EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
For example, if there is a concern raised in a given school, then that is followed up by the department in cooperation with Community and Government Services. At the same time, on an annual basis all schools are checked as with government buildings and infrastructure.
Speaker: Your second supplementary, Mr. Barnabas.
Will the minister commit to taking immediate action to address the school’s safety issues identified in my constituencies?
The member’s constituency has three schools, in Grise Fiord, Resolute Bay, and Arctic Bay.
In those locations, there have been some concerns with one school in particular. It is my understanding that the department is addressing them.
However, if the member has other information about something that has occurred in the last several days, if the member can make that information known to me, then I will be able to follow up with the Department of Community and Government Services to ensure those issues are taken care of.
Yes I will. It is quite…of the inspections or (interpretation ends) having our school facilities inspected on a regular basis and taking immediate action to address any issues that are identified.
As I said earlier, the government is mandated to ensure that we offer a safe environment and a safe workplace to work. In this case, when we are talking about our schools, we want to make sure and ensure that our schools are a safe place to attend school for our children.
When issues that arise are brought forward, they are fixed expeditiously, meaning right away. Sometimes there may be a concern raised where it might take a longer period of time to fix that issue, but when issues are raised they are fixed.
If the member is aware of something that has not occurred, then again, as I said earlier, if you would let me know that then we will follow up on it.
Question 059 – 2(4): RCMP Use of TASER Guns (Curley)
Yesterday, I tabled a document about this fellow who was shot with a TASER gun and he couldn’t work for over a year.
Because he couldn’t pay his mortgage, it had to be taken by the courts.
Maybe as a punishment, it might be adequate but it’s very wrong that the RCMP can do that.
Can the Minister of Justice explain to me why they have to use extreme force?
That was the first time I have heard of it. I want to have this investigated.
The RCMP have a complaint process that you can go through. If you are not happy with their performance then you can go through that process.
I haven’t heard this at all.
I can have it investigated and get more information.
So is the minister saying that the conduct of the RCMP will be investigated as the Minister of Justice and the information that you collect, will you make it available to the House?
The RCMP has internal investigations but I want to get more information as to exactly what happened.
I can ask them as a minister to get more information but I can’t say yes, I will do that but the RCMP itself has internal investigations and I can even provide them with the phone number in order to make a complaint.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Minister. (interpretation ends) Your second supplementary, Mr. Curley.
I think there is a public commissioner and as we have a Minister of Justice who can give information to the public that this is not right, especially with regard to the TASER gun.
If it happened in Los Angeles, they would do an investigation if they were zapped 13 times because that’s using force.
As a minister can you tell me if those RCMP can be asked to resign?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Curley. (interpretation ends) Minister of Justice, Honourable Paul Okalik.
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The RCMP has a Complaints Commission. They do an investigation and make the information available.
That’s the route they take and this is open to anybody. They can use that route.
Yes, I will definitely look into this further but the RCMP has their own rules or regulations, and if they break their own rules, then they can be dealt with internally.
Speaker: Your final supplementary, Mr. Curley.
I believe the RCMP use too much force but this has to be dealt with by the courts.
When he was shot with a TASER gun 13 times, he got injured and he couldn’t work anymore for the government.
He was under stress.
Maybe as a Minister of Justice, I think he could be qualified for a fair and reasonable settlement, can you assist him?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Curley. Mr. Premier.
Yes, I would like to get more information because he seems to know more about this, and if he could provide me with written material, then I can check into this further.
As I stated earlier, the RCMP have their own policies, rules, and regulations, and they do their internal investigations.
I would also like to thank the RCMP for protecting the citizens.
If they use extreme force, then I try to get information, too, on those.
Question 060 – 2(4): Renewal of KBDC Contribution Agreement (Tootoo)
Mr. Speaker, yesterday and in the last sitting I’ve been asking some questions to the minister in relation to the contribution agreement that they have with the KBDC, Keewatin Business Development Centre, to offer and run some programs for the department.
It is my understanding that the current partnership agreement that they have with the Keewatin Business Development Centre ends March 31, 2007.
Can the minister tell me if this agreement is being renewed?
Yes, I anticipate that there will be a contribution agreement between the department and Keewatin Business Development Centre to assist with their operations in the upcoming fiscal year 2007-08.
The department’s policy on program partnerships requires partners to, and I’ll quote; “... provide an annual business plan 90 days prior to the start of each fiscal year, the fiscal year of the partnership agreement to the department.”
Can the minister inform me whether he has received a copy of the Keewatin Business Development Centre’s 2007-08 business plan, and will he table it in the House?
No, I have not received a copy of the 2007-08 business plan.
I have heard though that our staff in our Community Operations Division in Rankin Inlet has seen a draft copy of the plan.
When we do receive the business plan we will, approved by the Keewatin Business Development Centre Board, we would then negotiate a contribution agreement for 2007-08.
I look forward to seeing that information, and wonder if that was within the 90 day requirement that is outlined under the government policy.
Mr. Speaker, the contribution agreement with Keewatin Business Development Centre requires the centre to submit an annual report that allows the minister to table that report. Will the minister commit to tabling the annual report of Keewatin Business Development Centre during this sitting?
Yes, I will be tabling the 2006-07 annual report of the Keewatin Business Development Centre in the fall sitting of this House.
I would assume that this contribution agreement has been in place for some time and one of the things that I had asked for in our last sitting was a copy of those contributions agreements.
I understand that the one that I’ve seen a copy of for the 2006-07 year has a detail of expenditures that the centre is planning to use those contributions for.
Would the minister be willing to commit for the last three years since 2003, the last year that they filed anything with legal registries, copies of contribution agreements to be tabled in the House?
Departmental staff brought this matter to the attention to the Keewatin Business Development Centre more than a month ago now. Our staff were informed that the centre prepared the documents for filing for fiscal year 2006-07 on November 22, 2006.
My staff will be checking with legal registries tomorrow when the office is open to confirm that these documents have been filed and that the centre is in good standing.
Question 061 – 2(4): Power Bill Payments (Kattuk)
I would like to direct my question to the Minister for Energy.
Homeowners face difficulties and hardships as well as companies that are trying to start up.
I was asked by my constituents to ask this question in the House.
Bills arrive monthly but it seems like the payments are not operating adequately because they pay their bills and it doesn’t...
For example, in Sanikiluaq the payment office is in the Co-op store for power bills but when they pay their power bills the payment doesn’t show up for another six weeks.
So even though they had paid for their power bills, their power sometimes is almost at the verge of being cut off.
So why does it take six to eight weeks to show up in the invoice? How come it takes that long for them to show up in six to eight weeks?
Can the minister respond to me?
Over the past couple of months, there have been issues raised with the delay in a payment being applied to an individual or a company. In this case it’s a bill.
What the corporation has done is expedited the process, or speeded up the process of applying the credit onto the account. In the case in Sanikiluaq where someone would go in to the local Co-op store and pay on their bill, at the end of each week the Co-op store would send in to the Power Corporation billing office the amount of the payment, and then that of course has to be data entered into the person’s account.
That has been expedited. We have a faster turnaround now from the individual stores but what sometimes occurs, very quickly, is when the bill is mailed out on May 15 the person may not receive it until a week later which is May 22, and then if they don’t pay it for another week, the next billing cycle has occurred.
If a person has made a payment, they will not have their power cut off because the record of that payment, although not applied to their bill, has been applied to their account. And that’s one of the major changes that have occurred since Christmas.
Mr. Kattuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the minister.
I don’t believe in a week’s delay. The way it is now is sometimes the bills accumulate even before they apply the credit to our account. It takes about six to eight weeks before they could actually apply the credit.
Because our Co-op also takes care of payments for NorthwesTel and when they pay for their telephone bill, they send the credit to Iqaluit and they apply the credit to their account the following day and it shows up right away. That payment is already shown and that’s the way it works.
It’s totally different with the Department of Energy because they take six to eight weeks and sometimes the bills accumulate even before they show the credit.
So could the minister do something about that?
All the billing functions now for the Power Corporation are handled out of the Baker Lake office.
If a person pays on their account and then that payment is received like at a Co-op store as an example, we would call a payment agency. Then once that receipt is received, the person who’s paying will have a copy of that receipt and will say you paid them on January 26.
At the end of that week, it might be February 1 when the Co-op store sends that information who has paid to the Baker Lake office.
Then when it gets to Baker Lake it is applied to the account.
Given the timeframes that we’re talking about, within a three or four week period, it may be the second billing period when the actual amount that was paid will occur on the bill but at the Baker Lake office the payment would have been recorded on the person’s account.
We’ve just had some cases, for example, Mr. Speaker, where a person had paid on the 15th, and they were notified that they were going to have their power cut off.
Only when you miss, for example, two consecutive month payments do you receive notification of a power cut off. On the third month you would receive a 20-day notice, and then a 10-day notice, and then a five-day notice, then a 48-hour notice.
If the person has paid and has a copy of the receipt they have nothing to worry about and there is no interest being charged on the outstanding balance because it’s been recorded at the office.
Again, I believe if the member would look at the account since Christmas, and in the last six to 10 weeks, that you will see that the accounting system has been more expeditious and up to date.
The one I saw in the last month’s bill was the previous month’s bill.
Last month’s bill contained the previous month’s statements because the payment did not show for a month and a half, and it’s too long.
So I was asking the minister if he can rectify the situation or if he can look into that to make sure that it’s better for the people who pay their bills.
I was wondering if the minister can look into that.
What we’ll do is we’ll pick several different agencies across to see when the payments have been received by the Baker Lake office and ensure that they are put onto the account, whether that be a commercial account for a business, or if it would be a private account.
If it is a business, for example, I should note that if a business does less than $2 million of business a year, they actually get a rebate back from the power corporation. That’s not well known, but this gives me an opportunity to mention that.
So I will follow up and we’ll follow up with the payment agency in the member’s riding.
I am very happy to hear that the minister has committed to doing that.
He also stated 90, 60, and 30-day notices, but they only see the 48-hour notice.
That is all we see before our power is cut off, so I just want the minister to know. This is not a question.
Question 062 – 2(4): Long-Term Funding for Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre (Peterson)
Mr. Speaker, at our last sitting, I spoke of the vital and necessary services that are provided by the Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre. When staffed, the Centre offers everything from addictions counselling to suicide prevention to healthy lifestyle workshops for youth and elders and people in-between.
Sadly, funding for these services is never guaranteed from year to year and leaves the organization itself in a very vulnerable position, and they are currently in a very vulnerable position.
My question for the minister: can the minister tell me what consideration her department has given to ensuring that multi-year agreements are available to community-based organizations such as the Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre?
Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Honourable Leona Aglukkaq.
Since then, we have initiated the review and to pilot two communities around trying to come up with a funding framework for community wellness centres and initiatives in each community.
We are looking at a pilot with the Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre as well as the Clyde River Society, in trying to address multi-year funding arrangements for community based initiatives in the north.
At the same time, at the last sitting, I tabled the Health Integration Report which talks about development of a community-based wellness model.
We are working in partnership with the federal government and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated to implement the recommendations in that report.
So we are moving forward in trying to address providing multi-year funding to communities by developing pilots in the two communities.
I read through the Health Integration Report and one of the actions proposed in that report was to examine ways to provide multiyear funding for health promotion and prevention activities in Nunavut.
My question for the minister is: who is responsible for acting on these proposed actions?
Hon. Leona Aglukkaq: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
The Health Integration Report was done in partnership with the federal government as well as Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.
The whole idea is to integrate the services at the community level.
There are pieces with health, some federal, some Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, but the Department of Health is putting in an implementation plan for the recommendations identified in the Health Integration Initiative. The federal government is partnered through that.
One of the things that have been raised by various community wellness groups is that they have to apply for programs on an annual basis.
So the programs they apply for on an annual basis are federal. We are working with the federal government and the two communities to try and pilot ways of addressing those concerns.
In terms of putting the implementation plan in as it applies to us, we will be doing that, but again it is in partnership with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated as well as the federal government and the communities.
The Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre provides essential public health and social services, which rightly fall under the mandate of the minister’s department.
My question for the minister is: will the minister consider making a long-term financial commitment such as providing core funding to community-based organizations such as the Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre?
That is part of the review that we are doing for community wellness projects such as Cambridge Bay. The framework we are trying to develop is a model we can use to support other communities that are interested in developing community wellness programs and services.
We are piloting those two. One is under the office of the hamlet and one is a society.
So we are building on those two and working with their models and their history looking to try and address exactly the point that he just posed.
Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre provides many vital and essential services and many times I have spoken about it in the House.
The Executive Director is largely responsible for the funding that comes into the wellness centre.
She has probably put 50 percent of her time applying year after year for programs from the government and the federal government. The result is burnout for her and her staff with all the proposal writing they have to do.
My question for the minister: will the minister commit to providing the same level of counsellor services in Cambridge Bay if the overworked staff at the Wellness Centre cannot sustain the current level?
As part of this review on this pilot project, we are looking at ways to support community based initiatives so we will look at those.
We are trying to address providing core funding, ongoing funding, to the community-based initiatives.
The challenge we have is that we need to pull the federal government into partnership with us because we have to meet their requirements as well in terms of reporting on funding that we receive from them.
So through these pilot projects and with their involvement, we’re looking at trying to address not only the core funding issues but issues of what he had described.
It is a pilot project that we have just started and I look forward to sharing some findings from those two projects.
Question 063 – 2(4): $40 Million Funding from the Federal Government (Arvaluk)
My question is directed to the Minister of the Department of Economic Development and Transportation, and he’s also the Minister of Finance.
The minister knows that BaffinLand equipment or material is docked in Pond Inlet such as salt for drilling and other building material and they ship them to Mary River by aircraft.
Pond Inlet doesn’t have any docking facilities to unload the ship.
I talked about this last week as well.
I know that it wasn’t March 19 but the federal government stated that when we don’t have enough money invested such as urban transits need to be assisted, I just wanted to ask the minister if the $40 million that they were expecting is going to come on March 19.
If he’s talking about the $40 million funding that is being requested by Fisheries and Oceans for docking facilities, they’re still looking for that money to see where it’s going to come from.
I’m not sure of whether there’s going to be any other money coming from the federal government. If he’s talking about the $40 million, that’s in the works at this time.
Speaker: Thank you, Minister Simailak.
Yes, I would like to thank the minister for his response.
The reason I’m asking the question is because we have transportation by air and by boat or ship.
I’m sure that the federal government has a lot more money than we do as a territorial government.
Can the minister encourage the federal government to get that funding available as soon as possible so we can get some docking facilities to transport these materials or supplies to our mining companies?
Can he give that reason to the federal government to ask for that $40 million?
Yes, we have been in ongoing negotiations with them and asking the federal government for that funding so that communities can get their docking facilities.
We have not stopped negotiating for that funding and we will continue to do so.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Minister. (interpretation ends) Your second supplementary, Mr. Arvaluk.
Can the minister tell the House about the review that they did on the seven communities that need docking facilities?
Can he let us know about that before the end of this session?
I don’t clearly understand him, if he can rephrase his question.
Mr. Arvaluk, can you clarify your question.
You said last year that they were negotiating for $40 million to build docking facilities to the seven communities.
But, you can be looking for that $40 million for years.
While the federal government is looking for the money they could probably get tired of waiting.
Can the minister tell us during the March session what he has heard from the federal government so far?
We’re waiting for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to tell us if they have received that sum of money so the seven communities can get their docking facilities.
I don’t think we can just sit around and wait as the Government of Nunavut for that funding because the federal government and the Government of Nunavut have stated there has to be economic development; that economic development has to be continued.
So this is part of it. Can the minister inform the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that this is part of economic development for Nunavut? Can they at least let us know right away what is happening with that funding?
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is dealing with trying to find that sum of money and there was a review done on the seven communities that need the docking facilities.
They know what they’re doing, and they went to the communities to find out their needs too, so they should be in a position to know what is going on.
Question 064 – 2(4): Hydro Energy Project (Barnabas)
My question is directed to the Minister responsible for Energy with regard to hydro.
Mr. Speaker, we have heard and we have noticed here in Iqaluit that sometimes the power goes out here in Iqaluit on and off on occasion.
If they start the hydro electricity power, what stage is that at right now?
The actual efficiency rate for the Power Corporation in Nunavut is almost 95 percent, which means the power stays on 95 percent of the time. That is actually a good thing.
The power employees work very hard, and sometimes in bad weather and so on to keep our power on.
On the hydro, we’ve identified several locations, as a corporation, work has been ongoing with the local hunters and trappers association as well as informing the public on the next steps of the hydro, and that will be a feasibility study.
The feasibility study will look at the short-listed sites for the opportunities for development of a hydro project.
Will Nunavut get any money for hydro or energy issues?
The federal budget will be released on Monday and I understand that we have to wait as usual to see what’s in that budget because there may be some opportunities there.
At the same time the federal government has come forward with different energy related matters looking at renewable energy, as well as looking at opportunities to reduce the greenhouse gasses. We’re hoping to be able to access some of those funds, too.
I’m sure that the communities are growing in numbers, especially in Iqaluit.
I’m sure that they have to find alternative energy.
How much money have you requested for that hydro project?
I had an opportunity to meet with several different federal ministers on energy related matters, and I have written Minister Lund and other ministers concerning opportunities for Nunavut.
We haven’t stated any dollar value that we would like to see in any type of program.