr. Speaker, that the solution comes from the families, it comes from the local families, and it comes from the community.
It comes from working together and identifying the causes before it happens.
Mr. Speaker, it is also important to point out that through post-intervention, Mr. Speaker, and intervention programs, we have been able to help any number of suicides, but we don't have statistics on the ones that you have stopped, only on the ones that have been successful.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Nunavut can't dictate tomorrow that there will be an end, what we can do Mr. Speaker, is provide support to communities, and to families and that's what we are trying to do Mr. Speaker.
At the same time, we need to be able to help our young people, because we are seeing an alarming rate, when you trend this over the last few years of our younger people committing suicide.
It has a range of issues, Mr. Speaker, from the socio-economic factors at home, as well as peer pressure and so on.
Those are the root causes of suicide that we need to address Mr. Speaker.
That's what we are working on.
Speaker: Thank you, Minister. Supplementary questions.
I am not sure as to exactly what the minister's answer is to my question.
I will thank the minister if his answer is yes, that we will increase the budget this spring to reflect the seriousness of this government in trying to support the communities to work with their families, with their communities.
So is the minister saying yes to me that he will increase the budget to reflect his statements about working with the communities.
Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Arvaluk. Minister Picco.
Mr. Speaker, that's one of the things that we are trying to do and as the member knows, the budget hasn't come before the House yet.
But one of the things we are trying to focus on, and I said it in my review, during the ministerial review.
I said that the focus of health has to be towards the preventative side of medicine.
That includes mental health strategies and so on.
As well as suicide prevention programs.
That’s what we are working towards.
But each individual in Nunavut, each family in each community has to take and accept responsibility for suicide.
It can't be done from the government and from Ed Picco in Iqaluit.
It has to be done at the local level.
Mr. Speaker, in communities where we have had success, where we have had several suicides and we have actually stemmed the tides in those communities, it has been through small working groups and the health committees at the local levels.
Where community groups take active intervention and post-vention into suicides Mr. Speaker.
So, the answer to the member's question is twofold.
One we are continuing on preparing a culturally aware mental health strategy and at the same time Mr. Speaker, we are continuing the messaging that we have put in place and Mr. Speaker, the member is correct we need to be able to look at the preventative side of medicine.
That's the focus when we get to the O&M of the budget of the Department of Health and Social Services.