EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Operations & maintenance total 21 million 471 thousand.
Under 9 – 11, page under detailed grants and contributions.
College contributions, total 13 million 558 thousand and 9 – 7 under adult education and post secondary services, can you clarify what the differences are on these two areas.
Hon. James Arvaluk: In the 9 – 11, they would be college contribution based on our base funds to Arctic College, teacher education strategy to support teacher training, adult basis education, literacy, special projects in communities.
Budget allocations as follows: Baffin 30 thousand, Kivalliq 30 thousand, Kitikmeot 30 thousand.
814 thousand subsidy for the apprenticeship programs.
Budget allocated as follows: Baffin 449 thousand, Kivalliq 214 thousand and Kitikmeot 178 thousand.
This 21 million 471 thousand.
What is that for, really.
Hon. James Arvaluk (interpretation): This department will have 14 positions, 13 of which will be located in Arviat and one in Iqaluit.
The mission of the division is to provide life long learning experiences within the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit framework that promotes the active participation in the family, the community and the workplace.
This mission will be accomplished through the focus areas of Nunavut Arctic College.
Apprenticeship trades education, literacy programming, and career development, and student financial assistance.
We do provide student financial support for the students.
What about 9 – 11, 13 million 558.
What is that going to be used for.
It states the college contribution.
So I would like you to elaborate further on that.
It is going to be a bit lengthy.
In support of Arctic College provides for operations & maintenance costs at the community level in the three regions, Baffin, Kivalliq and Keewatin.
In Iqaluit and Cambridge Bay and Rankin Inlet and for adult training courses in the communities and also the Arctic College program such as teacher education, fine arts, interpreter/translator program, adult basis education, and those are in Iqaluit.
In Rankin Inlet, community administration, adult basic education.
In Cambridge Bay drug and alcohol and adult basic education.
Mr. Chairman, this is where the college is given all of its’ funding.
As most of us are aware, this funds all of their core programs, I am wondering Mr. Chairman if the Minister is looking at the need in the communities in Nunavut .
Is that something that the department is looking at ensuring that we have core funding for programs other than the existing programs over there.
If he had indicated that he was looking at it, is there something that we can expect to see that there will be core funding for the programs here in Iqaluit through the College here in the next year.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Yes, we are now working with the government and we hope that we will be able to get funding from somewhere internally and proceed with that because there is nothing here right now in this budget.
Mr. Chairman, I know that a number of students not only from Iqaluit but from all over Nunavut, were here taking the pre-nursing course.
As I went around during the campaign and talked to people at the college they were anticipating and hoping that this program would start up again in the fall.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to clarify that the Minister is stating that there will not be funding for the nursing program here at Arctic College this fall.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Not in this main estimates, but I haven’t given up yet.
Mr. Chairman has the department taken a look at the existing programs that are offered through the College.
As in anything when you train people for a length of time then the need out there changes.
I am wondering if they are looking at doing any changing with what they are supplying their core funding for to maybe something that is more needed and required outside of the programs that are there right now.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Yes, in fact as we speak we are reviewing those possibilities with the Nunavut Arctic College.
Hopefully within the month we would be able to answer the member.
I also would like to get clarification in regards to the nursing program.
Perhaps with the Minister for Health and Social Services, I forgot what we were dealing with on the main estimates.
I don’t remember if the main estimates for Health and Social Services budget included the nursing training course.
Hon. James Arvaluk (interpretation): No the department has not planned yet.
It is not included in the main estimates.
Although I can respond to your question the Minister of Health and Social Services, I spoke with him and discussed this issue with him but it is not included in the main estimates so therefore I don’t think he will be able to respond to your question.
Chairperson (interpretation): Going on to the main estimates.
Total Operations & maintenance 21 million 471 thousand.
Do you agree.
Total expenditures, 21 million 471 thousand.
Just a quick comment here or question.
I know that in the previous capital plan there were some dollars allocated for additional student residences here in Iqaluit.
Mr. Chairman I would like to ask the Minister, I see that they are not on this capital plan, I wonder if they are on the B list.
Are they still on the plans for additional student residences here in Iqaluit.
Hon. James Arvaluk: They don’t meet the criteria that we had on those three points that we are talking about health, safety and already committed construction, but they are not cancelled, but they are deferred, because of the restraint in the capital dollars.
So they have been deferred to next years’ capital budgets.
Chairperson (interpretation): Going back to the main estimates again.
Total expenditures, do you agree.
Chairperson (interpretation): Total 21 million 471 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): I am going on to the next page.
Early childhood education and school services.
Total operations & maintenance 81 million 164 thousand.
Mr. Chairman, this is the area that determines all of the staffing in the school systems if I am correct in assuming that.
Mr. Chairman, the current system provides for a priority 1 student which is someone who needs someone with them at all times of the day in order to be facilitated and be in the school and also there are priority 2 students who need extra help, they don’t need someone there with them all of the time but the do require extra support throughout the day.
Mr. Chairman I would like to ask the Minister if they are looking at changing the formula, as I say a priority 1 student who needs someone with them at all times during the day, under the current arrangement the schools are only funded ½ of a PY per priority one student.
So if they had four students that required someone with them all day they would only get two people to help deal with them.
Now if they are all in different classes or something like that I can see that it creates problems within the school.
So I would like to know if this is something that the department is taking a look at and if not now when would they be looking at addressing it.
We are using the status quo this year because we came in as a government on April 1 and the budget allocations were already there basically.
But for next year we will be reviewing all of the formulas that are used in this and pertaining to the question of Mr. Tootoo.
So yes we will be looking at those as part of the review.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Tootoo, I am sorry Mr. Tootoo, I was on the wrong channel, if you could summarize your questions because the clock is ticking.
Mr. Tootoo: Mr. Chairman. As was indicated earlier I talked to the Minister about bussing.
This is the area to where there is a need for bussing and especially a great need here in Iqaluit.
Mr. Chairman I would like to ask the Minister if he is willing to commit to providing the necessary bussing requirements that will be required here in Iqaluit in the fall.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Mr. Chairman, this is a fairly complicated formula, that I would also like to review.
But for the meantime I would like to have Ian Rose answer that.
Mr. Rose: The funding formula for schools which makes up a large chunk of their formula are in the amounts in here.
The formula is an allocation formula and it may be high and it may be low in some areas.
There are a number of different variables used to calculate the money that goes to the DEC’s.
Then the DEC’s are free to move that money around and they move it based upon their enrolments, based upon other factors.
Then that money can be used and moved around within each DEC. So the question on buses, the formula for that is partly made up between the enrolments in the schools and the distances that children live from the schools and then it is calculated out in a lump sum that goes to the DEC’s.
They then move that money out to the DEA’s at the local community level.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask the Minister in the case of Iqaluit where it is seeing some extraordinary growth in population compounded with the addition of a new school, the system that is in place will not work.
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Rose indicated that the Regional Education Councils, I guess they are calling them now, have the authority to allocate those resources.
From my understanding Mr. Chairman, and Mr. Rose can correct me if I am wrong, all the schools are operating under budgets that have been continuously cut over the last number of years, and as a result of the cuts in funding that the Boards have received on top of the growth that is here, they don’t have the money to move around into these extra areas.
The only way that they could do it is by taking money from other communities that need it or cutting programs.
I don’t think that would be acceptable.
I think that it needs to be recognized that there has been some extraordinary growth here and with an addition of a new school that they do require additional resources for bussing and I feel that the department should address this issue.
Chairperson (interpretation): Either one of you is going to respond.
Hon. James Arvaluk: I hear no question.
Based on that comment Mr. Chairman, I just asked the Minister and his staff if they would make a commitment to look into it with all of the parties involved to ensure that we come to a resolution to ensure that we don’t have children walking next fall, to ensure that we don’t have programs cut as a result of facilitating the bussing.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Yes, we will commit to doing that with the divisional boards and the DEC to avoid taking some money from other communities that also need it.
We’ll look at that.
Chairperson (interpretation): Back to the main estimates.
Mr. Tootoo, please make it brief.
Mr. Tootoo: I will do my best Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, under an agreement that I believe is in the works with the department, could I ask the Minister for an update on the emergency plan and the department giving the authority to the regional education councils to go out and be able to hire new staff if the enrolment requires it.
If they were being given the authority to go out and do that immediately without having to go through all the hoops and not being able to staff as a result of going through all of those hoops until after Christmas.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Normally we would look at October enrolments, but if we need to do it earlier, look at the enrolments, earlier than October we will move very quickly on that and respond to it, because we may want to get enrolments by the end of August or early September, as early as that and react from that.
Thank you Mr. Minister, I take that then as a commitment to deal with the problems as soon as they arise and cut through the red tape, which results in overcrowding and problems in the schools.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Yes, we will commit to getting the enrolments as quickly as possible because we don’t know how much overcrowding their will be and we don’t want to take too many chances on it.
Chairperson (interpretation): Okay then we will go on to the total operations & maintenance 81 million 164 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): Going on to the next page 9 – 9.
It is just an information item for the three regions.
Baffin total 4 million 297 thousand.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): Mr. Chairman, I think you forgot to do the Capital expenditures and we skipped it.
Chairperson (interpretation): The capital expenditures we go to the next page and then we go back to the Capital after.
For Baffin total 4 million 297 thousand.
Mr. Chairman, here we have renovations to the middle school in Iqaluit.
I am wondering if that is putting on any additional classrooms to the existing school that is there.
Hon. James Arvaluk: No.
Mr. Chairman, I am under the understanding that when the plans were done up for the middle school initially it was to be 20 classrooms and they only got ten.
As a result of a study that indicated that we would need 20 classrooms, I would like to ask the Minister if those other 10 classrooms are going to be on the plan for next year or when they will be on the plan.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Including the B column which the capital projects that were deferred for next year we will be looking at that for the five year or 10 year capital requirements and this, the Iqaluit middle school, would be part of that review of those capital forecasts.
Chairperson (interpretation): Back to the Main Estimates.
Chairperson (interpretation): Kitikmeot. Total 2 million 174 thousand.
For the Capital expenditures it looks like the Keewatin got left right off the map this year.
I am sure that was an oversight by the department.
Regarding the Baker Lake Jonah Amitnak School there was 319 thousand dollars in the capital plan for 99/00 for the planning.
That has been dropped and like I indicated earlier in the week that is the oldest surviving school in Nunavut, and the NWT.
It goes back to 1957 and there are quite a few safety issues, plywood walls inside, no sprinkler system, no fire alarms, no air handling units, we had to cancel school quite a bit because of the carbon monoxide from the old furnace and boiler systems.
I am wondering if the Minister would consider looking at putting that money back in the budget for the design of that school next year.
I can’t commit for this year because the capital projects are not slated for this year.
But I recognize that it is an old facility in need of repair and maintenance and it is also overcrowded and full but it did not meet the three criteria established for the capital plan for this year.
But, as with other capital projects that were deferred, like I told Mr. Tootoo, that this will also be reviewed but I cannot make a commitment as the Minister of Education for what is not in the main estimates or the capital allocations for this year.
It has to come from the government, not from my department.
I would like to clarify this Mr. Chairman if I may, what I am saying is because of the reduction in the capital dollars for the whole Nunavut Government, there was a requirement to make a drastic reduction.
So we made the three criteria and if it doesn’t fir that then it was deferred for next year. We are not saying that they would be cancelled, or eliminated but they are deferred for next year.
That’s all we’re doing.
Chairperson (interpretation): Going back to the main estimates.
Kitikmeot total 2 million 174 thousand.
Total Capital with Kitikmeot and Baffin, total capital 6 million 671.
Going backwards, to 9 – 8, total capital 6 million 471 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): Total expenditures, 87 million 635 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): Going back to 9 – 10.
Income support, operations & maintenance total 26 million 157 thousand.
I would just like to have a little clarification as I was under the understanding that income support is going to go over to the Honourable Minister for Sustainable Development, just wondering how the logistics of this is going to work.
Is the department more the, the Department of Education, going to be hands on by doing what they have done by handing out and administering the program and the Department of Sustainable Development, would be looking at the policy and procedural development of the program.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Yes, Mr. Chairman, the recommendation to move the income support program to Sustainable Development, is still the plan.
At the moment we are handling the delivery part of the income support.
We are in a discussion right now and realizing that the amount of population, the amount of service that requires delivery for that service to the public, is huge and I was talking to the Minister of Sustainable Development, who is responsible for policy that we are going to have to really look at this.
This huge program and service will require both of our departments to be spending a lot of time together on how to best make a recommendation to the government to proceed with that.
So it may take a little longer, we cannot make it overnight because it is a huge amount of complicated, time consuming process, that you have to get through in order to do it properly.
The Minister and I recognized that.
Mr. Chairman, I would just like to ask the Minister, is it to ensure that there is no, as a result of this transition and the go between departments, that the people who receive the program aren’t lost in the shuffle.
Those are the people who can least afford any interruption in the program and I would just like to ask both Ministers if they are conscious of that when they are looking at this plan.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Yes that was our first discussion our first concern.
Not only if there is disruption, but miscommunication could create chaos, with the clients.
Also there was a concern that present delivery mechanism, using computers from the GNWT are not Y2K compatible so we are now, in a project in Pangnirtung.
I think it was Iqaluit and Ottawa.
The system I think that has been since corrected.
Once we could find out that it is workable at an acceptable level then we would like to place that in all the communities that we serve first before we make an attempt to inform the public about transferring the deliver service to the Sustainable Development Department.
Chairperson (interpretation): At this time I have two names on my list.
This 26 million 157 thousand for operations & maintenance, if we look at 9 – 11, if you look at the adult basic education it is only slotted for 90 thousand.
We have said that we would start using some more of our elders in our school system, and if we only slot down 90 thousand, I don’t believe that we can get more elders into the school system.
It’s quite small looking at that figure when you are talking about adult basic education and literacy.
Hon. James Arvaluk (interpretation): I am not quite sure, his comment had nothing to do with income support, under 9 – 10.
I don’t believe his comments had anything to do with the discussion at hand.
Maybe I could ask this question. Does the income support include the details of grants and contributions under 9 – 11, and 9 – 12.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Iqaqrialu if you go to 9 – 14, that is what you are talking about, you are talking about the details of grants and contributions.
On page 9 – 10, it states here that grants and contributions are 25 million 724.
Under grants and contributions at 25 million 724, Mr. Minister I would like clarification on what can go under grants and contributions.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Yes, the breakdown for that is 24 million 288 thousand income support program provides payments to individuals based on family size and previous months income.
Approximately 13000 people about 55% of the population of Nunavut, are receiving that and 705 thousand contract for services provided by various Hamlets across Nunavut for provision of services.
The last one 731 thousand, for senior supplementary benefits, are payments to seniors.
Approximately 480 people at 135 dollars per month.
Chairperson: Mr. Puqiqnak.
Mr. Puqiqnak (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Chairman for the response, I was wondering if the handicapped or special services went under grants and contributions.
Disabled persons and handicapped, deaf or mute, I thought that this grants and contributions was slotted for disabled and handicapped person, Mr. Chairman, thank you.
I think that grants and contribution might be the wrong term to use.
What it really means is for income support for needy families and it totals up to 25 million 724 which covers the whole Nunavut area.
Therefore monthly payments for the needy families on a monthly basis, and unemployed and elders and so on and covers the whole Nunavut.
Mr. Puqiqnak (interpretation): Thank you for that information.
Chairperson (interpretation): Since I have no more on my list. Total expenditures 26 million 157 thousand.
No capital.
Total expenditures 26 million 157 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): 9 – 11, details of grants and contributions.
I would like to go back to the question that I asked earlier regarding the adult basic education/literacy slated for 90 thousand.
If we are looking at the whole Nunavut area, and we are talking about adults, it looks like it is way too small.
I think that we have to look at it further in our budget if there is no other programs that are going to be made available for adult basic education and literacy.
I would like further clarification on this point.
Hon. James Arvaluk (interpretation): Mr. Chairman, I will have Ian respond.
There are several places where funding for adults could come in, this particular item, adult basic education and literacy supports community literacy projects run by local groups.
For example, family literacy in various places, or special projects in various communities.
Students who are enrolled in adult basic education programs at community adult ed. centres, that is a program that is funded by the College and would be funded by the College contributions.
Chairperson (interpretation): We will then go back to 9 – 11, that was for information only.
Sorry I thought we were looking at all grants and contributions, are we going to be getting to 9 – 12 next and I could ask the question then.
Chairperson (interpretation): Yes we are just about on 9 – 12 and we will not move ahead unless it is agreed upon.
Chairperson (interpretation): Okay then agreed. 9 – 12 is details of grants and contributions.
Mr. Chairman I see the two areas on this page of grants and contributions totalling almost 6 and a half million dollars to deal with curriculum development.
I am wondering is the aboriginal language and cultural program and instructional and support services, and I am wondering if the Minister, and it doesn’t have to be now, could provide the members with a breakdown of what this is used for, and I would be satisfied with a commitment for him to provide us with that information instead of going over it all now.
This aboriginal language and culture program, each DEC receives funding to support the regional teaching and learning centre and also produces Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, materials in their original dialects.
I don’t have the breakdown details right now but I will provide it later, if you want Mr. Chairman.
I just note there that it says that it is to be used to provide language and cultural development right through to grade 12.
I am just wondering Mr. Chairman if in that is in fact the case where those services are being provided in high schools, Thank you.
Hon. James Arvaluk: Mr. Chairman for that detail I will ask Ian Rose to answer that.
The money would be used through the teaching and learning centres through the DEC’s.
They would then allocate that out on projects where they saw the greatest need in the curriculum areas whether it be at the kindergarten level at the grade 6 level, junior high or senior high.
They would choose and decide which projects they would want to support and move forward on.
Mr. Chairman I would just like to ask on the instructional and support services, this is a large sum of money and I don’t understand what that is for.
So maybe I could just get a brief explanation as to what those dollars are used for.
Mr. Rose: That money would be used to support the review, monitoring and creation of curriculum to be used in the K – 12 systems.
Also the support of selected program reviews that would monitor and go in and do an evaluation of curriculum's and projects at the school levels, Thank you.