EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Back when the hides were sent down, the market prices were quite high and the hunters received a commensurate apportion of the expected price when they sent the hides down for the auction.
When the market dropped, the interest in purchasing the hides also disappeared.
Secondly, some of the polar bear hides can’t be exported outside of Canada. The Canadian government has stated that certain polar bear hides from the Baffin region can’t be exported outside of Canada.
Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the minister can indicate for the benefit of the public when the next auction sale is or if it is too difficult to ascertain whether another auction would be held.
It is unfortunate that I didn’t really understand his question. Was he asking when another auction would be open?
Can my colleague clarify his question as to what exactly he is referring to?
Member for Uqqummiut, please clarify your question.
During our winter session the minister indicated that an auction would be held in April for the fur auction house.
Now with April having already come and gone, does the minister have information as to the next scheduled fur auction for the hides that were sent?
Hon. Joe Savikataaq (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also thank the member for clarifying that.
Yes, an auction was held in April and I am unsure when the dates are for the next auction, but I believe it is scheduled for June.
However, the polar bear hides currently there are available for sale at any time, as any person can go to that store anytime to purchase a hide, if they agree to the sale price. These hides can be bought at any time.
The hunters who sent out their hides were paid a specific amount based on the expected price if their furs are bought. Since they received a pre-payment, some hunters received a substantial amount based on the percentages at the time of shipping the hide.
Now, if these hides can’t be sold, will the hunters who received the pre-payments receive an invoice for the hides?
This winter he asked the same question and I responded by saying that those hunters will not receive a bill or be required to pay money back if their furs are not sold at auction. Now, if the furs are sold and the price was lower than what the government paid initially, then yes, according to the government regulations, an invoice would be sent for the overage.
We know that the market price for polar bears is low and some hides haven’t sold in quite some time.
We anticipate working with the people who run the auctions or consider returning the hides to Nunavut if they haven’t sold in some time. Perhaps we can return them for purchase and use here by coming to an agreement with the hunter and if agreed to, then the pre-payment amount would be all they receive.
However, no decisions have been made as to how the process for that would be laid out.
Question 786 – 4(3): Summer Studies at Nunavut Arctic College (Angnakak)
I would like to direct my next question to the Minister responsible for Nunavut Arctic College.
Mr. Speaker, the Nunavut Arctic College campus generally closes down during the summer months.
I feel that this is an unfortunate loss of opportunity for students, college students, high school students, and even part-time students who are trying to upgrade their skills and qualifications to catch up on academic work.
One year ago about or a little over, June 3, the minister indicated that he was looking into options to keep the college open during the summer.
The minister has had a year to review and approve these options.
Can the minister provide an update on what steps are being taken to keep Nunavut Arctic College open for courses during the summer?
I also thank my colleague for her question on that matter.
As it stands, we presented a report on that as we conducted a review starting with Piqqusilirivvik.
Piqqusilirivvik is sometimes open in the summer since the operations are based on Inuit traditions and some classes are specific to the summer seasons, so it is open at certain times.
That is why the review started with Piqqusilirivvik.
We are currently reviewing the larger community learning centres and regional campuses to see how we can use them during these periods.
With respect to the Inuit language, many of our government workers are unable to speak in Inuktitut. Due to that reason, we have contemplated summer classes that would be open for specific subjects within our campuses in the larger communities.
We are thinking of offering Inuktitut courses for public servants wishing to learn Inuktitut, as they are our priority. This is part of our deliberations.
Further, parts of the programs offered at Piqqusilirivvik could be offered in smaller communities, either in the summer or when it is convenient. All communities are different and each community has their own idiosyncrasies of culture, such as ways of hunting and building things.
That’s what we’re focusing on right now. If we can get it started this summer and it runs smoothly, then we can build on it.
I appreciate that keeping our college campus open during the summer months will also incur additional costs and expenses for operating the facility and providing classrooms and staff.
However, by not investing in the ongoing education of Nunavummiut, the costs to our society may be even greater in the future.
Can the minister clearly describe what kind of cost analysis has been applied to deciding whether or not to open Nunavut Arctic College during the summer months?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) The Hon. Minister of Arctic College, Hon. Quassa.
As to how much that would cost, it is being looked at right now. We can’t open up anything just like that.
I explained the first steps that need to be done. We have enough resources right now to get it started, but then we will have to find out actually how much it’s going to cost.
After we start the first program, we will be able to get a good idea of how much it will cost. Right now I can’t give you an actual figure as to how much it will cost. We ask for new funding every year.
At the moment we are going to try to do it with the budget that we have now. We will only find out how much it is going to cost after we do the initial trial run this coming summer.
We are really trying to get that started because it would be a good fit.
It is understandable that in the summertime a lot of people want to go on holidays and our teachers also want holidays in the summertime.
We will have to try to figure out a way to do that. Will we be ordering teachers to come?
Those are some of the things we will have to consider.
Thank you to the minister for your response.
I understand the challenges that you have and your comments about Piqqusilirivvik that’s in Clyde River.
Mr. Speaker, I feel it is important that we provide every possible opportunity for Nunavummiut to learn and expand their potential as employees, as businesspeople, and as well-rounded citizens.
Will the minister commit to seriously considering opening Nunavut Arctic College for studies during the summer months?
As I stated earlier, this is our primary focus.
Question 787 – 4(3): Staff Housing (Rumbolt)
As the minister had the opportunity to see with his own eyes when he visited Sanikiluaq earlier this year, the community continues to suffer from a shortage of staff housing, a problem which impacts the ability of the government to fill such essential positions in the fields of health care and education.
Last fall the Legislative Assembly approved $5.0 million in capital funding towards the construction of new staff housing units during the current 2017-18 fiscal year, including two new units for Sanikiluaq.
Can the minister update the House today on the status of the tender for this construction?
Hon. George Kuksuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) I also thank my colleague for asking that question.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t have current information on where it’s at on the question about our staff housing work.
I have the information that was given to me on May 25.
I’m sure more work has been done since then.
The construction of staff housing units in Sanikiluaq was 99 percent complete in May, and they may be occupied today.
I’m not sure where the minister is getting his information, but from my understanding this is new construction coming this year and the ships haven’t even arrived. I’m not sure how he can say it’s 99 percent complete.
Mr. Speaker, moving on, last fall the Legislative Assembly approved $500,000 in capital funding for modernization and improvement of staff housing units across the territory.
On average that works out to just $20,000 per community.
Can the minister indicate if this amount is adequate?
I want to apologize to the member because I thought he was referring to the ones that were built earlier.
If I can go back in regard to staff housing for Sanikiluaq and what the status is for this construction, the contract was awarded to build a duplex in March.
I do apologize to the member for giving the wrong response.
Again, for the supplementary question, I can’t remember because of the mistake I made.
Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I would like to ask the member to repeat his second question so that I can respond accordingly.
The minister would like you to rephrase your question. Mr. Rumbolt.
I thank the minister for his clarification on my first question.
My second question was asking about the $500,000 in capital funding that was approved for staff housing repairs, which works out to only $20,000 per community in Nunavut.
I asked the minister if this amount is adequate in order to maintain the current staff housing.
In regard to the $500,000 for modernization and improvement of staff housing units, I agree that this amount is not nearly enough. However, we can reconsider the amount because we need to provide funding for modernization and improvement of staff housing and public housing units.
As long as we continue to make do with inadequate amounts of money, we will continue to lobby the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or the federal government for more funding.
I am aware of at least one staff housing unit in Sanikiluaq that has been vacant for almost a year because the unit needs repairs.
Can the minister assure me today that this unit will be repaired before the end of the summer and the start of the new school year?
I don’t have the information on the vacant unit that he is referring to. I will look into it. I know that my officials at the housing corporation are watching and listening.
If it’s possible, I would be very happy to have that information before the end of this session. If it’s not possible, then I will make sure that I provide the information to him at a later date.
Question 788 – 4(3): Foster Parenting for Profit (Enook)
My question today is for the Minister of Family Services, my angajuksakuluk.
I was questioning Minister Mike yesterday and I would like to go back and make a reference to his responses. I will follow the Blues for June 6, 2017 and I do know that they are not the final Hansard.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday when I was asking questions to the minister, we were discussing whether or not people are taking in foster children just to make money.
In his response he indicated that he will look into it and review it carefully to make sure that there were no instances of that kind.
Mr. Speaker, my question is this: was the minister saying that he has not heard of foster parents just taking in children for the money?
Personally I have never heard of such cases.
I have received correspondence from his constituency and we’re looking into the matter. I have directed my staff to review it and then from there we will see if there are any people taking in foster children just for the money. I can respond by saying that my staff are currently looking into the matter, Mr. Speaker.
Further, for the benefit of my angajuksakuluk, my question has no relevance or relationship to the correspondence you mentioned as having recently received.
This has nothing to do with my question whatsoever.
Now, the minister stated that he had never heard of any cases.
Let me ask him this: if any such case were to surface, and in the past stories of this happening have filtered down to some of us, what policies do you have in place to ensure this never happens?
If there were such cases, then social services workers would look into it. If there was a need for a review, then our rules would apply.
I wasn’t expecting to hear such a question, but I can say that the social workers in our communities know about everything that happens in their communities and they would look into it.
I know that Family Services officials would conduct a review.
What I am trying to ask here with my question is: are there existing policies in place should such a case emerge that provide guidelines or procedures to put a stop to this type of behaviour?
Hon. Johnny Mike (interpretation): This would immediately be stopped once a case came to the attention of the officials.
It is obvious that the reason would be to ensure the safety and protection of the child. Also, if we find cases where foster parents applied only for the revenue generated by having foster children placed in their homes, it would be a grievous act.
That is why this type of case couldn’t be handled by existing policies.
If a case emerged, then it is obvious that it would impact the foster child and the family. It would also impact the status of the foster parent.
If that occurred, it would obviously be dealt with by utilizing existing departmental policies and legislation, including the overarching need to protect the foster child. These would be the only avenues.
If that was the case, then the first priority is to ensure the child’s safety.
That is the usual practice.
It would involve the withdrawal of their status as foster parents if that was ever determined to be the case.
Member for Aivilik. Mr. Steve Mapsalak.
Question 789 – 4(3): Community Access Road Program (Mapsalak)
Mr. Speaker, over the past winter funds were earmarked for the access road program and breakwater repairs. This fund was increased, which was gratifying to hear, as many people depend on this fund in my constituency.
Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the minister can respond to my question. With the set increase in this fund, will it include a cap on each community application under this program, either for access road or breakwater repairs? Will there be a cap set for applications?
With respect to the recent appropriations approved for the program, I am unsure whether a cap or limit will be set. His question was whether this additional funding will result in a cap for community applications.
Mr. Speaker, I can only respond that this additional funding approved resulted in an increase of $2.5 million and it was specific for the 2017-18 fiscal year. It was what we call (interpretation ends) one-time funding. (interpretation) However, our future government may have to contemplate their options, if any. If they are also encouraged to increase these funds, as you have, they may deliberate those options.
What I can state now is that this fund received many applications, but I don’t have the information on the funds that were approved last year.
This fund will allow us to partially catch up with the demand, as many applications are sent. To date the total amount of all the applications has surpassed the available amount that was approved by the members.
I apologize if I was not clear with my question about whether a cap was contemplated.
The reason for my question is my other constituency community of Coral Harbour absolutely depends on this funding. The road is now quite distant as it takes about five hours to reach the current site where they are building the access road to. It is obvious that a lot of funding is used just to reach the site.
Having seen their local project first hand, which the minister has seen as well, they are progressing quite fast. It also allows opportunities for development, which will be beneficial to the residents of Coral Harbour.
The reason I asked is because this is one-time funding.
Has a funding limit has been placed for each application?
Yes, this project underway near Coral Harbour, as per the member’s comments, is quite far from the community that falls into the area where they want to construct an access road. We had anticipated them reaching their goal this summer, at least from snippets of information.
With the way this fund is set up now, it doesn’t have a limit in place for each application, but it’s more in terms of the amount of funding required based on the percentage of the funds we now have. I believe, with the increase, it will still require allocations regionally to the communities as some communities will apply for more funding while others have smaller amounts.
We will carefully review each case.
Some communities may be asked to submit a two-year funding application to ensure that only the priority section of the project can be completed while the other parts can be applied for at a later date. That is another option we have.
Officials consult with the applicants on the actual needs without setting a limit and our officials then negotiate with the applicant on the type of funding they would receive.
We want to have as many projects funded as possible.
I think I understood her response that many communities apply for the fund and it’s obvious that many communities do apply for these funds.
Is the minister saying that when they are negotiating the funding agreements, it results in real progress and incremental improvement for these communities?
Applications for this funding are processed in this manner: the feasibility of the project is reviewed, along with the overall goal of the access road and (interpretation ends) objectives (interpretation) of the community, and their capability to complete the project. This includes whether they have the capacity and personnel to complete their project.
As well, it can be perceived as an economic development project if they provide employment for locals, as well as what equipment is provided for the project. The finances and in-kind contributions each applicant can provide are included in the review, either the number of employees or machines each community allocates for the projects.
These types of details are included in the review when assessing the feasibility of each project.
Hon. Member for Aggu, Mr. Paul Quassa.
Reply to Opening Address 001 – 4(3): Mr. Paul Quassa (Quassa)
I rise today to respond to the Hon. Commissioner’s Opening Address to the legislature and Nunavummiut at the opening of this current session on June 2, 2015.
Mr. Speaker, in her speech the Commissioner underlined the importance of education to the current mandate of this government, particularly our work on language and literacy. Those were her priorities according to her speech.
I am pleased to say that updated curriculum for Inuit Language Arts from kindergarten to grade 6 is almost ready for rollout.
This curriculum, which is based on a significant amount of research and development, will drastically improve the way that Inuktitut is taught and delivered in all of our schools.
The final review and preparation for implementation will happen in the current fiscal year.
This includes preparing Inuktitut-speaking teachers and principals to use the curriculum effectively.
We expect full rollout to happen in the 2018-19 school year.
Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner also spoke of the vital work to develop and launch the Inuktitut Guided Reading Program as part of the ongoing balanced literacy initiative.
The guided reading series was developed in consultation with experts in education and the Inuit language to ensure that they are well founded and relevant to student development in the Nunavut context.
Mr. Speaker, the guided reading series is the first of its kind for Nunavut and represents the highest quality literacy materials developed to date for the Inuit language.
I would like to update my fellow members about the objectives of this vital project. Over the next three years it is expected that the guided reading program will be developed at least to grade 7 in Inuktitut and to grade 4 in Inuinnaqtun, along with associated teacher training materials to ensure effective implementation in the classroom.
By 2020 we’re expecting that there will be over 500 levelled books available in Inuktitut and approximately 300 books in Inuinnaqtun, with associated teacher resources to support reading, writing and word work, which are important to our schools.
Mr. Speaker, the guided reading series will improve the literacy outcomes for students across the territory in their first language, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun. This in turn will improve their learning outcomes across all programs of study by ensuring that student progress is accurately assessed by teachers and reported clearly to parents.
Development and implementation of the guided reading program and the updated Inuktitut Language Arts curriculum represents an enormous amount of work on the part of my department.
This is a noteworthy and exciting moment for education in Nunavut that will have a positive impact for our students.
These projects are something we can be very proud of as a territory and will contribute to establishing a strong bilingual program.
In addition to curriculum and resource work, my department is also addressing the issue of human resources.
My department is currently working on a revamped Inuit employment plan in collaboration with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.
The plan will be developed within 2017 and it will contain short-, medium- and long-term goals and strategies.
This forward-thinking plan will focus on the entire employment cycle, which includes pre-employment, orientation, mentorship, retention, professional development, and promotion.
The plan will aim to reduce training and recruitment barriers for Inuit for all roles within schools and at the department, including leadership roles.
The plan will increase the number of Inuit educators prepared to use Inuktitut as a language of instruction.
This is essential in achieving the legislated objectives of delivering a fully bilingual education system and graduating students fully proficient in the Inuit language.
This work, along with the ongoing review of the Nunavut Teacher Education Program, is an important step to ensure we have the human resources and Inuit educators in place for a truly bilingual system.
We must always remember though that the challenge we face in achieving our goal of a fully bilingual education system from kindergarten to grade 12 is not just a lack of Inuktitut-speaking teachers. To create curriculum, assessments, and resources, we need a standardized Inuit language and education-specific vocabulary.
Some of this work has happened to date. However, this ongoing priority has been met with a lack of political will for many years now, despite recognition of its importance to improving educational outcomes.
As Minister of Education, I need the support of the Members of this House on this issue. This question does not get the attention it deserves, despite the fact that a standardized vocabulary is the foundation that we need to make Inuktitut the first language in our schools, our government, and our businesses here in Nunavut.
Without standardization of vocabulary, other efforts to improve our system will not be effective. We will not be able to achieve our goals.
Standardizing vocabulary will take time, especially for upper level secondary courses. Standardization does not mean losing local dialects.
We know from lessons with other languages, Greenlandic for example, that it is possible to teach a standardized version while maintaining the strength of community and regional dialects.
The Department of Education plans to make this a priority moving forward, and we need to support the writing system and standardization of the Inuktitut vocabulary. It’s going to benefit through this.
I’ll be speaking in English, Mr. Speaker.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, all of the work that I have described is part of the implementation of Sivumut Abluqta and its priorities and objectives.
As you know, Sivumut Abluqta states that  “Education is the foundation for employment and self-reliance of individuals and families.