EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
When the outfitters go out then they use these access roads.
Mr. Speaker, in the budget that we have approved for the Department of Transportation, we approved paving money for larger communities and there is nothing for the ones that we need in our communities.
The minister stated that he is waiting for a response from the Federal Government and in that case I would like to be kept up to date on the progress of that.
I have no question.
Question 533 – 1(3): Staff Training
I would like to direct my question to the Minister responsible for Public Works.
There will be some jobs coming in to Pond Inlet and the minister stated that there would be training provided.
When is this training going to take place.
We are going to start working on these issues as I said.
I also stated that we are going to find out which staff would like to move to Pond Inlet.
I do not know what the status is at this point but I do know that we will try to do local hires.
The members seem to be joking around and having fun today so I do not know what is happening.
So I will take this as notice.
We were going to provide training and I know that it is going very well but I do not know the date so I will take it as notice.
Question 534 – 1(3): Staff Housing Furnishings
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure who my question is directed to, I will say it and either the Minister of Human Resources or the Minister of Housing.
I know previously as a former government employee, I know that when an employee was hired by the government and offered staff housing, they had an option of either being provided with furnished or non-furnished accommodations.
I am just wondering whether that is still the case, now that employees who are being moved into or require staff housing still have that option.
Speaker: I believe that question is directed to the Minister responsible for Housing.
I was asked the same question a little bit earlier on that one and I said that I really don't know what the situation is.
I do know that some staff have moved into the decentralized positions and through staffing they have been asked whether they want to bring furniture or if we would provide them with the furniture.
I will have to come back to the members on this because I really don't know the situation but I do know that some people have brought their own furniture which I think was done in Baker Lake for an individual who brought their own furniture.
However, I am pretty sure that in a lot of cases we are buying furniture for these units but I will have to come back to the members with an answer on that.
Mr. Speaker, I wasn't sure of the previous question I think it was a little bit different. I was just wondering, just to clarify for the minister, I was just wondering if staff that are being hired by the government have the option of going with the furnished or the non-furnished accommodations.
I think that was different from the question that was asked earlier.
I just wanted to clarify that for the minister and I look forward to the minister's response.
Question 535 – 1(3): Education Funding
I would like to be very clear, when we were dealing with the Education budget there was a question that was brought up regarding to an addition to a school or gym.
I am not sure which.
He responded that there was 1.5 million dollars that is available.
I think it was Mr. Nutarak’s question.
The response was that there over 1 million that is available.
Could that money be used for anything.
The budget that we approved for Pond Inlet was 1 million dollars and we approved Clyde River 1 million 57 thousand.
The Minister just stated that we approved 1 million 57 thousand for Clyde River.
Will they be building that school.
Hon. James Arvaluk (interpretation): Yes we going to continue with the design and the planning of the part of the school.
How they will be demolishing part of the school that has been damaged and consult with the communities as to how we can we put an addition to the plan.
Mr. Speaker, where did you find the new dollars.
During the planning process the Cabinet usually plans the expenditures for one fiscal year.
Speaker: Thank you, Minister.
The reason why I had asked this question to the Minister is when Mr. Nutarak asked him a question he replied that he needed approval from the rest of the Cabinet Members.
There was no funding made available for addition for Pond Inlet school.
When he responded that way he had to get approval from the rest of the Cabinet.
So therefore, I asked him where they found the money, or where did they re-profile the money because at that time there was no money allocated for Pond Inlet School.
Speaker: Final Supplementary.
I do not really understand him.
We were dealing with the Main Estimates.
Our reports do not change and our intentions, plans do not change, and they have been approved by the members of the Legislative Assembly.
Question 536 – 1(3): Staff Housing Criteria
I will be directing my question to the Minister of Public Works.
The people who have been hired for decentralized positions, if they lived in public housing and if they happen to get employment with the Nunavut Government in the communities.
Would they be allowed to move to staff housing.
Once they work for Nunavut Government and provided that they do not own their own home they can apply for government staff housing.
Providing that these units are the property of the Nunavut Government they can apply for government staff housing.
We review the applicants on a case by case basis.
Question 537 – 1(3): Furniture for Decentralization
The staff of the Department of Education will be relocating to Pond Inlet with decentralisation and he stated that in the 2001 fiscal year the staff would be moving to Pond Inlet.
Have you already ordered the furniture that will be shipped during the summer time.
I did not realise it was me.
Yes, in regards to the Members question, if we already ordered that furniture and equipment for the units.
Sometimes I do not know if my staff has already ordered the furniture and whatnot. I can say is Mr. Speaker if we need to order anything my department usually does the ordering for other departments.
I will rephrase my question to the Minister of Education.
Some of his staff will be moving to Pond Inlet with decentralisation in 2001.
Is that the plan, is the plan going to go ahead to move staff to Pond Inlet.
I did not quite understand his question.
Can he rephrase the question again.
Speaker: Can you rephrase your question quickly.
We would like to get a few more questions before question period is up.
The Department of Education had planned to move their Department to Pond Inlet because the Divisional Board will be dissolved by July 1.
The Divisional Board had made plans to move their headquarters to Pond Inlet.
My question is the plan is that going to go ahead.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We have three more members to speak.
Mr. Iqaqrialu and Mr. Puqiqnak.
Question 538 – 1(3): Teenage Pregnancies
I hate to break House rules here.
I want to commend the Minister of Justice for his name change statement today that affects many my constituents.
They are going to be a lot happier on that.
My question today is to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
The Minister of Health and Social Services, I have to commend him today on his Anti-Smoking Campaign.
There are many people out there trying to kick the habit.
I know the Minister himself is trying hard and he has been successful.
I commend him on kicking a bad habit. My question today is we happen to have the highest birth-rate in North America if not Canada or wherever.
Our birth-rate is extremely high.
There is an alarming rate of teenage pregnancies in Nunavut.
Most of the time when these teenagers get pregnant they have to drop out of school and not completing their education.
Does the Minister responsible have some kind of strategy or plan in place to deal with this.
Speaker: I assume the question is directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
Hon. Ed Picco.
Mr. Speaker, as the Member probably knows several times I questioned the former Minister of Health Mr. Ng who is now the Minister of Finance about teenage pregnancies and about family planning. One of the things that we have done with the Health and Social Services Mr. Speaker is to look at awareness programs.
Working with the CHRs, working with the people we have to deal with family planning issues.
The concerns that are being brought forward about the teenage pregnancies and again the stress it puts on the system when we have young people having children.
We know that in some communities we have a birth-rate of 40-50-60 babies being born in the communities of 14 or 15 hundred people.
That is not sustainable over the long term.
So Mr. Speaker at this time the Department of Health and Social Services is working with its caregivers.
That’s professional in the field.
To deal with that Mr. Speaker in the coming months we will be dealing with a policy on family violence, or a statement to address this issue on a broader concept.
Mr. Speaker, we do as a Government see this as a priority of the Government itself.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Member for his question and I hope this answer helps generate some level of comfort to Mr. McLean.
Question period time is up.
It has been a practice once the question has started that we allow supplementary questions to follow.
I again commend the Honourable Minister of Health and Social Services to deal with this issue.
Can he give me a broad outline on how he is going to deal with this serious issue.
Can the Minister commit to me how he integrated Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit to this strategy that is he working on.
Speaker: Minister Picco.
Mr. Speaker, as the Member know the Department of Health and Social Services brought forward in this budget a mechanism where we would look at incorporating Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit within the Department of Health and Social Services by actually going out for example working with our elders.
Looking at other issues.
As the Member knows in Rankin Inlet we do have a birthing centre, Mr. Speaker.
That birthing centre would train people working with Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit for example.
The Member asked about specifically teenage pregnancies, we would incorporate some of child rearing practices.
Also Mr. Speaker, some of the traditional values the Inuit have come to be known by and using those Mr. Speaker with Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
Again Mr. Speaker after saying that, the majority of CHRs and our Field base staff are Inuit.
Therefore we are incorporating Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit into the Department of Health and Social Services and specifically into dealing with some of these issues that the Member has brought up teenage pregnancies and family planning.
Returns to Written Question.
Reports on Standing and Special Committees.
Reports of Standing and Special Committees. Mr. Tootoo.
Interim Report on the Review of the Report of the Chief Electoral Officer,  Election of the First Legislative Assembly of Nunavut - 1999: A New Beginning
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to make a report along with other Members of my committee.
We will be sharing it.
The Standing Committee on Ajauqtiit would like to present its interim report on the Review of the Report of the Chief Electoral Officer.
Election of the First Legislative Assembly of Nunavut-1999.
Entitled, “A New Beginning”.
Mr. Speaker, In October 1999, the Legislative Assembly referred the Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Nunavut, entitled Election of the First Legislative Assembly of Nunavut - 1999: A New Beginning, to the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit for review.
In addition to reviewing the specific recommendations contained in the report, the Standing Committee has also been interested in a broader review of the Elections Act, in the hopes of making recommendations that will ensure that this important legislation will meet the needs of Nunavummiut.
The Standing Committee has begun its review and hopes to continue it over the summer and conduct a community tour in the Fall, in order to hear from many different Nunavummiut about how we can improve the way elections in Nunavut are run.
As the Standing Committee has stated at the beginning of each of the public meetings it has held:
"Elections are the foundation of democracy.
We want to administer them in a way that encourages participation, recognizes the uniqueness of circumstances of Nunavut, and at the same time is effective and fiscally responsible."
Mr. Speaker on Elections in Nunavut.
Although the election in February 1999 was Nunavut's first official territorial election, as one of the presentations reminded us, elections and referenda have played a prominent role in Nunavut's history.
"The division of the NWT was approved in a plebiscite in 1982, where over 90 percent of the voters in what is now Nunavut voted in favour of division.
In 1992, another NWT-wide vote affirmed the new boundary between the two territories.
Later that year, in November, the Nunavut Final Agreement, upon which Nunavut's affairs today rest, was approved by nearly 85 percent.
In 1993, NTI, created from TFN, held its first election, voting in the leadership that would over the next six years help to lay the groundwork for creating the Nunavut Territory and the Nunavut Government."
Quote from Mr. Paul Quassa, President of NTI, April 13, 2000
The Standing Committee agrees that this history "reminds us of the strength of our democratic process in Nunavut.
It is something we should all be proud of."
The Standing Committee wants to build on this history.
Nunavut has the largest landmasses of any jurisdiction in Canada, and yet our population is small.
One of the challenges facing Nunavut in many areas is providing cost-effective and culturally appropriate services across these large distances and in communities with different needs.
Running elections in Nunavut faces the same challenges, only more so, since elections are only needed from time to time.
The first Nunavut territorial election cost almost $1 million [$977,035, plus $164,591.38 in candidate election expenses] to be exact Mr. Speaker.
The Standing Committee is only too aware that there are many needs for every dollar in Nunavut, and it is very interested in options that might result in some cost savings.
There are many levels of government that run elections in Nunavut that may be interested in the same issues: federal, territorial, hamlet, housing, DEAs, NTI, Regional Inuit Organizations, in addition to the issues of plebiscites and referenda.
One of the ideas that the Standing Committee has been most interested in is hearing people's comments on pooling our efforts in running elections at all levels in Nunavut and creating a made-in-Nunavut elections office to serve a number of needs and help us meet the challenges noted above.
Mr. Speaker, I would like now pass on the floor to the Co-Chairperson Mr. Alakannuark.
Public outreach.
February 2000 - Information flyers and letters were sent to all Hamlets and schools in Nunavut, inviting public comment on the Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, as well as on the Elections Act generally.
February 2000 - Information packages, including copies of the report, extra flyers and letters were also sent to every MLA's constituency office and Members were encouraged to distribute them to interested persons or groups in their community.  February 2000 - Advertisement placed in Nunatsiaq News.
February - April 2000 - Media advisories were prepared before each public meeting and public service radio announcements were prepared for two of the hearings.
Media releases were also prepared after each hearing to summarise the key ideas presented and discussed and several media articles have been written on the work of the Standing Committee.
Meetings to Date.
I will than give the floor to Mr. Akesuk.
In light of the intense schedule surrounding the Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit sittings, the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit decided that, at this time, it would only hold public meetings in Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit, when Members would be present for the Sitting.
Accordingly, the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit has held four public hearings on the Report, as well as a number of internal meetings.
February 3, 2000, Iqaluit
-- Presentation and discussion on the Report with the Chief Electoral Officer of the NWT, David Hamilton and Brian Armstrong, Co-ordinator of Training & Information with Elections NWT;
February 26, 2000, Rankin Inlet
-- Presentation and discussion with Sandy Kusugak, Returning Officer in Rankin Inlet for a number of elections, including territorial, federal, Hamlet, KIA and others; and
-- Discussion with Elders and caregivers of persons with disabilities regarding elections generally;
March 25, 2000, Iqaluit
-- Discussion with officials from the Department of Community Government and Transportation regarding local election issues;
-- Discussion with Kathy Smith, Chair of the Iqaluit District Education Authority regarding DEA election issues; and
-- Discussion with Phil Clarke, Official Agent for one of the candidates in the Nunavut territorial election regarding election financing issues
April 13, 2000, Iqaluit
-- Presentation and discussion with Paul Quassa, President of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) and John Lamb, Director of Implementation of NTI.
Now I ask Mr. Barnabas to continue.
Mr. Barnabas (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends):
While the Standing Committee has only heard from witnesses in Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet, a number of themes have emerged from the discussions to date that are worth noting at this time.
The Elections Act is very detailed and some of the concerns that have been raised would require amendments to the Elections Act at some point in the future.
However, the Standing Committee is not making recommendations at this time, but will do so in the final report.
The following are our observations to date:
Timing of elections - There is an emerging consensus that elections in Nunavut should be held in the Fall, after people have generally returned to the communities from the land, but before snow and cold make it more difficult for Elders and persons with disabilities to move about easily in the community.
Mobile Polls - The ability of Returning Officers to go to an individual's home to enable them to vote, particularly if they are ill or disabled, seems to be very important to Elders and persons with disabilities.
This may be preferable to proxy voting in these circumstances.
Proxy voting - Although some difficulties were noted here in the procedure, the ability to vote by proxy, particularly for people who are away from the community at the time of the election, still serves a need in Nunavut, particularly as people often have to leave the community for medical treatment or duty travel or they may plan to be on the land at the time of the election.
Mail-in ballots - It appears that mail-in ballots, particularly for students away from their communities, are a useful idea, but better co-ordination is needed with various government agencies in order to ensure that the students are sent the materials in a timely manner so that they can in fact use the mail-in ballots to vote.
Voters' list - It appears that almost all levels of elections in Nunavut face the difficulty of having an up-to-date voters' list.
Judging from the presentations, door-to-door enumeration is a difficult task and may not be worth the effort, since so many names are still left out.
But the absence of proper lists leads to many difficulties on Election Day, as was pointed out to the Standing Committee.
We need to look at better ways of getting and keeping up-to-date voters lists and transferring names when people move to another community.
The Standing Committee was very interested in hearing from the officials of the Department of Community Government and Transportation as to how they prepare voters' lists for local elections and perhaps we can learn from their experience. The Committee is also interested in learning more about permanent voters' lists generally and some of the practical and technical concerns that would have to be addressed before one could be set up in Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker I would like to ask Mr. Iqaqrialu to continue with the report.
Age of voting - The voting age for territorial elections is 18 years.
However, the voting age for Inuit organizations is 16 years.
Members were advised by NTI that this conforms to the traditional acknowledgement that youth age16 should start to be treated as adults.
It may be worth considering if Nunavut territorial elections should use the same minimum voting age as NTI and this has prompted some interesting discussions that the Standing Committee will be interested to hear more of in their meetings in other communities.
Forms - It appears that some of the forms could be improved.
For example, the nomination form could more clearly show where nominators should sign and where witnesses to nomination signatures should sign.
Proxy application forms and certificates may need to be simplified.
It will be also be important to consider how documents may be transmitted using facsimile and electronic means.
For example, the CEO recommends that the Elections Act be amended to permit candidates to submit their photograph by electronic means.
Right to vote of election officials - It appears that certain election officials are not allowed to vote, such as Returning Officers.
The CEO's report notes that this may be a violation of their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and therefore may need to be changed.
Should a tie vote result after a judicial recount, a by-election would now be held, so there doesn't appear to be a reason to prevent these people from voting.
Polling stations and time of voting - There appears to have been significant confusion in the larger communities that had more than one polling station and, in particular, in those communities with more than one electoral district.
The current law states that there should be a polling division for every 350 eligible electors.
People appear to support one central voting location in the community, one central listing of all voters in the community, and one central office location for the returning officers, rather than splitting them up, even in multi-electoral district ridings.
While a larger location would be needed to prevent overcrowding, these ideas may be worth exploring further.
People also support formally helping people to get to the voting station on Election Day, although they also like the idea of mobile polls, as noted earlier, for those who have difficulty getting to the polls.
In terms of advance polls, people seem to support being able to vote at the Returning Officer's office prior to Election day, over a number of days, rather than on one specific advance poll day only.
Working together - Although there were many issues and potential hurdles to deal with before such an idea could be turned into reality, it does seem that in principle, there could be much benefit in working together with NTI and other jurisdictions of Government in running elections in Nunavut.
Joint training, developing more consistent election procedures, sharing of officials, and possibly a common computerised voters list are just a few of the ideas worth exploring with all levels of government, as well as with Inuit organizations.
I will now give my mike back to Mr. Tootoo.
Mr. Tootoo: Thank you Mr. Chairman and thank you Mr. Iqaqrialu.
Over the coming summer and early Fall, the Standing Committee intends to:
Meet with Elections Canada officials to discuss issues relating to a permanent voters' lists, the use of technology in elections in more remote areas of Canada and issues around interjurisdictional co-operation on elections in other areas of Canada; and
Hold public meetings in one large and one smaller community in each region to hear community input on elections issues.
Hold a meeting to which all MLAs would be invited, to review the recommendations in the CEO's report in detail and any other comments or recommendations of the MLAs regarding the Elections Act of Nunavut.
The Standing Committee expects to present its Final Report and recommendations to the House in the Fall 2000 Session.