EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Mr. Speaker, the government recently issued an RFP for a technical study to be done in relation to Resolute Bay’s water and sewage system. I strongly urge the government to work closely with the community on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, I was elected to work with my colleagues in the spirit of consensus. I hope to continue doing this. However, I do want to express the importance of fairness and common sense in our spending plans.
If the capital city can be provided with millions of dollars for road paving, surely the government can afford the $80,000 that it costs to maintain the road between Arctic Bay and Nanisivik.
If we have thousands of dollars to spend to fly delegations of politicians and bureaucrats… .
Mr. Speaker, I would like to request unanimous consent to continue with my Member’s Statement.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Elliott. Mr. Elliott is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement.
There are none. You may proceed, Mr. Elliott.
If we have thousands of dollars to spend to fly delegations of politicians and bureaucrats across the Atlantic in carbon-spewing jumbo jets to attend the conference on fighting climate change, surely we can find the money to help the residents of the High Arctic deal with the high cost of air travel here at home.
Mr. Speaker, as the government gets ready to present its proposed 2010-11 operations and maintenance budget to this House for scrutiny and approval early next year, I hope that it keeps these observations in mind.
Member’s Statement 122 – 3(2): Holiday Wishes to Colleagues and Constituents (Schell)
As we get closer to the end of our sitting, I’m pleased to take this opportunity to extend my warmest holiday wishes to my colleagues and constituents.
We covered a lot of ground in the House during the last two weeks, so I encourage everybody here to enjoy the holidays as best as they can so that they can be well rested and ready to start up again in the New Year.
I particularly encourage the Minister responsible for Housing to get a good rest because I’m very confident that he will be on his feet quite often in the next sitting.
I would like to extend my Christmas greetings to my constituents in Cape Dorset and Kimmirut. I greatly appreciate the correspondence, calls, and conversations that I had with them over the past year.
Mr. Speaker, their concerns are my concerns and I will continue to work hard on their behalf.
I hope that everybody is able to find some time to enjoy the holidays with family and friends, and I wish everybody a safe and peaceful holiday season.
Member’s Statement 123 – 3(2): Reflections on Passing Year and H1N1 (Okalik)
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) Today I want to rise to talk about the current year that we just went through and the challenges that we faced as we come to the end of the year.
The biggest issue for me, probably one of them, was the outbreak of the H1N1 virus and how we can learn from that experience. I appreciate the latest work that the Department of Health has done in vaccinating everyone.
I appreciate everyone in participating in that program. However, prior to that, we were faced with a real challenge throughout Nunavut. I want to learn from that and encourage the department to do more work so that we can prevent further outbreaks in the future.
A lot of issues have been raised about overcrowding in the homes that contributed to the problem. At the same time, a lot of our communities only have one store, one school, one of everything that everybody has to go to, which adds to contact with the viruses that permeate through the community.
I would hope that the department can take a look at that. We’re quite unique in that way from the rest of the country, so we have to have special programs to prevent further outbreaks in the future.
After that outbreak, we asked our Information and Privacy Commissioner as to what is a breach of health information from being disclosed, for example. The answer was, “… I can’t think of any reason why the name of a community that has been hit by a communicable health problem such as H1N1 shouldn’t be named.
I don’t know what the policies are of the Department of Health or why they have taken that position” that they have.
I would ask the department to re-look at your protocols so that we can prevent such bad outbreaks in the future throughout Nunavut. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There being none. Item 4.
Return to Oral Question 152 – 3(2): Current Status of Apprenticeship in Nunavut (Tapardjuk)
Mr. Elliott asked Question 152 – 3(2), Current Status of Apprenticeship in Nunavut.
The response is quite long, so I ask that it be entered into the record as read.
Question (Second Supplementary):
I’m specifically looking for the breakdown for the apprentices who are working for the Nunavut Housing Trust.
In that breakdown, would it include what level the different apprentices are at in terms of level 1, level 2, and level 3?
The current status of the 48 apprentices who are working for the Nunavut Housing Trust as an updated number that was provided to the housing minister are as follows:
48 apprentices connected to the Nunavut Housing Trust
39 carpenters: 23 Level 1, 10 Level 2, 6 Level 3
3 housing maintainers: 3 Level 1
2 oil burner mechanics: 2 Level 1
3 plumbers: 2 Level 1, 1 Level 2
1 electrician: 1 Level 1
The numbers of registered apprentices for each trade and each level or year for all employers as of November 28, 2009, are as follows:
200 apprentices registered with the apprenticeship office (includes Nunavut Housing Trust apprentices)
1 aircraft maintenance engineer: 1 Level 1
1 appliance service technician: 1 Level 1
89 carpenters: 49 Level 1, 20 Level 2, 13 Level 3, 4 Level 4, 1 Trade Qualifier, 2 enrolled in the NEAT program
1 cook: 1 Level 1
21 electrician (construction): 10 Level 1, 4 Level 2, 2 Level 3, 4 Level 4, 1 Trade Qualifier
19 heavy duty equipment technicians: 5 Level 1, 4 Level 2, 5 Level 3, 4 Level 4, 1 Trade Qualifier
4 heavy equipment operators: 4 Trade Qualifier
28 housing maintainers: 10 Level 1, 15 Level 2, 3 Level 3
12 oil burner mechanics: 7 Level 1, 4 Level 2, 1 Level 3
1 painter/decorator: 1 Level 1
18 plumbers: 12 Level 1, 3 Level 2, 2 Level 3, 1 Trade Qualifier
1 small equipment mechanic: 1 enrolled in the NEAT program
1 steam/pipe fitter: 1 Level 1
1 sheet metal worker: 1 Level 3
2 refrigeration and air conditioning: 1 Level 2, 1 Trade Qualifier
By region:
37 apprentices in the Kitikmeot
58 apprentices in the Kivalliq
105 apprentices in the Baffin
Question (Third Supplementary):  I would also like to know if I could ask the minister if he could give us an update of the in-class theory training that’s going on for apprentices, in terms of it’s a level 1 carpentry being offered in Iqaluit this spring.
Is there anything going on in Rankin Inlet for housing maintainers?
Response:  Nunavut Arctic College and the Department of Education addressed a specific need to provide training for level 1 housing maintainer apprentices this year, one year before the trade centre in Rankin Inlet is scheduled to open.
Working between the Trades Division of the college and the apprenticeship unit of Education, as well as with the regional career and early childhood offices and employers, two separate intakes of level 1 housing maintainer technical training were offered in Rankin Inlet.
The first intake for technical training was delivered from May to July with all nine apprentices successfully completing and passing the level 1 exam.
The second intake was from September to November with two of three successfully completing and passing the level 1 exam.
The use of the facility was only temporary and will not be used again for that purpose; the first scheduled delivery of housing maintainer technical training will be when the trade centre in Rankin Inlet opens for business next September. Level 2 training may be scheduled for Aurora College in Fort Smith if necessary.
NAC just completed technical training delivery for level 2 carpentry in Iqaluit.
Of 11 apprentices in the technical training, 8 successfully completed and passed the level 2 exam.
The response is being entered into the record as read. (interpretation ends) Returns to Oral Questions.
Return to Oral Question 158– 3(2): Energy Efficient Homes (Kusugak)
This was asked by Mr. Okalik, Member for Iqaluit West, Question 158 – 3(2) on December 3, 2009, titled “Energy Efficient Homes.”
We do currently provide an energy efficient rebate program to homeowners through the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
The Homeowner Energy Efficiency Rebate Program (HEERP) provides up to $1,000 in assistance to homeowners for energy efficient projects and has been very successful.
NHC reports that as of the end of September of this year, NHC has approved 79 Nunavut homeowners for assistance through this program and another 128 applications are in processing.
NHC has also added an energy efficiency aspect to their Home Renovation Program (HRP).
Applicants that receive the maximum assistance of $50,000 are eligible for a $15,000 “top-up” to undertake energy efficiency related repairs or improvements.
Beyond these programs, several GN departments, including CGS, the Energy Secretariat, and NHC, are currently working together to determine the most effective manner through which to deliver many other energy efficiency programs to Nunavummiut, including energy efficiency inspections of homes.
Question 182 – 3(2): Family Abuse Intervention Act (Okalik)
I am sure I am the only one who wants to ask a question. I would like to direct my question to the Minister responsible for Justice.
Yesterday, we had a candlelight vigil for violence against women.
There was legislation passed to eradicate violence and to ensure that it is geared towards healing.
The legislation states that the minister has to table an annual report.
The minister hasn’t tabled an annual report yet, so I would like to ask the minister what the status of it is now.
I take it that the hon. member is speaking about the Family Abuse Intervention Act. I can tell the member that the staff is working on collecting that data and I’ll be in a position likely to table that report in the winter session.
Question 183 – 3(2): Public Housing Units Used for Accommodation by Contractors (Pauloosie)
My question is for the Minister of the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
It is my understanding that when the Nunavut Housing Corporation awards contracts to companies to do work in the communities, one of the requirements, in other words, conditions in the contract, is for the contractors to use local businesses, such as hotels for accommodations for the contractor’s workers, as a means of supporting local businesses.
Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that in my constituency, contractors and construction workers are using public housing units for accommodations while they do work in the community. Can the minister confirm what the Nunavut Housing Corporation’s practices are in this area and commit to reviewing the situation in my constituency?
Minister responsible for Nunavut… . I’m sorry. (interpretation) I mixed up your name with someone else, Mr. Pauloosie. (interpretation ends) Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation, Hon. Hunter Tootoo.
Hon. Hunter Tootoo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the member for raising that question.
I know this was an issue I discussed with the municipality when I was in his riding earlier this fall.
Mr. Speaker, for the most part, if contractors are bringing in employees to work on these contracts from outside the community, they’re required to stay in commercial accommodations. Having said that though, Mr. Speaker, there have been incidents where commercial accommodations have not been available.
There are cases where the commercial accommodation is available for this week, but then the people have to move out for a week and then move back again for a week, and it’s back and forth. There is no commitment for them to be able to stay in one place. If they’re in for a little bit and then out for a little bit, it makes it very difficult for the contractor to be able to obtain people to be able to stay and do the work.
Mr. Speaker, the incident I’m thinking that the member is referring to, the public housing unit that the contractor was staying in is actually the one that nobody was staying in because it’s under renovations.
The individuals who were staying in that house were also working on that house as well as other houses in the community, but once the renovations were complete, they would be out of there.
The reason for this concern is I had complaints from local businesses about the fact that the contract workers are staying in public housing. A number of my constituents are not happy with the fact that the contractors are staying in public housing while, in fact, they have been on the waiting list for a long time.
As the minister is aware, there’s a very long waiting list for Nunavummiut who wish to get into public housing units.
Can the minister commit that public housing units won’t be used for accommodations by contractors and construction workers who are undertaking projects on behalf of the Nunavut Housing Corporation?
Like I said, I can commit if commercial accommodations are available and there are no other… . The contractors are required, as I had indicated earlier, to stay in commercial accommodations.
However, when circumstances arise and that is not available and there’s a requirement to bring in individuals to work on units from outside of town and there’s nothing else available, we have to find some place to put these individuals in to be able to do the work. Otherwise, the work won’t get done.
Again, as I indicated, if that particular situation that I referred to, where the house was already vacant because it was under renovations, is not the case, I would ask the member if he could provide me with the specific details of the case that he’s referring to and I can look into it and get a more detailed response for him.
Mr. Pauloosie: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the minister.
I will certainly get back to him with a long list of complaints I received.
Question 184 – 3(2): Status of Furniture at Kivalliq Boarding Home (Aupaluktuq)
I would like to direct my questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services, the Hon. Minister Tagak Curley.
Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, during the minister’s appearance before the Standing Committee on Social Wellness to review his department’s draft 2010-11 capital budget, the issue of replacement furniture at the Kivalliq Boarding Home in Winnipeg was raised.
At that time, the minister and his staff indicated that the contractor had agreed to fulfill certain obligations, including replacing the furniture.
As well, the minister is aware, for Kivalliq MLAs, including the minister himself, visited the Kivalliq Boarding Home earlier this year to assess the boarding home in Winnipeg.
I recently had the opportunity to revisit the Kivalliq Boarding Home and noted that the furniture has not yet been replaced.
Can the minister provide an update on the furniture situation at the Kivalliq Boarding Home?
First off, I wish to thank my fellow MLAs who visited Winnipeg at that time, which Moses was part of, and this occurred in April last spring. The party included Johnny Ningeongan, Member for Nanulik, my cabinet colleague, Lorne Kusugak, and I.
During our stopover in Winnipeg, this issue was brought up and at that time, the furniture was delayed in arriving, but I noticed several times in the summer and just recently that this is their priority.
We held our meeting after we dug into the matter of the furniture.
However, only recently as of last week did I receive an email in regard to that issue from the contractor that was awarded the contract.
I will provide you a copy afterwards, but it states in there that furniture has indeed been replaced and members were invited back prior to Christmas to view the new furniture.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Minister. Your first supplementary, Mr. Aupaluktuq.
Mr. Aupaluktuq (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to thank Minister Tagak Curley for his immediate response to my query.
I wanted to ask this question in House because the constituents need to hear this bit of news and I thank him for that response.
Can the minister clarify for this House what steps his department and others are taking to monitor the services that contractors provide to Nunavummiut outside the territory?
Hon. Tagak Curley (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did not get the gist of his question regarding contractors and what monitoring he was referring to. I would like him to clarify exactly what type of monitoring or services he referred to so that I can try to respond to his question.
Mr. Aupaluktuq, can you rephrase or clarify your question, please.
I’m sorry that my question was discombobulated and that it was not properly understood. (interpretation ends) Can the minister clarify for this House what steps his department is taking to monitor the services that contractors provide to Nunavummiut outside of the territory?
It is still not as clear as I would like it to be because my department is not really responsible for monitoring contractors. If it involves the construction of a building or infrastructure, it should probably be directed to some other minister. I’m not really clear on exactly what the nature of the question is.
Mr. Aupaluktuq’s preamble started off with the status of furniture at the Kivalliq Boarding Home. Does that pertain to your first question?
Mr. Aupaluktuq: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s exactly what I was asking.
I guess in the shortest terms, will the minister commit to ensuring that the contractor for the Kivalliq Boarding Home meets the contract obligations?
Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Aupaluktuq. Minister Curley.
Yes, I understand your question now. We have a contract arrangement and an agreement for the Kivalliq Boarding Home and I believe that’s what you’re talking about.
They need to respect their contract obligations. I met with the board of directors last summer to make sure that the concerns are being met.
We’re now monitoring the contract obligations. Also, if the member would like to go to the boarding home any time, along with the Member for Repulse Bay, if you’re interested in going to see the boarding home, we will go there.
I can tell the member that we’re going to be monitoring it.
Thank you, Aupaluktuq.
Question 185 – 3(2): Legislative Proposal to Combine Ombudsperson Type Functions with Privacy Commissioner (Okalik)
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I would like to ask another question to the Minister of Justice.
This one is in relation to the creation of an ombudsman and a whistle-blower body.
During her appearance before the standing committee, we asked the Information and Privacy Commissioner if we can combine the functions of the role to include an ombudsperson and an official for the whistle-blower legislation.
Our commissioner said, “It’s not a bad idea to explore an ombudsman’s office combined with the Information and Privacy Commissioner and a whistle-blower.”
During our last term, I committed our government to looking at this idea and developed a legislative proposal, as you, Mr. Speaker, asked me to do so.
I would like this government to see if they could do the same, if we can create this body so that we can have just one office for a lot of good work to happen. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the member for that question. Mr. Speaker, I recall in the Second Assembly that some colleagues of mine, when we were on that side of the House, were calling quite strenuously for whistle-blower protection because employees were afraid of retribution if they made complaints.
The best response to Mr. Okalik is that this government can consider the recommendations in the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Commissioner’s report.
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) If my colleague recalls that we dealt with the Family Abuse Intervention Act, the Inuktitut Language Protection Act, the Official Languages Act, the Education Act¸ and we passed all of those Acts, it took a lot of time and effort on the part of everyone to do that work.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t do everything at once.
As you, Mr. Speaker, asked me to do so, I asked my officials to develop a legislative proposal just for this purpose.
Unfortunately, it seems to have gotten lost with the change in government. So I ask the minister if he can put together a legislative proposal for us to consider on this matter. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this government is very busy as well with the legislation.
We have just gone through the report card exercise on the last ten years, so we’re very busy implementing that. The Premier announced that today. As I said to the member, we will take a look at the commissioner’s report and see where we go from there.
Mr. Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I know that we’re under fiscal constraints. That’s why I’m asking to look at combining functions so that we can use the economies of scale to do multi-tasks that a lot of our employees do.
The Information and Privacy Commissioner found no problem with creating such a function.
I hope that the minister can come forward with a formal response on this report perhaps in the next session. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Hon. Keith Peterson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I again thank the member for that comment.
I just said in my earlier reply that we will take a look at the commissioner’s report and see what we can do with it.
Question 186 – 3(2): New Cases of H1N1 (Elliott)
On December 1, the GN’s helpdesk issued a public health advisory stating that the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health is informing the public that there have been 15 new lab confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus in Nunavut in the past two weeks.
This is very likely the beginning of a second wave of the virus in the territory.
I was just wondering if the minister could confirm if this is, in fact, the case. Are we in the second wave?
Yes, the department did issue a health advisory which was posted on the helpdesk throughout the Intranet services of the government.
It is confirmed by the chief medical health officer that this could be. He used the words “could be.” I’m not in the position as a minister to confirm whether or not this is the second wave, but our chief medical health officer did indicate it could possibly be.
So the text and the message of that advisory is to encourage those who haven’t taken the H1N1 flu shot to do so because in some cases and in some communities, the flu might still be active.
To date, I can confirm as of today, there were 32 new cases since October 1.
Could the minister update the House on how his department is responding to this second wave?
I cannot confirm yet nor is the chief medical health officer whether or not there is a second wave, but it could possibly be.
We are advising the public, at least those 40 percent of the Nunavut population who have not taken the flu shot, that they should do so.
That’s the nature of the message that is coming from the chief medical health officer, the community nursing stations, and throughout health centres, that we are encouraging people, particularly the vulnerable, the children and the elderly, to take the flu shot and they should do so without delay in order to protect not only themselves but their families and kids as well.
Could the minister confirm the total number of H1N1 cases in the territory, please?
As of the first wave that arrived on May 28, to be exact, to the end of September, there were 597 confirmed cases.
Since then, we have had 32 additional lab confirmed cases in Nunavut.
So that would lead it up to slightly over 600.
Reflecting on Mr. Okalik’s Member’s Statement and on what the privacy commissioner has said, is the minister able to tell us which communities the H1N1 cases came from?