EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
At the same time, as part of the review committee that was involved in the independent consultation, which included the senior people from the Department of Education, as well as Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated were also involved in that, the recommendations from the report went to the board of governors of the college, were endorsed, and are being implemented.
Speaker (interpretation): Your second supplementary. Mr. Curley.
Mr. Curley: Mr. Speaker, my second question is, the consultant’s report did indicate that there were serious financial management problems with Arctic College; why, then, would the president of Arctic College be allowed to stay in a hotel for the next ten months incurring costs and all that, when in fact the Minister and the previous Cabinet decided that the best location was Arviat instead of Rankin Inlet?
So, could you explain to us how a savings was accrued or earned by having the president stay at one of the hotels in town?
The member is incorrect, the president of the college is actually in a staff unit; I believe it’s at The Governor building in Iqaluit.
The financial issues at the college included a $1.3 million rebasement of the college budget, which was brought forward by the FMB and to the members of this House, which has gone forward.
And the position of bursar has been appointed, which is still based in Arviat and doing a very good job, I might add.
So, I hope that clarifies the Member’s question.
There were occasions during the winter session that the president was staying at one of the hotels that we stayed in.
So, my question is, if there’s a problem with the location in Arviat for the office of the president, why not reconsider and move the position of the president’s office to Rankin Inlet instead of Iqaluit?
As I said earlier, the whole process was to deal with some of the logistic, administrative, as well as the financial issues of Nunavut Arctic College.
We believe that there was some opportunity in having the president of the college closer at hand to the largest organ of that body, and that largest organ of the body, of course, is Nunatta Campus.
We are working on that right now.
The president has made a pretty big difference with reviewing some of those issues.
We have the report and so on.
Over the next several months we’ll review the operations and the issues with the temporary location of the president and see where we go from there.
Again, it was a move temporarily done, based on some of the continuing factors that have been discussed inside the Assembly.
The Member for Cambridge Bay. Mr. Peterson.
Question 358 – 2(2): Cambridge Bay Special Needs and Counsellor Positions
I would like to commend the Minister for his announcement earlier in his Minister’s Statement on Education Week 2005 complimenting all the educators across Nunavut.
They do a great job for our young people and some people our age and maybe older.
I have noticed some older students at Nunavut Arctic College continuing their education.
On that theme, I would like to ask the Minister if he could tell me, for the benefit of my constituents who keep raising this concern with me, whether Cambridge Bay will be getting new funding this year for a full-time student counsellor and special needs instructors.
Speaker (interpretation): The Minister of Education. Minister Picco.
It is Education Week, and I would hope to be in the position on Thursday to make some announcements with regard to the allocation of resources and staffing across Nunavut.
I can at this time confirm to the member that five new positions have been allocated to Cambridge Bay.
It is based on the new formula that we have put in place where the standard PTR, pupil-teacher ratio, in Nunavut, across the board, as part of the fundamental shift that this government is doing in education across the board, will be one in twenty.
I can confirm that there will be five new positions going to Cambridge Bay, which includes for the first time a fully funded counsellor position for the school.
That is indeed great news for the community of Cambridge Bay and the high school.
I thank the minister for that good news.
I am also wondering: we have some special needs students in our high school that need assistance as well.
Would one of those five positions be a special needs instructor?
I am in the process right now of drafting letters to each chair of each DEA in each community in Nunavut, including the member’s community of Cambridge Bay, outlining the new positions.
Again, we give the DEA an opportunity, based on the number of allocations and the positions, to be able to redistribute them in the community, so the DEA has that opportunity.
I can confirm for the member again that in those new five positions allocated to Cambridge Bay, the position in question is also one of those new positions going to the community.
I hope to be in the position on Thursday to make an announcement giving an overview for all Nunavummiut of what the positions are and where they are going.
Again, I thank the Minister for those words, the good news.
One of the overriding concerns in my community, I am sure it is the same in other communities, is the issue of housing and the allocation of housing for Government of Nunavut positions, including teachers.
I am wondering if the minister could assure us that when these positions are allocated under the budget, the new formula, that housing will be available for the positions or will be able to be secured for the positions so that we actually have an opportunity to hire people to work in our school when those positions are available.
The five positions that we just spoke about, and the member makes a good point, we would hope that the allocations of those positions, they would actually be able to be filled from within Cambridge Bay itself.
As an example, the position of counsellor, I would hope that that position would be a local hire within Cambridge Bay. Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to you that special needs assistants and language specialists, those types of positions, would also be hired locally, within Cambridge Bay.
One of the bases of the allocations that we did was to bring the pupil teacher ratio across Nunavut to one in twenty, that’s one teacher per twenty students. That’s phase three of this phasing in approach that we talked about.
And also, on the allocation of resources, we want to make sure that the staff housing, as the member has talked about, is in place, and that’s one of the other items.
I would hope, in these positions that we’ve talked about in Cambridge Bay, that they would be able to be filled locally.
Question 359 – 2(2): Increase in Tuition Fees
My question, too, is for the Minister of Education.
Before I get into my question, I just want to clarify for the Minister, he had said earlier that he had tabled that report on the college in the House.
In actuality, he didn’t table the report, he tabled the executive summary and I would really like him to table the report itself. I’m sure there would be some interesting reading to be had there.
I don’t know if that’s an indication that he plans on tabling that.
Mr. Speaker, another one of the recommendations in that report, and I asked the Minister about it on March 16, was the increase in tuition fees.
At that time he had indicated that it would be a hypothetical situation because he couldn’t determine whether the budget had been passed or not.
Recently, there was an article in one of the northern papers identifying that same issue of tuition fee increases.
I would just like to ask the Minister if he could confirm whether a budget has been approved and accepted by the board of governors that would increase the tuition fees for the college.
Speaker (interpretation): Minister of Education. Mr. Picco.
Hon. Ed Picco: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand corrected, one of the few times in this Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, first of all, on the budget for the college, I appreciate the Member’s question. The issue with the college’s budget, as the Member knows has come up through the Auditor General’s report on the review on the college budget, is to look at the issues around the current deficit that’s within the college.
That’s a result of medical travel, charge-backs, and other associated costs to the college.
Part of the work of the board of governors is to review the budget that’s in place, which has passed, as the member has just said, and look at opportunities for increasing the revenue stream of the college.
One of the recommendations that came forward was to look at tuition amounts, to see if that was an opportunity, within the current college budget framework, to be increased.
There has been no confirmation on that at the present time.
Any increase in tuition has an impact on the FANS budget because the majority of our students’ costs, like tuition, are covered under the FANS, so there has to be a parallel increases in FANS if there was an increase in the tuition side from the college.
However, the college has moved forward, for example, has increased their administration charges to outside agencies and so on, when we facilitate third party courses, I believe of 10 percent.
That would increase some of the revenue flow to the college to address some of the issues around the deficit.
The other issues are still pending review.
Speaker (interpretation): Your first supplementary. Mr. Tootoo.
As the Minister indicated, he said that the budget was approved. Is he saying, then, that he doesn’t know if that approved budget does include increased tuition fees?
No, Mr. Speaker; I didn’t say that.
What I said was that the budget has been approved by the board of governors of the college, which is inclusive of revenue increases or revenue stream increases for the college to address the issues around the deficit that the member, the standing committee, and the House are aware of.
That also includes increases in outside fee charges and structure, and I said that increases in tuition have also got to include the impact on FANS because those costs on tuition are covered directly out of FANS.
So, for example, the cost to a student would be negligible, negated, and mitigated, because if there was an increase to tuition costs, those costs are completely covered, as the Member knows, by FANS.
So, we have to look at the FANS side of things because we would also have to increase that budget.
That’s what the Minister has said.
Speaker (interpretation): Your second supplementary. Mr. Tootoo.
I would like to thank the Minister for clarifying his earlier comments.
He said it is pending review, who is reviewing it? Is it the department or the college and the department, and the Financial Management Board would have to agree to that before it got put into place or not?
Maybe if you could just explain that process, who is reviewing it and when they plan on having the review finished.
As I said earlier, we have increased, for example, the administration fee cost. That has been implemented within this current budget.
The issues around the other areas, and we talked about that during the budget debate on the college and the Department of Education in general, we are putting together a funding allocation model for the college.
That is being worked on right now by the college and senior staff; it is being reviewed, and in consultation with the Department of Education they are looking at opportunities with the new funding allocation model.
And so at that time, I would hope it would be ready this fall for presentation.
And any type of new funding allocation model, for example, would have to be brought forward, not only to the House and to the members but also to the FMB, by course.
Of course, I understand what the Minister is saying, where anything that has to do with money goes to the FMB for approval.
Again, I asked specifically about the increase in tuition fees which would directly impact the FANS budget in the Department of Education.
The Minister went on to talk about the new funding allocation model rather than the increase in tuition fees.
So, my question for the Minister is, instead of increasing tuition fees, which is basically just going to come from the FANS, which would result in a FANS increase, would they, instead of doing that, look at just addressing that in this new funding allocation model?
Wouldn’t that be a heck of a lot simpler than jacking up the tuition fees and then having to jack up the FANS budget just for it to go to the same place, rather than dealing with it directly in the formula that would be there all of the time?
That’s what we are attempting to do with the new funding allocation model.
And if I can, very quickly, just go back, in 1999 the funding model that was in place for the college has continued up to 2004; it was based on historic numbers that were put in place by the Government of the Northwest Territories when both colleges separated.
So, it’s not based on the realistic costs to run 23 learning centres and 3 campuses across Nunavut.
That’s what the funding allocation model is in place for.
The Members sits on a committee that reviewed the Auditor General’s report, and said, “Is there a way of looking at increasing your revenue stream outside of strictly government, for the college?”
, so we have done that.
We have increased the administration fees, as I’ve just said, to do that.
However, the member is correct.
In Nunavut, where in another jurisdiction, tuition plays a large part in the amount of money that a college or a university receives, that money usually does not come directly from a government; in our case, it does.
That’s why I said any impact on an increase in tuition would have an impact on FANS, and that’s why it’s pending within the funding formula model.
The Member is correct in saying that, and that’s why I am suggesting to the member that I would hopefully be in a position this fall to be able to bring forward that formula, which would also look at some of the issues around financing and revenue stream for the college.
I must say that with the new bursar in place at the college, the financial controller, we have done a lot of good work with board of governors and the bursar and actually getting those costs under control.
Return to Written Question 025 – 2(2): Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Programs and Cost
Return to Written Question 026 – 2(2): Status of Decentralization
Return to Written Question 027 – 2(2): Elders’ Centre Floor Renovations
Return to Written Question 028 – 2(2): Performance Bonuses, Settlements and Termination Pay for 2003-2004
Return to Written Question 029 – 2(2): Departmental Expenditures and Variance Reporting Requirements
Return to Written Question 030 – 2(2): Child Welfare Practices in Nunavut
I am tabling the responses to Written Questions 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 that were filed with the Office of the Clerk.
Item 12.Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills. Item 13. Tabling of Documents.
Tabled Document 116 – 2(2): Statutory Requirements for Tabling of Reports and Other Documents in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut
Tabled Document 117 – 2(2): Annual Report of the Integrity Commissioner for the Year Ending March 31, 2004
Tabled Document 118 – 2(2): Annual Report of the Languages Commissioner for the Year Ending March 31, 2004
Speaker (interpretation): Today, I wish to table the Table of Statutory Tabling Requirements.
This list is regularly updated by the Legislative Assembly, and tracks the status of legally required tabling requirements for Government annual reports, financial statements and other documents.
The current version of this document indicates what documents have been tabled as of April 26, 2005.
I trust that all Members will find this useful in monitoring the timely production and tabling of legally-required documents in this House.
Members, I wish to table the annual report of the Integrity Commissioner for the year ending March 31, 2004.
Members, I wish to table the annual report of the Languages Commissioner for the year ending March 31, 2004.
Tabled Document 119 – 2(2): Return to Oral Question 133 – 2(2): Core Funding for Ilisaqsivik Society
Tabled Document 120 – 2(2): Return to Oral Question 55 – 2(2): Status of the Kugluktuk Women’s Shelter
I wish to table the following documents: Oral Question 133 – 2(2) and Oral Question 55 – 2(2).
Speaker (interpretation): Please hand the documents to the Clerk.
Item 14. Notice of Motions.
Bill 18 – Powers of Attorney Act – Notice
I give notice that on Thursday, April 28, 2005 that Bill 18: Powers of Attorney Act will be read for first time.
Motions Item 17. First Reading of Bills. Item 18.
Tabled Document 58 – 2(2), Tabled Document 100 – 2(2), Tabled Document 101 – 2(2), Tabled Document 102 – 2(2).
With Mr. Netser as the Chairman.
We will take a 20-minute break before we resume.
>>House recessed at 15:24 and resumed at 15:49
Chairman (Mr. Netser) (interpretation): Thank you.
We have Tabled Document 58 – 2(2), Tabled Document 100 – 2(2), Tabled Document 101 – 2(2), and Tabled Document 102 – 2(2).
We wish to deal with Tabled Document 58 – 2(2): The Report of the Chief Electoral Officer and request that Ms. Sandy Kusugak and her support staff be seated at the Witness Table.
Ms. Kusugak, please go up to the Witness Table.
Thank you. Welcome Ms. Sandy Kusugak.
Ms. Kusugak: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
I have with me today Mr. Patrick Orr, who is the legal counsel for Elections Nunavut and was also the drafter of the Nunavut Elections Act.
Chairman (interpretation): Welcome, Mr. Patrick Orr.
According to Rule 77(1), you have 10-minutes to speak, but I don’t have anyone on my list at this time.
Do you wish to proceed? Ms. Kusugak.
Ms. Kusugak: I had prepared an oral version of an opening statement if you would like.
Ms. Kusugak: Mr. Chairman and Honourable Members, thank you for the opportunity to meet with you today to review my report.
I think you will have to know that I was eager to get here and to have this review; so eager in fact that I dragged the Honourable Member for Baker Lake onto a twin otter with me yesterday and five-and-a-half hours later, we were here.
As he said, we probably would have been in London, England trying to land on a plane.
So for anybody that’s yearning for the good old days, I suggest a really long trip on a twin otter with the diesel fumes and the sound of the engine will kind of cure you of nostalgia; be happy that we have got the transportation we do most of the time.
We provided you with electronic copies of the report today in addition to the paper versions you pretty well had before.
I believe everybody has the CD today.
We have the reports available in Inuktitut, of course, and in English as we give you an additional copy today.
French is available upon request and we are still waiting, unfortunately, for the Inuinnaqtun version and we will notify you when that becomes available.
The last time I met with the Committee of the Whole, as many members will remember, was October of 2002 when the Nunavut Elections Act was in process when we were in Pangnirtung.
Since that time, of course, we have conducted the elections and the report I give you today.
It’s my first as the Chief Electoral Officer and it’s the first report of work done under that Nunavut Elections Act.
Patrick Orr, our legal counsel has been our counsel throughout, was in Rankin Inlet for Election Day, has since been an active participant in the development of the Enforcement Protocol, and in giving us advice day-to-day as we work through sort of the kinks of using a new Elections Act.
Today, I would like to draw your attention to some specific aspects of the report.
The main body of the report is set out on page two out of nineteen in the English version and two to twenty one in the Inuktitut version, and it pretty well gives the order of the events as they took place as we set up the office and conducted the election. It gives an indication of the nature and variety of the activities our office is concerned with.
But in particular, I would like to draw the Members’ attention to sections G, H, and I in the appendices at the back.
Section G deals with policy and administrative issues that voters, candidates or election officials brought to my attention or that were apparent as we administered the elections.
A number of concerns in that appendix relate to the timing of the last election, and I would hope that you would consider that in the coming time for the next election.
We had weather issues arising from a mid winter election, I think we were astoundingly lucky with the weather.
If we’ve had the same kind of winter that we’ve had this year, we would have had extreme difficulties in administering the election properly, because the number of storms we’ve had this year have made things very difficult.
In addition the timing of the last election provided administrative problems with our returning officers setting up there election offices just before the Christmas period.
It was difficult to get Northwestel people in to do the telephones in the right amount of time; our communities were scaling down, if you want to call that, the Christmas period, and it was rather difficult to get the information out about nomination process and etc, and to actually get the offices physically open, sometimes people were on holidays or other wise busy.
Section eight to the appendix consists of suggested amendments to the Nunavut Elections Act, and that’s a required part of my report; this deals with matters that can only be resolved through legislation.
Some of them are very small matters to change wording to make it correct, others will involve issues or suggest resolution of the issues that were apparent during the election.
Section I has only four parts, four paragraphs, and this concerns the status of four outstanding recommendations of the Ajauqtiit committee from the last assembly.
We’re prepared to discuss any of these items obviously today in what ever degree of details the members wish.
Our work in the near future is going to include work to revive the Plebiscite Act, and to modernize it, it definitely will work with the Elections At that we have now, and I don’t think it really serves the purposes for the Assembly.
We will also be working to support the work of the Electoral Boundaries Commission.
Running the Boundaries Commission does not come under the preview of our office, we did however provide mapping services for the Boundaries Commission, we’ll provide office space for them at our office and will draft the Bill resulting from the Boundaries Commission that will be appointed.
In addition, we’ve been having discussion with Community and Government Services, as to working with them on the revision of the Local Authorities Elections Act, where we would be the referral point for elections.
This would again relate to the Ajautiit committee desire to sort of harmonize elections procedures when there’s no need to have them different.
We have also been establishing a working group of people involved with election; those with NTI, with Community Government, with any of the regional associations that are interested to see how we can work together for everybody’s mutual advantage.
This was a recommendation from the Ajautiit committee, found in appendix I, and we will see if we are able to offer these other agencies services, perhaps we will offer them training services, perhaps we would be a reference point for them.
Our ability to actually administer elections for them will be inhibited somewhat by the timing of everybody’s elections, and by the requirement for our office to be election ready at all times.
Our ability to support municipal and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated elections is constrained by those.
A solution to this dilemma possibly would be to have a permanent or fixed election date.
It might be something that the members would wish to consider.
Some of the provinces in Canada are moving in that direction.
The Northwest Territories has indicated that that is what they are about to do, if it influences that at all.
Certainly I am prepared discuss matters generally speaking in our office if that is of interest to the members as well as the information that is contained in the report.