EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I would also like to congratulate the other women who were recognized and I also congratulate the women’s groups that represent Nunavut Inuit. I would like to congratulate all of these women and the organizers who worked very hard for the event two days ago.
Member’s Statement 402 – 2(4): Arctic Winter Games Athletes (Barnabas)
I also rise today to congratulate the individuals who are participating in the Arctic Winter Games in Yellowknife for Inuit and Dene Games, and Basketball.
I would like to recognize the following: David Shuyook, Jennifer Issigaitok, Don Oyukuluk, Tagurnaaq Willie, Jenny Oyukuluk, Wesley Attagutsiak, Susie Shuyook, and Thomas Levi, who is the coach, Debbie Oyukuluk, Bobby Uqittuq, Darryl Levi, Joe Aullaqiaq, Shawn Oyukuluk, Tina Ataguttaaluk, Nina Anne Shuyook, Amanda Ataguttaaluk, Saila Oyukuluk, Susan Kalluk, and Aimo Kilabuk.
I would like you to join me in congratulating the athletes who are participating in the Arctic Winter Games and I hope they will bring a lot of gold medals back to Nunavut.
If there are no more, we will move on to Item 4. (interpretation ends) Returns to Oral Questions. (interpretation) If there are none, Item 5.
As I mentioned in my Minister’s Statement, I would like to welcome these individuals who have graduated from the Sivuliqtiksat Internship Program.
First of all, Lucie Wilson, welcome.
Napatchie Kolola, welcome.
And, Tanya Tungilik, welcome.
I rise today to recognize my wife, Sally, and our grandchild, who has a lot of friends here in Iqaluit, Meagan Netser.
If there are none, Mr. Akesuk.
I would like consent from the House to move back to Item 5, Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery.
Speaker (interpretation): The member is seeking consent to return to Item 5.
Please proceed, Mr. Akesuk.
I would like to recognize Mikidjuk Akavak from Kimmirut and he is running for President of Nunavut Tunngavik at the upcoming elections. I would like to welcome him to the House.
I thought we were on Item 6. (interpretation ends) I’m sorry.
Speaker (interpretation): We had returned to Item 5. (interpretation ends) Item 5. Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery.
Question 494 – 2(4): Devolution Negotiations Letter (Curley)
Very briefly, I have a question for the Premier. He recently showed us and talked about a letter he received from the Prime Minister with regards to the negotiations for devolution.
When the Premier was referring to the letter, I don’t think he indicated that this was a response from the Prime Minister.
Is it possible for the Premier to table that letter in this House?
Honourable Paul Okalik, Premier of Nunavut.
I certainly can.
I wrote a letter in the past and they’re trying to get that ready.
Question 495 – 2(4): Issue of Violence in Schools (Peterson)
Mr. Speaker, over the years, I have heard of incidents of violence against teachers in schools. It’s a very serious issue and the situation seems to be continuing.
I hear of incidents quite often in my travels across Nunavut.
My question for the Minister of Education: can the minister tell the House how the Department of Education is dealing with the issue of violence against teachers in schools?
The member is correct. It has been an ongoing issue for the last couple of years and I believe we have seen an increase in I don’t want to say it’s violence, but behaviour issues, disciplinary issues in our schools.
We have a partnership between the school, the families, and the local DEA, as well as the Nunavut Teachers’ Association, NTA, to look at how we can be proactive in directing and talking to our children, our students about proper behaviour in and outside the classroom, not just in the classroom or in the school but on the playground also. That work is continuing and ongoing.
And, I believe with outside groups coming to the schools across Nunavut, for example, the RCMP and the DARE program, helps us move forward in that direction.
He says that he doesn’t like to call it violence but when you have students pushing teachers and throwing stuff and that, then I would daresay that is violence.
My question for the minister: can the minister inform the House if the Department of Education has a zero-tolerance policy to protect teachers against violence in schools?
In the new Education Act, Bill 21, we have a section there on interdisciplinary issues within the school and outside the school, including in-school suspensions and so on, and for the first time in the Act, we talked about how to deal with those types of behavioural problems in and outside the school.
We do have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to violence in our schools. As an example, if someone is struck or assaulted in the school, it doesn’t become a school issue, then it becomes a police issue if someone is assaulted, so it’s turned over to the RCMP in those types of cases.
I don’t think it’s an epidemic problem within our schools. We do have issues of violence and it has been ongoing; I think we have seen a marked increase over the last few years, but our schools are safe, the staff are well trained, and the proper behaviour models are put in place.
There are some instances which are more violent than others and those are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
I thank the minister for that explanation. The minister indicated that he didn’t think it’s a serious issue.
My question to the minister: can the minister explain to the House how the Department of Education works with the District Education Authorities to develop policies and programs that raise continued awareness about the serious issue of violence against teachers so that it does not escalate out of control?
Speaker: Thank you. Minister of Education, Honourable Ed. Picco.
Again, I want to emphasize that we’re not talking about some of the situations you may see in the inner city schools in our larger urban centres; we’re not seeing that type of issues being raised.
We have bullying in our schools, like every school across the country, we have socio-economic problems within our society itself and that spills over, at times, into the schools.
What we do have in place, I think, is a good working relationship with our students and because we are a small community and a small population throughout the territory, in many cases, the individual students are known to us, we know their families, we have counsellor support, and so on.
We have the effective behaviour supports in our schools, or EBS, we have professional development and training with our staff on a regular basis on how to deal with this issue.
And again, if something escalates to the point of endangering a teacher or endangering a student, then that’s dealt with aggressively and forcefully.
Can the minister tell the House how many teachers since 2004 have left Nunavut because of violence experienced against them in schools?
I don’t know of any teacher who has left Nunavut because they have been subjected to violent behaviour in or outside the classroom and pertaining to their actual work.
I have not been made aware of any person or individual.
What I can say is that I am aware of different schools at different times throughout Nunavut that have issues with behaviour that is not acceptable in the school or on the playground.
When we have those types of issues, they are dealt with in cooperation with the parents, the school, as well as the District Education Authority.
Question 496 – 2(4): Hiring Local Staff (Simailak)
I send my greetings to Qamani’tuaq.
I want to be clearly understood, so I will speak in English.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, a number of my colleagues have raised questions in this House about the staffing of social worker positions in our communities.
As the minister will be aware, there are often a number of jobs that need to be done to provide adequate social services, especially in some of our larger communities.
Can the minister clarify for this House what policies are in place to maintain staffing levels in our community social services’ offices?
In terms of the human resources practices of the government, the Department of Health policies related to the human resource practices are the same as every other department through what is outlined in the collective agreement for issues related to compensation, for instance, of all our public servants.
So that’s what is in place for that if I understood the member’s question correctly.
Mr. Simailak: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I’m sure that the minister will agree that communities are best served when the people providing the services are familiar with the community, can speak the local language, and have some experience in delivering the service.
Can the minister clarify whether her department has any policies in place that seek to employ qualified and competent local residents before employing people from outside the community, and if not, why not?
The Department of Health and Social Services staff and recruitment practices are part of the Government of Nunavut’s overall recruitment practices.
So the advertisement, interview process, job descriptions, interviews, the application, and the beneficiary status; that whole process is in place, the screening is determined by a committee, and so on, from the recruitment process side of it.
So if it’s a public process where a member from the general population can apply and if they meet the qualifications, then they’re screened in for an interview and so on. That practice is the same as any other government department.
Mr. Simailak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) Will the minister commit to providing an update on how many staff at the community level social services’ offices are employed locally and how many are employed from outside the community?
Yes, I can provide that.
Speaker (interpretation): Your final supplementary, Mr. Simailak.
We look forward to that information.
Mr. Speaker, it is often the case in offices with a heavy demand for services, such as social services, that individuals are hired on a casual basis to fill vacant staffing positions. Sometimes this can be a short-term placement and sometimes it goes longer.
Can the minister update this House on what policies are in place to ensure that locally hired casual staff receive their wages in a timely manner and what kinds of staffing circumstances would prevent them from receiving the pay that they deserve?
Minister of Health and Social Services, (interpretation ends) Honourable Leona Aglukkaq.
I will look into the situations of the individuals in Baker Lake. The Department of Health and Social Services looks to the central agencies for support and around social worker human resource practices and recruitment. The payroll side is managed by the Department of Finance.
So if there are issues with the Department of Finance processing, I will find that out.
If it’s at our end, in terms issuing pay sheets and so on, I’ll get back to the member on those individuals from the two social workers that are in Baker Lake.
Question 497 – 2(4): Number of Ships Travelling in Nunavut (Barnabas)
According to my knowledge, I think there are about 91 ships that have gone to Nunavut and that have gone to Lancaster Sound last year.
Can the minister table some information with respect to how many ships have travelled into Nunavut?
Minister of Economic Development and Transportation, Honourable Patterk Netser.
I don’t have that information on hand, so I will have to get back to the member.
The minister has taken your question as notice and will get back to you.
Question 498 – 2(4): Community Priority Changes (Arvaluk)
I want to know ahead of time as the minister stated last week that the funding coming from the federal government will be used to consult with the communities to find out what their priorities are.
I would like to ask the minister: did their priorities change for some municipalities, especially for the municipalities that did not receive their funding?
As I have stated before, the priorities of the Five-Year Capital Plan have been reviewed and with the new fiscal year, when I met with my staff, they told me that they were going to go back to the communities and consult with them.
I heard that they will start visiting the communities within this new fiscal year and they just started visiting the communities, and this is still ongoing this winter and it will be continuing in the upcoming months.
They will be looking at the priorities of the communities and they will also look at the Five-Year Capital Plan.
With regards to the authorization policy, before you send your staff to the communities, they probably have to specify what the purpose of the visit is.
The plans that were made last year and were prioritized; it’s still the case in the community and when her staff go to the community, they will hear the same thing that they did last year. Will that not just be a waste of money?
I hope they get the information why they have to visit Arctic Bay or Pond Inlet.
How is the authorization policy structured?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Arvaluk. (interpretation ends) Minister of Community and Government Services, Honourable Levinia Brown.
There is also a committee and they usually go through that committee, along with Nunavut Community Infrastructure Committee. So they review what the plans are and after they put in more from Building Canada Fund, they will have to do a closer review as to exactly what they need in the communities and they will advise us in the coming months.
(interpretation ends) Under the criteria for Building Canada Fund, recreational facilities are eligible and we must take into consideration of all the infrastructure requests. That should be done very shortly. A joint letter from Finance and CGS will be delivered to all members of the process to identify projects for that fund.
(interpretation) We follow the policy that we have and the people who have to visit the communities do visit.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): When you go listen to the residents of Pond Inlet who want an arena, if you go up to Pond Inlet, you’ll hear the exact same thing that they still don’t have an arena, which is too bad.
The O&M for Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs is $639,000; (interpretation ends) Community Support, $684,000; Government Services, $524,000; and also, Planning and Technical Services, $795,000; (interpretation) we see that it’s almost $4 million to run those services by your employees. That’s an arena right there.
Do you have any idea of what your department spends on travelling to the communities to consult with them on what priorities they want to see? Even though they hear the same thing from the communities, can you give me an estimate of the amount of money they spend on travelling?
I don’t have that information with me at this time, so I’m not too sure.
I’m getting a little confused because communities ask us to visit but say it costs too much; so it’s twofold.
What should we do; should we visit the communities or just forget the whole thing?
We want to work together with the hamlet, NAM, and CGS, so we will always travel to the communities and in the coming years, we will continue to do so.
Once I get the information that clearly identifies the funding that was used for travelling, I will provide it to my colleagues.
I don’t even know what they call it; Authorization Travel Policy.
You probably have to authorize them whether they’re visiting Pond Inlet, or Rankin Inlet, or anywhere, you can probably guess what the community would want because they would have the same priorities: they still want the arena.
Once your staff goes to the community and they’re unsure of what to ask, the priorities they had are still their priorities, so they will get the same information.
For example, if the residents of Sanikiluaq would like you to visit their community... what I’m trying to say is if you just go to random communities, it’s going to be expensive, and we’re saying that if you don’t visit, it’s fine with us. When we request a visit, it’s appreciated by the community and I would like to thank the minister for sending three officials to my community.
What I want to find out is: do you keep track of when your officials visit the communities and authorize the funding so that they are not going to the communities questioning what they should be doing?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Arvaluk. (interpretation ends) Minister of Community and Government Services, Levinia Brown.
Yes, we know because we budget funds for what they will be used for.
The funding that we use for travel is identified every year and we try not to go over the amount that we put aside.
At this time, I don’t have the information on how much we have set aside for this year but when they go to the communities, they get a lot of information, and they give us a report of the major things in the community that were discussed.
What my colleague is saying about requesting an arena in Pond Inlet has been seriously considered.
I have stated that the capital plans every year and what usually happens is when the councils change, then some of the priorities change.
We know that the community of Pond Inlet still wants an arena and we know that they will eventually get their arena once we have adequate funding.
Question 499 – 2(4): Number of International Nurses (Alagalak)
Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of March, I saw a report that states that there were still 42 international nurses that are up here from overseas that are hired.
Can the minister tell me if the number of international nurses hired will increase or will they eventually go down?
Currently, the recruitment efforts for nurses in Nunavut, we’ll be concentrating on recruiting our own as well as within Canada. The number that the member makes reference to 42, I think relates to the casuals that we have in place right now.
In terms of international nursing recruitment, we are no longer recruiting internationally but are focusing our resources in recruiting nurses within Canada as well as within our own program.
People find it very strange when they see those nurses, even for bilingual people or people who understand English because they have an accent. So the patients have a hard time understanding and they don’t know anything about the customs up here.
There is still no an agreement with the public service.
The negotiations are still going on and it hasn’t moved forward for a while.
For those people who will seek employment with Nunavut, they may not want to apply because of the long negotiations.
So for that reason, we have to make these more attractive to the people, and if we don’t get international nurses, it would seem more appropriate if we didn’t use the agency that has the contract.
What is the case; are we still leaving that open?
How long will the agency nurses have the contract to hire international nurses?
In my earlier reply, we are no longer recruiting international nurses in Nunavut.
We are looking at putting our recruitment energies into recruiting within Canada, at the same time in Nunavut.
Some of the initiatives that we have outlined that we are trying to address for nursing were outlined in the Nursing Recruitment and Retention Strategy which was tabled in the House in November. We’re also working with our own training programs in Nunavut to hire the graduates of our Nursing Program.
At the same time, we’re patiently waiting for the results of the bargaining which will help us in our efforts to recruit further nurses in Nunavut so that we’re more competitive with the rest of Canada.
So those are some of the initiatives that we’re focusing on now within Canada and within Nunavut, and we are no longer recruiting international nurses at this point in time.
That’s very nice to hear and I understand.
I’ve heard they were a higher number and a lot of them didn’t pass the nursing exam.
As you stated earlier, you are currently looking for nurses in Canada and a lot of them can speak English and Inuktitut.
Have you seen any interest coming from Canada, or even from the States, who would want to work up here?
The efforts for the department for recruiting are ongoing; it’s no secret that we have a huge challenge to hire nurses in our territory. Every other jurisdiction, and internationally, are competing for skilled nurses, hence our initiative related to our own Recruitment and Retention Strategy.
So we’re hoping that we’ll be able to fully implement that this coming fiscal year and move forward on the initiatives there.
Currently, out of the 210 nursing positions, I think about 80 are vacant.
So we continue to recruit for those through advertisements, through casuals, through agencies, and will continue to do so in Canada and open to the competitive process of applicants coming into Nunavut for various jobs.
Question 500 – 2(4): Status of Materials for Housing Projects (Barnabas)
As you may be aware, Mr. Speaker, last year, the supplies that were supposed to be shipped to the communities didn’t make it in last summer. It was obvious which community was affected for the materials for the construction of houses.
Can the minister update us on what the status of this situation is with the housing corporation?
Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation, Honourable Patterk Netser.
Some of the building materials were shipped by air to the communities on Saturday.
Is the minister aware of how much the freight will cost to fly the materials into the communities?
Hon. Patterk Netser: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) I’m not sure where some of the materials that were shipped to the wrong community are at this time.
We don’t know how much the total budget will be for the materials shipped by air but I will get back to the member once I have that information. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
The contract that was done by Arrujak was going to be contracted and there was a mistake. What is the current situation of the subcontract that was done for the community?
Hon. Patterk Netser: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) We are working with a mediator right now and the Housing Corporation is also involved. There are three parties involved but the issue hasn’t been resolved yet. (interpretation ends) Thank you.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Minister. (interpretation ends) We’re on Item 6.
Question 501 – 2(4): Cost of Swimming Pools (Mapsalak)
I would like to direct my questions to the Minister of Community and Government Services concerning capital projects dealing with swimming pools and arenas.
Mr. Speaker, some communities in Nunavut have swimming pools but there are probably many more that don’t have them.
If you were to erect a building to put in a swimming pool in a community, how much would it cost?
Is our colleague referring to an item that is not in the estimates as he tends to state? If it is a new expenditure, it has to go to CGS, and if it is an item that requires upgrading or repair, then he can look after it himself. That’s a good question and I thank my colleague for bringing up his concern.
There are different capital items that each community prioritizes and every community has different projects that they wish to undertake, and each project has its own requirements in terms of parts and construction costs.
I recall one project that cost over $3 million. Some projects can have cost overruns and others come in under budget, but not all of them are paid for.
However, when we are talking about a new project, I have not heard of any new projects since I sat as the Minister of CGS, especially in relation to swimming pools, but quite a few of those capital items have been either been deferred or delayed.
Yes, I had previously brought up this issue in the Legislative Assembly, that prior to the establishment of Nunavut, our community had a swimming pool allocated under our capital items, but it was taken out of our capital items and given to another community.
We were told that Repulse Bay would be given a new swimming pool in the future, and this occurred that long ago.
Some of the smaller communities, especially the non-decentralized communities, do not have any available large buildings that can be diverted or renovated as a swimming pool as most buildings in the communities are already at capacity.