EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
The issue that he mentions there in his question was the third annual report that’s in question now.
I appreciate the minister’s response as well. The people of Baker Lake are very aware of the activities and have questions to see whether or not this government and our partners in the resource sector are abiding by the proper procedures.
In my Member’s Statement today, I addressed the importance of transparency in economic development.
Under its DPA with the government, the company has obligations in such areas as socio-economic planning, monitoring, reporting, mitigation, education, training, employment, and economic development.
Will the minister commit to tabling in the Legislative Assembly copies of the company’s most recent annual reports under the DPA?
Mr. Speaker, under the DPA, transparency and openness policies that we abide by, information is shared openly between the partners and our GN departments and with the communities.
Once the fourth annual report is ready for tabling, I will surely do that.
The Department of ED&T chairs a socio-economic assessment committee, which reviews the company’s annual reports to ensure compliance with the development partnership agreement.
As a follow-up, I just want to ask as well and ensure that my colleagues and Baker Lake is aware: can the minister indicate if the government is fully satisfied that the company is fully complying with its obligations?
The negotiated terms in the development partnership agreement, if both parties agree and are in compliancy to the negotiated terms, yes, the company does receive its fuel tax rebate and it has done so the last time.
Once the report is available for tabling, I will surely do that.
People of Baker Lake do benefit from the employment, but as well, the natural perspective for the local community as well as the environment and resources, ensuring that the natural environment is protected and that under the agreements, all of these principles and policies are followed.
With the enhancement of opportunities and those people willing to work and maintain employment and those challenges that face the community in different aspects, there is economic stimulus that we are benefiting from and we are thankful for.
Of course, we do have our challenges and barriers, but it’s a start for the community to contribute within our own region as well as Nunavut, as well, one of the economic spin-offs.
Mr. Speaker, my question is in regard to my Member’s Statement today. I spoke about the importance of finding ways of expanding access to basic banking services in our communities. While I recognize that the government cannot order a bank to establish a new branch, I would like to see it work with stakeholders to identify ways to attract banks to expand their presence to our smaller communities.
Can the minister indicate if there have been any discussions about the issue under the framework of its development partnership agreement?
The six guiding principles in negotiating a development partnership agreement with the mining companies out there is exactly that: education and training for Nunavummiut, infrastructure development, and investment that includes physical, energy, communications, and organizational structures; developing and diversifying local businesses; collecting and sharing information with the local community and the region; investing in new and existing programs to build capacity, social well-being, and economic strength of communities to help employees and their families.
I have been saying for the last few days that one of the things that’s necessary to get our people out of poverty is economic development, employment.
Mr. Speaker, the second part of the question on putting a bank into communities is purely a business decision by the banks.
If there is money to be made there, there is no reason why a bank shouldn’t be there if they do their feasibility study and realize that there are profits to be made there.
As you know, Mr. Speaker, most northerners do their banking online. It’s rather a replacement for building a bricks and mortar type of building. As you know, the technological highway of today is banking online.
It’s one of those things that the business community looks at, including the banks. They’re leaning more and more to the technological side of doing business and that’s one of the things most northerners are doing today, banking online.
Question 429 – 3(3): Fuel Distribution Services in Taloyoak (Ugyuk)
I would like to send my regards and say “good morning” to the people of Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak.
They haven’t even started school yet.
It’s a good Friday and I’m sure that they appreciate that.
As the minister will recall, I made a Member’s Statement on March 6, 2012 about the issue of fuel distribution contracts. In my statement, I indicated that “…it is important that the government ensure that bidders have the necessary equipment, resources and infrastructure to successfully fulfill the terms and conditions of the contract.”
Does the Department of Community and Government Services follow these guidelines?
I recall her statements regarding the fuel contract. (interpretation) Yes, Mr. Speaker, I can say that the Department of Community and Government Services does follow those guidelines.
Ms. Ugyuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) As the minister is aware from our exchanges of correspondence and my questions to him, I have received concerns from residents of Taloyoak about the current fuel distribution contract for the community.
Can the minister explain why the department awarded the current fuel distribution contract to an entity that has not yet built a garage for the storage of fuel delivery vehicles that meets the terms of its contract with the government?
I thank the member for the very important question.
Mr. Speaker, I wasn’t part of the party that sat there and decided who’s going to get what contract, but I assure the member that when all the contracts were reviewed and looked at, the contracts were awarded on merit and ability to deliver on the contract.
That’s the conclusion they came to, Mr. Speaker.
Ms. Ugyuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) In my statement of March 6, I noted the importance of the government having a clear and transparent process for addressing concerns about the performance of contractors.
Can the minister describe the process by which his department addresses and resolves concerns that are raised in this area?
When our department is responsible for looking after those issues or if there are concerns regarding contracts which we are responsible for, the follow-ups are done to ensure that the proper contracts are being followed as per the agreements signed by both parties.
In this particular case, I could assure the member that we are reviewing that particular file and checking to ensure that the contract is being followed through properly and that the party is following through on their obligations of the contract.
Thank you for your responses, minister.
According to information that the minister recently provided in a return to a written question concerning the award of fuel distribution contracts, the current contract in Taloyoak commenced on November 1, 2011 and expires on October 30, 2016.
The one-year anniversary of the awarding of the contract is next month. (interpretation ends) Will the minister commit to directing his officials to undertake a formal review of whether the current contractor is meeting the terms and conditions of the contract?
I’m not exactly sure if they’re meeting the terms and conditions in Taloyoak, whether there’s proper distribution of fuel within the community.
(interpretation ends) I understand that fuel that has to be delivered in the community has been delivered so far.
From my interactions with the member, I understand there is an issue with the housing of the vehicles for fuel delivery.
Our department will be looking at that and other aspects of the contract to ensure that the contractual agreement is being followed through.
As for the issues regarding where the building is going to be and warehousing of the fuel tanks, that’s between the municipality and the contractor.
Our department is looking into it to ensure that the contractual agreement is being followed, as per the agreement.
I’ll keep the member updated as that progresses.
Question 430 – 3(3): Oil Spill Response Preparedness (Enook)
Good morning to the people of Pond Inlet and to Ittukuluk.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to direct my questions to the Minister of Environment, (interpretation ends) Hon. Arreak.
(interpretation) Mr. Speaker, as the minister will recall, I asked questions during our recent winter sitting concerning his department’s role on the Arctic Regional Advisory Council on Oil Spill Response.
The answer provided by the minister indicated that the Arctic Regional Advisory Council on Oil Spill Response was “focusing its efforts on developing standards for wintering over fuel barges, which has become an issue of great concern across the north and for which there are currently no accepted standards and regulations.”
Can the minister provide me with an update today on his department’s work on developing standards and regulations concerning the wintering of fuel barges and can he indicate when these regulations will be completed?
There was an application submitted for a floating fuel barge for approval.
The application wasn’t approved. There were various reasons for not approving the floating fuel barge.
At this time, the details have been discussed about having more than one ship that would serve as the fuel barge with a triple-hulled ship.
With respect to actual legislation pertaining to this, they are still drafting these for environmental protection.
The answer provided by the minister also indicated that the Arctic Regional Advisory Council on Oil Spill Response works to “share and address issues of concern regarding oil spill preparedness and response.”
Can the minister indicate how his department is working to address oil spill preparedness and response throughout the territory and can he say whether Nunavut communities are equipped to deal with major oil spills in arctic waters?
As the member indicated, he recalls part of my response and I thank him for his memory. We are still trying to complete that part of the duties I listed in my response.
They’re still drafting up these environmental regulations regarded to oil spills by the federal government. With respect to the smaller communities, we hear about their concerns and we have tried to deal with these oil spill response plans.
A lot of the communities deal with smaller oil spills, but with respect to larger oil spills, if that event were to ever occur, the federal government would be responsible for the cleanup.
It was reported last week that oil is naturally seeping from a crack in the ocean floor off the north eastern area of Baffin Island into arctic waters.
A representative from the Geological Survey of Canada was quoted as saying that “Some of these oil slicks are about 40 or 50 kilometres around and when you consider the thickness of an oil film, each one of these slicks represents 25,000 to 75,000 barrels of oil sitting on the sea surface at any one time.”
Although I recognize that this is being described as a natural event, I am very concerned with the possible negative impacts on marine mammals and, in turn, Nunavummiut who hunt and consume these marine mammals.
Can the minister indicate what his department is doing to monitor this issue and evaluate possible actions to mitigate its impact?
This article that the member read in the newspaper is right in front of the land where I grew up. That particular fuel leak has been ongoing for many years and we have known about it in the past.
Whenever we had meetings with the petroleum industry in the 1970s between the government, petroleum industry, and the communities, we had informed them about this natural oil leak to the petroleum industry. This has continued for many years.
It’s not a new occurrence. It’s always had a slick in that particular area. So it has been naturally leaking for many years.
At this time, I am unaware if any agency has commenced dealing with this seepage, so I can’t speak to it. However, I do know that in that area, the natural oil seepage has been observed for many generations as our ancestors were aware of this area due to slick sheen that resulted from this oil seepage.
If people assume this is a new event, that it just started seeping recently, they would be far off the mark.
Those of us who live in and use the marine area, it is part of our history and traditional knowledge as it has been within our collective memory for many years.
It seems obvious, as it’s also have been dealt with, that this has been continuing for many years.
I totally concur with that.
What I’m trying to ask the minister is: why isn’t the department trying to look into that matter, even though it has been an actual seepage and an ongoing one as to the effects it might have on marine life as well as wildlife?
At this time, I’m not sure whether or not this has been dealt with as I haven’t had any briefing about whether or not our officials are looking into that matter, but I can task my officials, who are expecting that field, to see what kind of impact it may have on the marine environment.
Generally, the Nunavut government is not responsible for the marine environment as our department does not have mandate for it.
We can look into that and I will ensure that we task our officials to do so.
Question 431 – 3(3): Polar Bear Issues (Curley)
We have been kept informed about current events, especially the Inuit.
I have a question to the minister regarding polar bears and how it impacts us as Nunavutmiut.
I think it was this summer that I read in the news.
In English, it reads, (interpretation ends) “Polar bears develop an appetite for narwhal and bowhead carcasses.” (interpretation) It says that the polar bears have an appetite for narwhal carcasses.
I would like to ask the minister if the polar bears’ appetites have changed recently.
Could the minister indicate to the House why the polar bears in Nunavut have changed their appetites just recently?
That’s assuming they did.
If you believe that and if you think that is a current change of polar bear diet, I personally don’t believe it’s true.
Ever since there have been bowheads and belugas and polar bears, they have always had an appetite for sea mammals, especially mammals with blubber. The polar bear will eat anything that has blubber.
The outsiders keep trying to tell us that these are new trends.
We hear that polar bears only eat marine life, but we all know that they eat vegetation and eggs, and so on.
So don’t believe everything you read in the news. They have always been able to eat anything from the land or sea as long as it’s available.
I know that the people are happy that you said that.
The women that go out on the land are very afraid of the polar bears and for that reason, sometimes they us believe in the news about things that are not true.
If I could take a look at it and to let you know what the World Wildlife Fund said, it seems like the people of the north are saying that for the past 50 years now, there’s a larger polar bear population and I’m over 60 years old.
There are more polar bears that are starting to come into the communities as nuisance bears because there are a lot of polar bears that are in danger from the hunters and from the people.
They have to kill them because they are nuisance bears.
First of all, I would like to ask who is looking up to the dangerous polar bears in the communities.
The polar bears are endangering the communities and the people.
I also thank my colleague for raising those concerns about polar bears because, again, this is a question we find with many of our fellow residents in Nunavut.
The World Wildlife Fund, the acronym being WWF, is one the organizations we work with to conduct polar bear population surveys and they have provided funding to conduct studies. I don’t think they’re part of the animal protection organizations.
We have heard that in the 1970s, the polar bear population has crashed and they have not been studied for many years.
We know that the population is increasing and the member is correct that polar bears do endanger people. Last summer, when my wife and grandchildren were camping in the tent, a polar bear with cubs came to our camp. It’s kind of scary when there are polar bears right next to your tent.
With respect to whether a polar bear is endangering the community or its citizens, since the member asked about who makes that decision, the person who feels endangered is the only one who will make that decision.
If the polar bear is coming into your camp or into your tent, it’s up to you to decide to either kill it or scare it off.
So once it comes into the personal space of a hunter, they have to also protect their own life and his family, as well as their property. They have that right.
Even if we were to say that if we put a minimum of 15 or 50 feet, it may or may not be correct because every person has personal space where they would feel threatened, so I believe that’s a personal decision.
I thank the minister for that response. I know for a fact that the listening audience appreciates that answer.
The reason why I asked that is because the guidelines or the legislation related to the determination of a polar bear endangering citizens is integrated.
Some conservation officers wait far too long.
I can state that my wife’s father, who has passed away, once had a polar bear peek into their tent. Even though the rifle was right there, he couldn’t grab it, so he blew at it and it went out.
Even before he had put in all his clothing, he grabbed his gun and went outside and said, “I’m up now” to the polar bear.
He didn’t shoot it; he just told him, “I’m up now,” so he poked it with his riffle barrel right on the nose.
To me, it would be very scary because some people have different reactions.
Perhaps the minister can update the regulation.
If a polar bear were to kill a human, they may also eat from the cadaver and it has happened in the past close to Rankin Inlet.
We want to ensure that that does not occur again. Let’s develop a very good protocol because some polar bears also slaughter dogs and Inuit are watching this happen as it is close by.
Can the minister agree that the protocol has to be updated so that the people are not scared to protect their property and their dog teams that they wish to safeguard and that these concerns need to be addressed?
Question 432 – 3(3): Drinking Water Quality Issues in Kugaaruk (Ningark)
I am happy today is Friday.
I would like to get some clarification and ask a question to the (interpretation ends) Hon. Minister of CG&S. (interpretation) I think he and I know that polar bears like pizza nowadays.
(interpretation ends) On a serious note, Mr. Speaker, (interpretation) there is beginning to be salt water coming into Kugaaruk and the water is very salty and it is getting to be bothersome when you do your laundry because of its saltiness, especially in the wintertime. Some people in Kugaaruk do not have any equipment, such as skidoos, to go and get better water.
I would like to ask the minister this question because he works with the hamlet.
What is happening with the water quality in Kugaaruk?
Minister responsible for Community Government and Services, Minister Kusugak.
Perhaps at around lunchtime, we can go and have some pizza because he’s beginning to make me hungry.
With regard to the salty water in Kugaaruk, I know it is true that the water quality in Kugaaruk is quite salty, so we designated an area where we can have un-salty water in Kugaaruk.
We are working with the hamlet council in Kugaaruk to see where we can acquire better water that is not salty.
During resupply this coming summer, they will have a pumphouse and when the equipment comes in, they will be constructing the pumphouse.
Mr. Ningark (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also thank the hon. minister.
Once the ship comes next, I will take the minister out for pizza.
Mr. Speaker, perhaps the minister can inform the hamlet or perhaps they are already aware of the fact that there will be a pumphouse arriving next summer.
If the hamlet council wasn’t already aware, we will inform them.
According to my understanding, I believe they’re already aware of that fact.
Question 433 – 3(3): Government of Nunavut’s Uranium Policy (Elliott)
On June 6, 2012, the minister tabled the Government of Nunavut’s uranium policy statement. In that statement, it clarified that the Government of Nunavut will support the exploration and mining of uranium subject to five principles.
My questions are based around those principles.
Mr. Speaker, Principle 2 of the Government of Nunavut’s uranium policy states that “Nunavummiut must be the major beneficiaries of uranium exploration and mining activities.”
My question to the minister is: what policies or mechanisms does the Government of Nunavut have in place to ensure this will occur?
Mr. Speaker, it’s written down quite clearly in the Parnautit strategy for mining and we use those on a case-by-case basis.
That strategy is used by all proponents, all companies, and throughout the regulatory processes that NIRB goes through with the proponents and all interested parties. It states that very clearly there.
Principle 5 states that “Uranium exploration and mining must have the support of Nunavummiut, with particular emphasis on communities close to uranium development.”
Can the minister describe what would constitute support for Nunavummiut and the affected communities?
The process is set out quite clearly in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement through the regulatory process.
If there’s any indication that the project is not going to be beneficial to Nunavummiut, whether people are going to be affected, the environment, wildlife, and if the project is not sustainable, of course, we do have a process that goes through the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, that being NIRB that goes through the environmental regulations and processes, and have close consultations with the communities.
The process is based on that.
NTI has a very comprehensive uranium mining policy, of which certain financial agreements and arrangements have been attached to certain mining and exploration companies. This was promised to be reviewed and when that review occurred, no significant changes were made.
Obviously NTI is in support of uranium exploration, mining, and development. Is this what the minister is referring to in regard to support from the communities?
I didn’t necessary allude to that.
NTI has their own policy on uranium exploration and mining and whatever they do there is up to them. We abide by the land claims agreement environmental processes and our own strategy that was developed for Nunavummiut in our Parnautit strategy.
As the minister is aware, residents from Baker Lake, one of the affected communities close to uranium development, and Grise Fiord had petitions that were introduced into this House. Both did not support uranium mining. Again, if the minister could clarify what the Government of Nunavut means by Principle 5 of the Government of Nunavut’s Uranium Policy Statement, which states that it will not move forward on uranium development unless Nunavummiut support it Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again, the processes of environmental regulations and screening are through the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
The body of Nunavut Impact Review Board has an obligation to consult with every community and determine and make recommendations to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development of Canada. Once all the facts are gathered, that’s when NIRB makes a recommendation to the minister responsible for that.
If, throughout the process, there are indications of environmental mitigations that can’t be handled by the proponent and if it’s not a sustainable project, it’s not beneficial to Nunavummiut, those determinations are made known to the public through the recommendations of the Nunavut Impact Review Board to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development of Canada Thank you, Mr. Speaker.