EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I am just wondering what happened to the one that was there before?
There was no receptionist before, but also at the same time, there is a very heavy workload for a receptionist which has necessitated the position.
So basically, this is a forced growth issue PY that the Minister is indicating?
We can say that, but also at the same time, we found the funds from within to create this position.
Mr. Chairman, I echo some concerns that my colleague, Mr. Iqaqrialu, mentioned.
In early childhood development, it seems that some students have the benefits of participating in pre-school programs or in a daycare where they are learning things like that in those environments.
Has the department given any thought to expanding or offering a pre-school program that could be available to all residents of Nunavut, regardless of whether it was a daycare program, or not?
At this time we provide funding for the daycare facilities and their programs.
In the communities where daycare is being provided, we provide some funding.
This is contingent on the community initiating this type of service provision.
There is no universal program in Nunavut for children to participate at this time.
Mr. Chairman, some concerns have been raised over the last two days in education referring to the children at different levels when they enter the education system, like kindergarten, or grade one.
Some children have had the benefit of a pre-school or a daycare program where they learn certain things that other children have not been fortunate enough to have that opportunity and exposure.
That causes some of the problems within the system.
I know in other jurisdictions around the world, they have a pre-school program as part of the school system.
It starts at age three.
It is just like going to regular school.
It is not mandatory for the children but an optional program.
Has there been any thought given to looking at a model or something like that to prepare our youth so that when they get to kindergarten, or grade one, that they are on an equal playing field when they get there?
To date we have not discussed this idea to have the program for Nunavut.
We are in support of these Early childhood programs because we know that it would be good for the preschoolers and they’re taking good care of them in the daycares and the early childhood programs.
What they do is that they give them an early childhood education.
At this time as a department, we don’t have anything setup to do a program for the numbers that they are talking about because we don’t have any funding for that kind of program.
But Mr. Chairman, if we compare with some of the other jurisdictions and our Nunavut communities, we have some very good programs available as well.
Mr, Chairman, in the daycare grants the same number is listed as the previous year and the Minister indicated earlier in his opening comments or in the Finance Minister’s budget address, he indicated that there was quite a significant increase in the number of daycare spots available throughout Nunavut.
As a result of that, is each facility allocated less money because the funding has stayed the same or are they getting less money because the finding hasn’t increased to match the growth up there?
There is no decrease in the amount of money that is provided for the daycare facilities.
But aside from that Mr. Chairman, there are also Inuit organizations who provide further funding for those programs.
As the Government of Nunavut, we’re not the only ones that provide funding for those early childhood programs.
This is a very good part; working with the Inuit organizations to provide a breakfast program to enable our children to learn.
Again, under the daycare thing and it’s great to see the government working with different organizations, we have the same clientele that we’re trying to help and it’s good to see that partnership.
I remember a few years ago, raising the whole daycare and the funding issue.
Since that review was done at that time, it resulted in increased funding.
Have any subsequent reviews been looked at to make sure that their funding is still adequate or are more needs out there?
The cost of living goes up and the cost of everything goes up, the daycares aren’t immune to those increased costs so I’m wondering if any further reviews were done to ensure that the funding level is still adequate?
Perhaps my ADM could respond to that question.
The review that the Member is talking about, that happened quite a while back.
We have not had any reviews since that review.
I can say that the Inuit organizations has some funding available to deal with daycares or to get funding for daycares so we work with them on a continual basis as it relates to early childhood education and to train the early childhood teachers.
Maybe just to bring up a couple of questions: would the department consider, whether it be polling or a survey or a questionnaire to the daycares, to see if over the last few years since this increased funding came out as a result of the last study, is that still adequate or have your costs increased and at least then we would have an idea of whether we need to look at additional funding for them if it were necessary.
Yes, I realize that since that last review was done, Ms. Okpik has met with the various Inuit organizations to look into those concerns that the Member is talking about.
Ever since the first review was done, we have not talked about doing another review.
Would the Minister commit to doing that with the daycares, not the Inuit organizations to make sure that the funding that they get is adequate?
Have their costs increased since the new funding was put in place.
Then maybe report back to the Members to see whether or not it would give us an idea of whether we should increase the funding to those subsidies to the daycare or not.
Mr. Chairman, we will talk with the daycare centres in Nunavut communities to ask them those types of questions that the Member is referring to.
The other thing that was mentioned and I know it’s been an issue with the daycares for ever I guess is with the staffing and the qualifications of the staff who work in the daycares and whether there’s a certain certification program that they need to take in order to be able to work in a licensed daycare.
One of the things that I know every daycare in the city here and I’m sure every daycare across Nunavut, is I know they have a very hard time attracting and retaining staff because the certification required isn’t something that is very well recognized; wages that they can pay these individuals are not very much.
I’m just wondering if there’s some type of a strategy or a plan in place to look at that with the daycares to try and address that solution to that problem that they have.
The daycares that are in the communities have their own staff but in regards to their further training, we have talked about the concerns that we have.
Perhaps Ms. Okpik could explain a little further on that.
Like I said, we have met twice with the Inuit organizations in various regions to ask them question such as the kinds of training they could partake in.
There have been two regional training sessions for the daycare workers and there is also going to be a training session at the Arctic College in the fall in the Baffin Region.
Those are types of things that we are working with them and it’s an ongoing thing and as to the qualifications of the daycare workers, what we have done is we work with them on those training initiatives.
Just on the qualification requirements, are there any legal requirements to be able to work in a daycare?
Or can anyone work in the daycare?
Is there any recognized training that an individual has to have before they are able to work in the daycare?
Or is the absence of a criminal record and the willingness to show up is good enough to work with daycares?
Mr. Chairman, at this time, we have no policy in place in regards to that but the daycare committee hire the daycare workers when ever they need to be hired or when ever they request a worker.
In 916, that’s where my question is.
On 916 it states contribution to provide support services to students from Nunavut who attend post-secondary institutions and training programs in the Edmonton area.
What if they were in Ottawa or Winnipeg, why is it only specifying this city?
Is it for early childhood education?
The northern student education initiative is a specific program to provide support for students from Nunavut who attend post-secondary in Edmonton and surrounding areas.
That’s only geared for the programs for 8 weeks.
We need to provide apartments for these students and as well, there is a transportation program for these students and there is support to help them find accommodations and it is orientation for the students regarding the area in Edmonton.
And part of that is orientation and how to live in the southern city and those are the kinds of support that are within that.
I wonder why this a part of career in early childhood services?
Are services provided to students going in Ottawa area?
Chairperson (interpretation): Minister Kilabuk:
Hon. Peter Kilabuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My apologies, these are under the early childhood services section regarding the northern student education initiative.
It’s geared for students who go on an eight week program in the Edmonton area and this is like a pilot project as to whether how successful they retain this kind of program and it is not being offered anywhere else at this point.
It’s a pilot project to get information on how good it can be run.
Are these daycare workers under the careers for early childhood services, and it’s talking about students attending post-secondary and the Minister responded that it’s a pilot project and it just started now because it never had any money before, now we have $15 thousand in there.
Did that just start, and why Edmonton, why not something that is closer, somewhere like Quebec or Ontario?
Just to clarify the situation to my colleague.
On the title of this page for career and early childhood services, it’s just a title.
They are bunched into one category.
So it’s not only pertaining to early childhood education; it’s also career programs as well.
On her other question, if you look at Nunavut, Ottawa and Montreal are not the only gateway cities to Nunavut. Nunavut is a vast area because we have people in the Kitikmeot who are geographically directly under Edmonton and that’s their gateway city and we have Winnipeg as well.
As I said, this is a fact finding initiative and it’s only the beginning and only in Edmonton.
How many students do we have on pilot projects?
Another question was that we didn’t have this program before, now we have $15 thousand that’s budgeted for this year so do we already have students in there?
My apologies Mr. Chairman, I think I misunderstood her other question, but I think there are around 15 to 20 students who are involved in this initiative.
Ms. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 15 to 20 students, that’s a lot of students.
It is good to know that our young people are going to training like this.
What kind of program would they be on, on the job training?
I guess that is what the Minister said.
I’ll ask my ADM to respond to the specific programs under this line item.
The apprenticeship training programs fall under this initiative and they go there for eight weeks at a time.
This is meant to benefit those who are going south for the first time to the Northern Alberta Institute in Technology and it’s for first time students.
We give them assistance to find accommodations because these guys only go down temporarily for duration of eight weeks.
We also give them an orientation about the institute and also give them different orientations about the bus routes, how to open bank accounts and there’s a staff person who assists these students as well, especially those students who are going down for the first time.
Ms. Williams: Mr. Chairman, thank you.
I’ll try to ask the question again.
What are courses these people are taking?
I know they need to have accommodations and they need to go to the bank and the hospital.
What kinds of courses are these people talking?
We have 15 to 20 students.
The different programs that fall under this initiative, I can’t specify exactly, but there are different programs from any where from aircraft maintenance to engineering, automotive service technicians, cabinet making, carpenters, cooking courses, therapists or heavy equipment operator mechanic training and as well oil burner mechanic training, pipe fitting, welding and different trades programs.
Those are usually the types of programs that can fall under that initiative.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you. Any thing else.
It’s good to know that a lot of people are training in these areas.
It would be good to see a plan that some of these could be done in Nunavut.
I’m sure that a lot of this could be established in Nunavut.
It’s too bad that we’re sending our students down to the provinces to do that.
It’s just a statement Mr. Chairman.
Chairperson (interpretation): Would you like to respond to that, Mr. Kilabuk?
Yes I do agree with her, Mr. Chairman.
It would be preferable to keep our students within Nunavut.
Give the circumstances that there’s no place in Nunavut, as yet, it’s hard to say although it’s in discussions now.
That’s what we keep hearing that in each session in the House, we need more Nunavut based training.
Mr. Chairman, during one of the sessions, that review for adult education will also be a part of that as I’ve stated before.
We’re going to look into it as to how we can provide more Nunavut based training and that will be part of the upcoming review.
Perhaps we’ll be included in the upcoming interim report.
Ovide.
My question is under early childhood programs, daycare grants.
There are different daycares in the communities.
Are elders included in the Daycare Program, as part of the programming?
The elders who are unilingual Inuktitut speaking, yes they are involved.
I am aware that some daycare workers in my community were totally involved within the daycare.
I would like to remind the Member that these daycares are responsible for staffing themselves.
My other question is also regarding daycare.
The children that are at daycares, in what language are they taught within these daycares, in English or Inuktitut?
In the majority of the communities, the language of instruction in the daycares is in Inuktitut.
In some of the daycares, Inuktitut is not as prominent, but it is used.
The majority of the daycares, Inuktitut is made a priority.
Do they also have a daycare curriculum for these kids?
They do their own planning for the activities in the daycare.
He says that the daycares provide their own activities within the daycares.
Have there been discussions as to whether your department can provide some curriculum materials?
The daycares provide their own activity planning.
I thank you for asking me.
The communities had wanted to take on more of their everyday activities.
That is a part that we also believe that we should give these communities the authority to run their own affairs.
As I said they arrange for their own activities within the daycares, whether it is the operation or the scheduling of schedules.
It is done by the daycares.
My final question will be regarding your statement about videos in the daycares.
Are there any Inuktitut-made videos that are shown in these daycares?
I apologize if I had him misunderstand.
What I stated was we did was that we would like to promote not particularly videos.
I am sorry if he understood that comment.
We wanted to have some information and it is not pertaining to any videos.
I am sorry if there was a misunderstanding there.
I think it is part of the dialectal difference that we misunderstood.
Mr. Havioyak: On 914 you have income support fees and payments.
I just want to ask the minister, I know that there has been a high turn-over rate in my community.
Maybe it’s in the region, I don’t know.
I just know that the community has been having problems having that position filled, that the income support worker.
I’m sure some of your staff are aware of that.
I’m just wondering why this is?
Maybe not enough wages there or is it?
I don’t know, I’m just trying to get a feel as to why we have this high turn-over rate in the community of Kugluktuk.
I don’t know if it’s the same in other places but the reason I know that they had to borrow some employees from different programs and services within that hamlet.
So, if you can just touch on that a little bit, I’m sure its in the contribution agreement between the hamlets but again is it because of low pay or is it because half the day work they move on to a full-time job?
I just want to get the feel for that.
For the specifics of the wages for the Member’s community, it’s hard for me to say at times if it’s been the reason behind it all.
But, I’ll just say that, we as a department heard where communities expressed their concerns to us but a lot of it goes back to the agreement that we have with the municipalities and it is through those municipalities that have the final say in control of the agreement, the contract.
So, why would you have a high turn-over in your region?
It is very difficult for me to answer.
Mr. Havioyak: Okay, let’s use Kugluktuk as an example.
I’m sure it’s the same thing across Nunavut.
Some communities, I won’t say all, but I know they have a high turn-over rate.
There might be some personal reasons, maybe there is confidentiality there, if the hamlet for example, identifies that we need to re-negotiate that agreement?
Are you open to that type of approach from the hamlet when they’re saying that we have a high turn-over rate here; we need to revisit that and re-negotiate the agreement.
If I’m correct, there is an annual agreement that’s reviewed every year. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairperson (interpretation): If you would introduce your official please, Mr. Kilabuk.
My big gun. (interpretation) She is the income support coordinator, Ms. Sandra Tieman.
I really want to make sure that, I know that part-time I’m sure she’s aware of that.
We need to address a permanent solution, some how, because who is having a hard time when they don’t have income support for the people who needs some food in their house, they’re the ones that are suffering because the positions isn’t filled at the time they need that individual.
Then they have to wait for the regional person to come over to the community and say, no she’s not going to come for another week.
Those kinds of things have been happening.
I’m looking for ways to resolve this somehow so we have someone permanent in the community.
I’m sure it’s in the agreement with the hamlet, but how to get people interested in staying in that position.
I don’t want to sound like I’m trying to get away from a potential problem but Mr. Chairman, with the agreements that we’ve got with the municipalities, I want to ensure that our partner, through the agreement is involved in the decision making as to what the expectations are for the delivery of the program.
I encourage the Member, my colleague, to discuss these issues also with the hamlet so that we can possibly look at identifying the areas of concern.
But I want to emphasis Mr. Chairman that I want to make sure that our partner, which is the hamlet, be kept in the loop of any possible redirection for any delivery of the service.
We’ll try to keep the subject at hand.
We’re on page 9-14 and 9-15 and 9-16.
Let’s keep to the subject at hand.
Mr. Havioyak: I think that’s what I’m doing, keeping on that page 9-14, income support.
That’s why I’m asking these questions.
According to your answers, we can try and work with the hamlets, but when I get back, so I have something to go by, that’s why I’m trying to see if there’s open communication and make sure we identify all the problems that are in that community.
I want to make sure that we have open communication here even though there’s that contribution agreement.
Chairperson (interpretation): I don’t hear a question.
Mr. Puqiqnak, you will have ten minutes to ask your questions.
I always seem to go over my time limit, but first of all, one of my colleagues asked a question and I wanted to tell the High Arctic Member of the Legislative Assembly as Members of the Legislative Assembly we have the Central Arctic, if you were from the central arctic, to go to Edmonton, it takes a lot longer than it does here.
We are representing the whole territory of Nunavut and we have to look at all the regions as we represent Nunavut.
This is more of a comment to the colleague from the high arctic.
I don’t always like your responses, Mr. Minister, but this time I agree with you.
First of all, this question was asked earlier in regards to the early childhood program, daycare grants.
Those are the daycares at the community level.
I don’t know if they follow the same policy, but each individual community, I believe has a daycare board or society.
Are these daycares able to hire their own employees, for example childcare workers, finance comptrollers and so on?
The daycare committees do have the authority to make the decisions at the community level in regards to the operations, in regards to how many child placements they will have, what types of activities and programs are going to be held at that daycare and so on.
They do have that role and responsibility.
There are 26 communities in Nunavut.
Do they all have daycare centres?
Hon. Peter Kilabuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 25 out of 26 have daycare centers if I’m correct.
Whale Cove is the only community that doesn’t have a daycare centre.
Just for my information, do the daycare committees have policies for committees or do they have orientations so they’ll know what kinds of roles and responsibilities they have?
I would like to apologize first of all.
I have responded earlier without saying they do have policies but they do.
They also have guidelines but the daycare committees make the decisions about the employees and everything related to the operations of the daycare centre.
Mr. Puqiqnak (interpretation): A little earlier, my colleagues wanted to know if elders are involved in the operations of the daycares.
Our language is very important to us and in that part of the Kitikmeot area, there are young parents who have forgotten their mother tongue.
There are children who are brought to the daycare centres who do not or are barely able to speak in Inuktitut.
With that, if we’re going to preserve and promote our Inuktitut languages, is it possible for your department to direct the childcare workers to use the Inuktitut as the primary language so that it would be promoted right at the childcare stage?
I am not sure and do not know whether we can tell the daycares to use a specific language.
If it is okay with you, Mr. Chairman, I will have the deputy minister to make the response.
There are two things that responded to that.
First of all there is a program called the Aboriginal Head Start Program, which is a federally funded program, which has a particular emphasis on language and culture.
There are seven of those that currently operate with that federal funding in Nunavut.
In the recent budget the Federal Government announced some expansion of that funding.
That program is particularly designed to help communities recapture language where it is being lost.
In addition to that, in the language of instruction materials that the Minister released in November, one of the things that were talked about was language of instruction, Inuktitut in a preschool program.
Part of the community consultations will be talking about the need for language exactly as you mentioned in the communities in areas such as preschools.
So we would anticipate as we have discussions over the next year, the language of instruction.
The very area that you mentioned will be emphasized a lot, and we would like to work directly with the preschools in promoting the Inuktitut language in all preschools.
I understand that there is federal funding available through the Head Start Program.
Is it possible for the communities to produce their own curriculum in Inuktitut that will be used in the daycare centres?