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When they graduate, they will need to find their way in life.
That compels us to plan wisely and to invest carefully so that our children find and create opportunity.
That brings me to a discussion about the investments we need to make.
Our most pressing investment needs are very clear.
We need to help Nunavummiut get skilled up for a fair shot at better futures.
We need better housing so kids can study and parents can help them learn.
We need better transportation between our communities and with the markets for what we sell.
We also need better communications systems.
To be sure, we have already started.
We are all looking forward to opening the new Iqaluit airport this summer.
We’re building marine infrastructure in Iqaluit and Pond Inlet.
These marine projects will greatly improve the sealift and fisheries.
This budget commits another $26 million over three years to get those projects done.
But there are other projects with big potential to help us develop.
I’m thinking about the road and port proposed for Grays Bay.
At nearly $500 million this would be a record investment in the Kitikmeot.
It would create major opportunities.
The federal government’s own transportation review said so last year.
A road from Yellowknife to the coast of Nunavut would cost nearly $2 billion, but it would also lead to nearly $40 billion in development projects.
An arctic gateway to the world would significantly increase economic activity in Nunavut, but we cannot build it without federal government support.
We know that the federal government is open to projects that make a difference in people’s lives.
We see this in their $68 million investment to improve Nunavut’s water systems and waste treatment.
We welcome the federal government’s commitment to share 75 percent of the upgrade costs.
They should extend their infrastructure support to the Grays Bay road and port.
The project will make a real difference for Nunavut.
Together with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association we will continue our discussions with the federal government about moving this project forward.
We are also talking with them about our proposal to build a road from Churchill to Arviat, Whale Cove, and Rankin Inlet.
As the Premier has said, we’re seeing some movement on our proposal, but not enough yet.
We continue our efforts as part of the Hudson Bay Regional Roundtable.
We will also continue to press the federal government about our critical need for more housing.
This year we will build 17 housing units for staff and 90 units for public housing, next year another 95 public housing units, but clearly we need many more as overcrowding remains a serious issue.
Using national standards, three in ten of Nunavut’s housing units are overcrowded.
It’s not just about providing better shelter.
Better housing would reduce stress, reduce mental health challenges, and reduce family violence.
Investments in housing mean better health care and fewer people relying on income support.
In the coming year the Nunavut Housing Corporation will launch the government’s Blueprint for Action on Housing.
This plan addresses our housing crisis over the long term.
By long term I mean a decade or two.
In building the plan, government departments, stakeholders, and builders all agreed on what we must do.
The plan includes 60 specific actions and we will get them done, but the one thing that the blueprint does not have and that it critically needs is enough federal funding.
We will continue to seek federal support.
As we invest in housing, roads, marine infrastructure, and other projects, we will also invest in people.
We will help them find better jobs, better quality of life, and better futures.
We must find a path away from poverty and away from income support.
We should all be concerned that our income support spending over the past six years has increased 60 percent.
Today nearly two in five Nunavummiut use some form of income support.
We need to break these chains of poverty.
Think of what would be better: less food insecurity, better health, better grades in school, better paycheques, fewer problems with drugs and alcohol, and less family violence.
It’s all related to poverty and we must find a way out.
Education is our top priority.
It is the key to developing people with technical, scientific and professional skills.
These are essential in the modern economy.
Without these skills, without these skilled people, we will not get far in the modern world.
Look back to the Auditor General’s report in 2010.
At that time, roughly ten years into our territory’s existence, we had focused on hiring Nunavut Inuit.
We aimed then as we do now to create a civil service that reflects the population that it serves, but the Auditor General pointed out that our approach would need to change.
Sheila Fraser told us we needed people who are, in her word, “qualified” to provide government programs and services.
Look back even further.
Eleven years ago Justice Thomas Berger said it is impossible to consider the objectives of Article 23 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement without considering that a vast majority of government jobs have educational qualifications.
That was why our government, beginning with the Third Assembly, set out to address this skills issue through our Human Resource Strategy.
I will say more about that strategy in a moment.
The main solution to the issue lies in improving education.
Let’s celebrate the news that our schools are graduating more students.
At the same time let us also recognize that too many Nunavummiut leave high school without a diploma.
Passing grade 12 is the foundation for future success.
In this budget we will invest $850,000 to improve support services in our schools.
We will help families to support their kids’ education.
We will improve early childhood education programs, improve Inuit language teaching in elementary schools, and hire more Inuit teachers.
We will train young men and women for government careers.
Our internship program is part of the answer, so is our Summer Student Employment Equity Program.
Last summer the government hired 249 students across the territory.
That’s a good news story.
This year we want to hire even more.
We will improve labour market training for adults and help them prepare for better jobs.
We will give Nunavut Arctic College an additional $1.3 million to help fund its social worker and early childhood education programs.
The college will also help Nunavummiut to become better entrepreneurs and stronger managers.
Starting this fall it will launch a four-year law program in partnership with the University of Saskatchewan to graduate lawyers who know our territory.
That law program represents a $1.6 million investment.
Through all of these measures we are helping Nunavummiut to take part in the market economy.
We are also working to make it easier for Nunavummiut to grow their businesses through sales to this government.
The new NNI Policy takes effect April 1.
The government will launch a plain-language guide that explains the new rules.
We will run an awareness campaign so that people know how they can do business with us.
The Department of Economic Development and Transportation will receive $2.5 million next year to help communities to build more access roads and to improve dust control.
At the same time the environment department will begin work to update the Nunavut Sealing Strategy.
It will improve both the Commercial Fish Freight Subsidy program and the Fisheries Development and Diversification Program.
In the tourism sector we will begin a program of targeted training and certification and develop a new strategy to promote our cultural industries.
We will improve support for the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association and the Film, Television and New Media program.
We will continue support for responsible and sustainable petroleum exploration in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait.
At the same time we remain very concerned about the federal government’s ban on new licensing in arctic waters.
As the Premier stated in December, it is critical that Nunavummiut are part of the discussions about our economic future.
This is yet another reason why we look forward to progress in our devolution negotiations.
Self-government compels us to gain greater control over natural resources.
We cannot afford to have more surprises like this ban on developing resources we consider to be our own.
Stronger people and communities
As we open the doors to a strong and prosperous future, we are also concentrating on strengthening our communities with healthy families and individuals.
This budget provides the health department with $353 million next fiscal year.
That’s $12 million more than this year.
It’s a rise of 3.5 percent.
It represents this government’s single greatest expenditure.
Our focus remains on healthy living, injury prevention, and helping people to overcome substance abuse and addictions.
Improved mental wellness is essential to our success.
That is why our government has given the health department $6.6 million to set up the Quality of Life Secretariat.
This new unit will support community and wellness organizations.
It will also operate mobile trauma response, support the Embrace Life Council, and help fund a 24-hour crisis helpline.
Mental wellness also accounts for most of the $3 million in new funds for health care service delivery.
We will expand community-based services for mental health and addictions.
In addition to supporting individuals, we are strengthening our communities.
We will help them to deter drug dealers, bootleggers, and the other criminals whose actions hurt people’s health and safety.
Our efforts take on extra significance this year with the opening of a beer and wine store in Iqaluit.
As the Minister responsible for the Liquor Licensing Board and the Nunavut Liquor Commission, and the Minister of Justice, I have a particular interest in this matter.
As this House knows, the government issued a detailed plan last October on steps to reduce the harm of alcohol.
As the Nunavut Liquor Act Review Task Force said, freer access to beer and wine is a way to disrupt bootleggers and to reduce the harm caused by binge drinking hard liquor.
Our new beer and wine store is another step in harm reduction.
We will use further harm reduction strategies, including an awareness campaign to encourage healthy and informed choices.
Strengthening communities also means keeping them safe.
The RCMP signed a shared direction agreement with our government last fall.
They made a commitment to provide services that are efficient, effective, and culturally relevant.
We agreed to review our work so we will all know if we are meeting our objectives.
The RCMP is concentrating on three areas: communication, communities at risk, and crime reduction.
Guided by this agreement, the RCMP will put nine new constables on the streets in Cape Dorset, Pangnirtung, Baker Lake, Arviat, Rankin Inlet, Gjoa Haven, and Iqaluit.
As well, the Mounties will continue to work closely with our communities.
They’re focused on communicating better in the Inuit language, improving our criminal intelligence system, and upgrading crime prevention programs.
The RCMP and our government are helping Nunavummiut to understand the risks from alcohol and drugs.
Addictions, substance abuse, and mental illness all strain our court system.
Rising caseloads mean people wait longer for justice to be served.
We will expand the Justice of the Peace program into more communities, and by offering training and other supports to our Justices of the Peace so we can resolve cases that don’t require involvement by a judge.
We will also provide more programs and support services for victims of crime.
At the same time we will also step up funding to the Community Justice Program.
We are helping communities to lead restorative justice efforts that help victims, hold offenders accountable, and address the root causes of crime.
Improving government
Now that we have talked about strengthening our people and our communities and about developing a stronger economic future, let me focus now on the government itself.
After all, we have work to do so we can deliver our programs and services efficiently and effectively.
We said in Sivumut Abluqta that we would review government programs.
We wanted to see which worked well, which needed fixing, and where we should concentrate our resources.
We completed many reviews.
Each department received recommendations for improvement.
Now departments are working with the Department of Finance and the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs to review how we manage shared services.
That includes human resources, our computer systems, and our procurement.
Perhaps our most significant review focused on our Human Resource Strategy.
After all, the efficiency and effectiveness of government will be highest when we have the right person, in the right job, at the right time, making the right decisions.
That’s what we need to deliver the highest quality programs and services within our limited resources.
Three years ago we established the Human Resource Strategy.
We said we would increase Inuit employment, recruit skilled people, develop our employees, and improve our service to the public.
We also said we would gather better data for making decisions.
We are working on all of these things.
We have made several improvements.
We have introduced a policy on workplace harassment.
We are providing anti-harassment training that promotes a respectful workplace and we have trained nearly 500 employees to date.
We are also supporting individuals who return to work and are training our managers about their responsibilities to accommodate employees’ needs.
We are supporting breastfeeding mothers in the workplace.
We have appointed an ethics officer.
We are developing programs to train and support employees and to develop and engage managers and leaders.
We will become an employer of choice.
The bottom line is that we are making significant progress in improving our human resources, including staffing, training, and Inuit employment.
We will see that anyone who works for the government or applies for a government job is treated fairly and equitably.
On staffing I can report that Inuit employment in government remains around 50 percent.
The actual number of government-employed Inuit reached 1,762.
If one looks back a few years to 2009, one will see that the number of Inuit holding government jobs has risen by 257.
In other words, the number of Inuit working for the government has risen.
We continue to make progress.
Little more than a year ago this government introduced restricted job competitions, making it easier for Inuit to join the public service in their home communities.
Our successful internship program provides Inuit employees with on-the-job opportunities to acquire management skills.
Last fall EIA reorganized the Sivumuaqatigiit Division to focus only on meeting our targets for Inuit employment.
The Public Service Training Division is reporting strong Inuit participation in its leadership program, almost 80 percent.
Just last week 15 participants successfully completed the senior managers’ stream of the program.
At the ceremony Dalhousie University agreed to recognize graduates of the program with course credits at the postgraduate or masters level.
These types of partnerships create even more opportunities for our public servants to advance their training and development.
Yes, we have a way to go before the public service fully reflects the people that it serves.
Yes, we have our challenges in finding the right people, and I talked a few minutes ago about how our education system will help fill that gap.
The important thing to remember is that we are making progress and we will continue to work towards becoming a representative public service.
Mr. Speaker, while I’m talking about the public service, I’ll just mention that I’m grateful to the many public servants who have helped shape this fiscal plan.
I want to express my appreciation to all departments, agencies, and territorial corporations.
In particular I thank my team at the Department of Finance.
As I said at the beginning, this is the ninth budget I have brought before this House.
It is also the last Budget Address that I will deliver in this Fourth Assembly.
Looking back over this Assembly’s work, our prudent approach to public money and property has been proven correct.
We have steadily improved the programs and services that we provide to Nunavummiut.
Large challenges remain, especially in housing and infrastructure, but we are increasingly able to meet these challenges by strengthening our people, our communities, our government, and our economy.
We are achieving and delivering what this Assembly set out to do four years ago and that’s to build a better future for the people we serve.
Ministers’ Statements. (interpretation ends) Item 4. Members’ Statements.
Hon. Member for Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu, Ms. Pat Angnakak.
Member’s Statement 430 – 4(3): Stop Bullying Now (Angnakak)
Mr. Speaker, I rise today wearing pink along with many of my colleagues in support of the nationwide campaign to stop bullying.
Mr. Speaker, bullying is not just a problem in our schools. Our children suffer and often feel that they can’t tell anyone what is happening.
We need to show them that we support them, that we will listen to them, and that we as a society will not tolerate bullying.
Mr. Speaker, bullying is not just a problem in our workplaces; people’s livelihoods and the well-being of their families can be affected by the way that they are treated in the workplace. Occasionally people even quit their job because they cannot face the bullying and mistreatment.
As employers and as representatives of our communities, we need to show that we will not tolerate individuals using their positions of power and authority to undermine and demean others.
Mr. Speaker, bullying is not just a problem in our families.
Just one time is too often.
We hear of elders who are threatened and taken advantage of by family members.
Their pension cheques are taken from them and they have no money left to pay their bills.
Mr. Speaker, bullying exists in many areas and it takes many forms, and we cannot let it continue.
Today we wear the colour pink to show that we care, that victims of bullying are not alone, and that we will help and support them whenever possible.
Mr. Speaker, today and every day we need to speak out against bullying behaviour. We need to be available to talk about the issue and move forward with healing and helping.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the many wearers of pink today.
Together we can make a difference.
Members’ Statements. Member for Rankin Inlet South, Mr. Alexander Sammurtok.
Member’s Statement 431 – 4(3): Culturally Appropriate Services for Elders (Sammurtok, A)
I am sure you would be surprised if I did not rise again to address an issue that has been a primary concern of mine throughout my term: the need for an elders facility in the community of Rankin Inlet.
Mr. Speaker, I have already noted on several occasions that a number of Rankin Inlet elders have been taken away from their home and sometimes away from the territory to receive care.
Mr. Speaker, maintaining close cultural familiarities ensures comfort and dignity in the lives of our elderly residents.
I am confident that many of my colleagues have read recent stories in the media about Nunavut elders who are receiving care in the southern facilities without hearing their own language or eating familiar food.
Sadly it appears that the legal requirement to provide linguistically appropriate services in the Inuit language no longer applies once a Nunavut resident is removed from the territory.
Mr. Speaker, I note that the Department of Health had recently issued a request for proposals for culturally appropriate level 4/level 5 out-of-territory care services for Nunavut seniors.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that providing culturally appropriate care would be much easier to do if we provide it here at home in Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that there are different levels required by elders and other individuals in long-term care facilities, and I have acknowledged that the higher the level of care the more extensive the staffing and resources that are needed.
However, I feel that we need to do more at home to provide care, especially at levels 1, 2, and 3, for our aging seniors.
Member’s Statement 432 – 4(3): Harmful Impact of Bullying (Mikkungwak)
I rise today to urge community residents and all members of society to speak out against (interpretation ends) bullying and to help prevent the harmful impacts of bullying.
Mr. Speaker, bullying is a serious problem.
Sometimes the impact of bullying can be devastating to its victims.
Bullying can affect people by making them lose sleep or feel sick.
Bullying can make people not want to go out in the world; skip school, skip work, skip social activities.
Victims of bullying can feel hopeless and helpless and sometimes even lose their will to go on.
Mr. Speaker, while I know that bullying can occur anywhere, it seems particularly bad amongst our youth.
It is important that our schools not only support anti-bullying programs but also ensure that youth have someone they can go to and talk to.
Mr. Speaker, today is Pink Shirt Day and it is nice to see so many people showing their support for this anti-bullying initiative.
It is important that we not remain bystanders when we see something happening that involves bullying.
We can all be involved.
Member’s Statement 433 – 4(3): Happy Birthday to Grandchild (Qirngnuq)
Mr. Qirngnuq (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I want to say we all love our children and adopted children.
I would like to wish my adopted child a happy birthday. I rise today to wish this child a happy birthday.
While the public out there is watching, I wish to share my support in the showing of having love that we’re feeling today for our children and ourselves.
Member’s Statement 434 – 4(3): Kimmirut Incident Involving Firearm (Joanasie)
Good afternoon, colleagues, people listening to the proceedings, and visitors.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to a problem and a concern over something that happened in South Baffin in the community of Kimmirut. There was a firearm incident.
Mr. Speaker, it’s unfortunate when firearm incidents occur in our communities and people want to hurt other people.
Mr. Speaker, our firearms are for hunting animals that we eat. They don’t have any other purpose.
Mr. Speaker, if we are angry and we have problems in our lives, then we have to look at how we can get help. Mr. Speaker, there are good healing programs using different means that can help us.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the people who provided assistance in Kimmirut during this incident to put it to a peaceful end by helping the RCMP so that nobody would get hurt.
I thank the RCMP for their role in keeping our communities safe.
Mr. Speaker, let’s show our support for other people and share our wish to stand together.
Mr. Speaker, if we are feeling pain within ourselves, there are good healing programs that we can turn to. We can all heal, so let us make it available.
Member’s Statement 435 – 4(3): Policies for Social Assistance (Shooyook)
I rise today to express my concern over the lack of policies to ensure that income assistance clients spend the money they receive for social assistance appropriately.
Mr. Speaker, social assistance money is provided to make sure that individuals and families have enough to eat.
It is there for those who have no other source of income to make sure that they and their children do not go hungry.
Mr. Speaker, it seems that there is no policy to ensure that social assistance money is spent on food. Some income assistance clients spend their money on toys, gadgets, and even cigarettes.
This is not what this money is intended for. In Nunavut’s smaller and more remote communities these items can be very expensive. The more money that income support clients spend on those kinds of items, the less money there is for them to spend on food.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize that people need to be responsible for their own decisions. However, it seems that when some individuals are given that responsibility, they do not behave wisely.