EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Speaker (interpretation): Welcome, everyone, to the Legislative Assembly.
Before we commence today’s question period, I would like to take a moment to caution members with respect to the practice of quoting from documents that are not formally before the House.
As members will recall from my ruling in the first session, the issue of what documents may be referred to in detail during proceedings requires a measure of care.
There is no absolute prohibition in our rules with respect to the quoting of documents that have not been formally tabled in the House.
To illustrate, section 1(b) of our question period guidelines states that a question must, and I quote, “...deal with a matter reasonably assumed to be within the present knowledge of a minister.”
A member could certainly quote freely from an official news release issued by the minister, even if the document in question has not been formally tabled in the House.
To specify otherwise would unreasonably stifle the debate.
Correspondence, however, should be treated with particular care, and members would be well advised to ascertain whether the subject matter dealt with in the correspondence is reasonably within the knowledge of the minister prior to quoting at length from the letter in question.
Nonetheless, making reference to the existence of a letter that is in the member’s possession is not beyond the boundaries of debate, and ministers are reminded of their right to decline to answer any question.
Question 038 – 2(2): Human Rights Tribunal Location in Coral Harbour
I would also like to thank him for his minister’s statement; I am glad that he is still supporting devolution.
I am very happy that he is going to continue with the devolution.
My question is, what kind of criteria did you have when you were dealing with the human rights tribunal, that the location would be in Coral Harbour?
Once we started looking for the location, as I stated last spring, we had to focus on the smaller communities.
I requested support from the members, and I’m very pleased that they were supportive.
After having discussions with the members, I gave direction to my officials to give support to the smaller communities.
So, that was one of the criteria we used when we relocated to Coral Harbour.
The member for Coral Harbour has been very supportive of this.
My second supplementary.
The whole of Nunavut and the Legislative Assembly and Nunavummiut believe that they want Inuit values to be part of the government.
For that reason, for the executive director of the human rights tribunal, are you going to put that out for competition?
Yes, we had to get a director through the legislation, so we put that out as an advertisement; they’ll be advertising for positions.
My question is very important because people in Nunavut would like to have equal opportunities to compete for public service positions.
So, will the Premier assure this House and Nunavummiut that the position of executive director for the human rights tribunal will be put out for competition before too long.
Yes, we will go to the competition process.
Right now we’re busy setting up the office in Coral Harbour.
Once that is done we’ll look for employees, not just the executive director.
We also have to find two officers.
We’ll go through the competition process as soon as the office is up and running.
Question 039 – 2(2): Southern Legal Services Contract
Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Justice.
I know that the minister himself is a member of a bar here in Nunavut, the Nunavut Bar, and that bar is not very big; it’s a small bar.
He told me that there are some nuts in that bar.
We know that there are only 45 members of the Nunavut Bar; as a result there is a small number of professional lawyers within the territory.
Hopefully, as the graduates come out of the law program it’s going to be increased.
So, my question to the minister today is, given that small number, is the requirement for seeking legal services outside of Nunavut... .
I would just like to ask the minister what the practice is with respect to using non-resident lawyers for contract work in Nunavut.
(interpretation ends) At certain times we require services from outside, but our practice is to try and get local lawyers wherever possible.
But, that is not always possible, so we sometimes contract out services to lawyers from outside Nunavut.
We try and provide additional support for local law firms.
We have rates set; we have rates for local lawyers in some instances, so we try and support the local economy as much as possible.
It’s good to hear that lawyers up here are getting paid more than lawyers from the South.
Usually they have a little better grasp of how things work up here.
My question is that you said they contract legal professionals in this House.
I would just like to ask the ministers, what approach does the department use in getting these contracts? Are they sole-source contracts?
Is there an RFP put out?
I am just wondering if he could explain how those contracts are arranged, whether they are sole-sourced or tendered?
In some cases, we work with other governments, like in broad cases that involve other jurisdictions.
We share counsel in some instances.
It is not always possible to just sole-source but to work with other governments.
So, it varies. I don’t know exactly how many contracts have gone through sole sourcing, or any other means, so I could look into it further.
I appreciate the minister’s response about taking a look at how many of those contracts were sole-sourced out, as he had indicated.
I am just wondering, while he is looking into it, Mr. Speaker, does he have an idea, if he doesn’t have the numbers with him here, if he could also look into approximately how much the government spends annually on legal fees outside of Nunavut?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. Mr. Okalik.
Speaker (interpretation): Mr. Tootoo, your last supplementary.
I talked about the bar and the bar development.
I am sure the members of the bar would like to be... . Instead of being small, like maybe a Kitkat, it could turn into a Mr. Big and be a larger bar with a lot more legal professionals working here in Nunavut.
Given that, with the minister looking up how much is paid outside of Nunavut for legal fees, would he also be willing to provide a comparison between legal fees that are spent outside of Nunavut and those spent inside of Nunavut.
In some cases you have to find the expertise wherever possible, so it may look like it is skewed.
But I will gladly provide the information.
Question 040 – 2(2): School Program Funding Cut
To the Minister of Education: as I said earlier, (interpretation) $53,000 has been cut for Coral Harbour’s education use.
I was wondering if you can put that back.
Speaker (interpretation): The Minister of Education, Minister Picco.
When I met with the Kivalliq district education authorities, including Chesterfield Inlet’s, in Baker Lake this summer, an issue had arisen about how funding allocations were made to the DEAs in regards to our custodial or janitorial staff.
In the case of Chesterfield Inlet, they haven’t had a decrease.
Indeed, Mr. Speaker, the money that they had last year in the budget is the same as this year.
The difference is the $53,241 that the member is speaking about; it is money that the Department of Education held back from the DEA because we are actually paying their salaries now ourselves.
In actuality, the total cost of the salary for the janitor in Chesterfield is $71,744.
So, there is no cut, there is no decrease.
The facility that is in the old St. Theresa Home, we have actually given an extra $30,000 to the DEA in Chesterfield Inlet so that we can look at some of the special needs of the students from that home.
It states here in the letter from the district education authority and the principal, Peter Larson, and Andrew Kadjuk, in this correspondence that I just received, (interpretation ends) that for the Chesterfield Inlet District Education Authority there is a reduction in funding from 2003-04 to 2004-05; the amount of the decrease for the current year is $53,000 plus a few.
Speaker: (interpretation) This correspondence was actual fact?
Did Minister Picco see that statement, or did you table that in the House?
Mr. Netser: I had shown him the letter just recently.
There is no saying that the details, which you have to look at in this case... . The principal and the district education authority are saying that there was a reduction of $53,241 and that is correct.
What has occurred is that we have held that money back because we are actually paying those salary dollars.
So, the $53,241 was allocated to the janitorial staff; we are actually paying the janitorial staff.
There wasn’t a decrease, because we are actually spending the same amount of money.
The district education authority doesn’t have to spend it.
The actual cost for the custodian is $71,744 dollars.
We are actually paying more towards that and so we are not penalizing the district education authority.
On top of that, the district education authority in Chesterfield Inlet has received an extra $30,000 for the special needs of the students.
It is my understanding that for the operations and maintenance budget for Chesterfield Inlet, $121,294 in 2003-04 and in 2004-05, it is the same budget: $121,294.
The only difference is the way we have actually held back the money, and it’s the same in other communities because we are actually paying those dollars now.
My next question is in regards to the Sammurtok School in Chesterfield Inlet.
The community has been requesting to have the gymnasium expanded.
We have seen nothing to date.
We have no monies that could be used to expand the gymnasium.
It was supposed to be dealt with this summer.
We will have an opportunity to discuss in detail the capital budget of the Department of Education, including the concern with the gymnasium.
I want to say that the member has been very strong in representing the needs of Chesterfield Inlet when we looked at the issues around the school.
I know we had an opportunity with the Premier this summer to be in the community with the member.
So, I will get the information on Chesterfield Inlet for him during the debate that we will have on the capital budget.
Question 041 – 2(2): Reassigned Position in Arviat
My question is directed towards the Premier, Paul Okalik, who has the overall responsibility for the government’s decentralization initiative.
(interpretation) In my riding, in Arviat, we are concerned.
I am going to be asking questions in regards to the positions that have been put in the community of Arviat.
There are concerns that some positions are being filled, but we have been hearing, subsequently, that these positions were moved out of Arviat into other communities.
They’ve been given the opportunity to move to other communities.
What’s happening is these positions are being moved out of Arviat.
(interpretation end) I want to give the Premier a chance to set the record straight on this matter. (interpretation) Have any Arviat-based Government of Nunavut decentralized jobs in the Department of Education, Nunavut Housing Corporation, or Nunavut Arctic College been relocated out of the community or scheduled for relocation in the last twelve months?
That is my question right now, Mr. Premier.
I know of one instance where the head of the college has been temporarily reassigned to Iqaluit to try and provide more support to management here.
I know that is a temporary arrangement to try and get a better standing for the college.
So, yes, that has been the case here but I don’t know of any others in any other departments.
I believe that the Arviat situation has been a very positive decentralization experience over all.
Mr. Alagalak (interpretation): Mr. Speaker, possibly what the Premier can do is find out exactly what is happening.
I would like to ask the Premier to give us an update on this situation in Arviat.
I have a supplementary.
As of June 30, almost 15 percent of Arviat’s positions were vacant.
That’s the situation to date.
The Government of Nunavut is getting onto six years old, but those positions have not been filled in Arviat.
Has the situation improved since then?
Do employees who accept decentralized jobs have the right to transfer their own positions out of the community, or are they given the option to move their positions to another community, wherever they want to relocate to?
Even if the original plan was to have that position in Arviat, do these employees have the right to move to another community of their choice?
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): I heard the questions.
I’ll just respond to the last one.
In regards to the decentralized jobs, they have to stay in the same location.
I’m not calling these individuals liars.
I’m representing the community of Arviat, and I can’t say that they’re liars.
But, there was such a case a few months ago, and it’s been more than one position that was moved to another community.
I would like the Premier to work with the departments. Because of our excellent education system, I would like the Premier to make sure that these people know that they can’t relocate their positions.
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): From what I know, none of this has happened, and if they have to relocate the positions, it would have to go before cabinet, first of all.
The college is for the whole of Nunavut, and we want to make sure that it is operating properly.
This position was temporarily over in Iqaluit.
It is not up to employees, however, to move a position to any other location.
If there was such a case, then there has been a breach.
Question 042 – 2(2): Delay of Resupply of Fuel
My question is directed to the minister responsible for petroleum products, Minister Kilabuk.
A month ago we had a serious problem in Repulse Bay.
I would like to ask a question regarding Repulse Bay, where they had to keep the lights on and then drain the fuel that had already been bought by the homeowners.
I would like to ask a question to the minister on why there was such a delay in the fuel re-supply for Repulse Bay.
I believe there were three communities in Nunavut that had a delay in the re-supply because they had over-consumed what we had originally planned.
Repulse Bay was one of those communities, and I want to reassure the member regarding the problems that were encountered with fuel supplies being inadequate.
Was part of the problem of the delay that the supply ship that was coming into my community was diverted for military exercises?
I am not aware that was one of the reasons for the re-supply delay to Repulse Bay.
Could the minister look into this situation and see if that was part of the problem and report back?
I will be able to look into it and see what the reason for the delays were in re-supplying these communities.
We don’t like to see instances like this.
I would like to assure the member that our department worked extremely hard to make sure everything was supplied on time.
I have five names on my list.
Mr. Evyagotailak, Mr. Barnabas, Mr. Peterson, Mr. Curley, and Mr. Tootoo.
Question 043 – 2(2): Containment Conference
On November 18, Thursday, one of our leaders from the Baffin region had mentioned that there are already enough contaminants in the arctic. I believe that is so, too, that a lot of our people from the Arctic are worried about nuclear waste.
My question is for the Minister of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Mr. Speaker, it has been remarked that decisions are underway with Inuit bodies like ITK on these issues, on dumping nuclear waste in the Canadian Arctic.
My question for the Premier is very straightforward: what is the Government of Nunavut’s formal position on this issue?
Speaker (interpretation): Mr. Premier. Mr. Akesuk.
When we were talking about contaminants at a meeting with the Baffin leaders’ summit, it was voiced as a concern.
We do not want to see the dumping of nuclear waste in Nunavut or in the arctic.
We’re going to be looking at it very closely and we will be opposing this proposition.
I would like to know if the ministers have raised this issue with the Prime Minister, yes or no?
I will be traveling to Reykjavik with Minister Dion, the federal environment minister.
I will mention that to the minister and send her the message that we don’t want to see any waste being left behind, dropped, in Nunavut in the future.
It has been reported that public meetings will be held in Iqaluit in early December.
Will the Government of Nunavut be there?
Yes, we’ll be there.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. Oral questions, Mr. Barnabas.
Question 044 – 2(2): Increase Senior Fuel Subsidy
My question is for the Minister of Energy and of Education, concerning issues connected to his portfolio.
On October 20, 2003, the Minister of Education announced changes for the Seniors Fuel Subsidy Program.
This program is funded through the income support division of the department.
In July of this year, the Government of Nunavut revealed the general price increase of the 8 cents per litre on all fuel products in all communities that would go into effect on August 1.
Mr. Speaker, while I think the people who can afford to buy big-ticket items in larger communities can support this increase, I’m concerned about the impact on seniors in smaller communities such as the one I represent.
My question is this: in light of the fuel price increase, will the minister review the Seniors Fuel Subsidy Program?
If there is any type of issue that comes up that affects the program offered by the government, including the Seniors Fuel Subsidy Program, then we will take the opportunity to review the amount.
Mr. Speaker, the seniors fuel subsidy is accessed across Nunavut.
At the present time, the uptake on the program has not been very high.
I believe there are 45 people that took advantage of the program in the last fiscal year.
Mr. Barnabas: Qujannamiik, Uqaqti.
A concern that I raised in my member’s statement was about some elders’ houses having their power cut off without notice.
Can the minister tell us today what the Qulliq Energy Corporation is proposing to do about this concern in each GRA, with respect to terms and conditions of these services?
There have been some misconceptions in the past on how the notification process goes forward with the power corporation and indeed, they just don’t come in and cut someone’s power off.
There are notices given out based on the invoice or the bill that the customer receives and they are contacted through the community.
The general rate application proposal right now is before the Utility Rates Review Council. It’s to deal with the general rate application that has been put forward by the power corporation.
It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the way the invoicing or the billing or the hook-ups or cut-offs are done by the corporation itself.
However, if the member has a specific issue where a constituent of his has been cut off without notification, if that member would bring that information to me then I can actually check and see what actually occurred on the file.
It has happened, and it has been over and done with, and I know the individual.
We understand that there were people that came to my community.
What I am talking about is the support that is given to the elders.
On May 26 of this year, the minister of the corporation said in the House that he would establish a committee or someone to review the billing system.
To date, I would like to know what is happening with that.
First of all, on the corporation itself, there was a concern raised that the members and the Government of Nunavut are well aware of, with the issues around the billing.
The billing services of the corporation were reviewed.
They have been brought up.
There were some indications of issues around the accuracy of some of the meter readings, for example, and that has been reviewed.
My understanding, and the information provided to me, is that those issues have been fixed.
If the member is aware of a case where something has gone wrong, if the member would bring that information to me, then I can bring that forward to the corporation and have it checked out and find out.
Again, the Seniors Fuel Subsidy Program for Nunavut that the member had asked about originally is for any resident of Nunavut who is over the age of 60, is a private homeowner, and who meets the approved household income verification.
So, as I said earlier, this program is a good program, and maybe there are some Nunavummiut who do not know about it.
So, the member has done an excellent job by raising the issue today.
We only have 45 households across Nunavut that actually took advantage of the program last year.
I am sure that there may be more that can take advantage of it.
So, I appreciate the member’s question bringing that information forward.
Question 045 – 2(2): Written Questions to the Ministers
It has come to the attention of some regular members that some senior government officials are unhappy with the wording of the written questions being asked by regular members.
They are apparently saying that we are wasting their time.
Our question to the Premier: do the ministers consider the information gathered from written questions to be a waste of time or valuable resources for the efficient and effective running of their departments, as knowledge for the people of Nunavut.
I don’t know which member or senior official this member spoke to, but as much as possible we do try and provide the information for the members related to written questions.
Some of the questions require a lot of research and data collection leading back to 1999.
One example is questions related to housing that will require government officials to contact every local housing association to get the statistics that are being asked for by members in this House.
So, we do try and provide that information within the time that’s allowed within the rules, but some do take the time and energy of staff.
Some staff, that may be their opinion, but as elected officials we try and provide that information to the regular members on an ongoing basis.
I thank the minister for assuring us that this is being taken quite seriously.
The written questions are an important tool for regular members who are elected by the people of Nunavut to ensure that the government is open and accountable.
Does the Premier support the regular members in representing the people of Nunavut to the best of our abilities?
We recognize and support members’ initiatives to gather information from the government through the written question format.
As elected officials we support our role as elected officials, and the rules before us in the House apply to every one of us.
So, having said that, we are in support of responding to members’ questions, written questions and what-not, so I want to reassure this House and the members that we will do all we can to provide the information that you have asked for.
Some of it will require time, like I said, because it goes back to 1999.
And some of it also requires us, government, to go to local hamlet offices as well as housing association boards of directors.
So, it will take time, because that is another level of government that we have to deal with to gather the statistics that are being asked for, just as an example.
But I want to reassure this House that written questions, although time consuming, are an effective tool for us to provide information that is required by members to take back to their communities.
So again, we will do our best to provide that information to elected officials on a regular basis.
I thank the minister for those assurances.
I want to quote from the Throne Speech that was delivered on November 16, a couple of quotes:
“To ensure careful ongoing prudence and accountability, the government is implementing the recommendations of the Auditor General and of the Legislative Assembly Standing Committees.
The government will also explore overarching legislation to govern accountability of public bodies in the territory.”
Quote one.
And the second quote: “This is your government and only by working together, listening, and acting properly can we create a Nunavut that we envision for ourselves and for our children.”