EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Having said that Mr. Speaker, part of the master plan, as it indicates, is to build a new terminal building.
Has his department selected or are agreed upon whether it’s the site options pointed out in the master plan as to where... Has his department determined and selected a site or location for that new facility whenever it gets built?
The new airport terminal building that we’re working on currently is to be situated at the north end of the new apron.
That is to relieve the congestions where the current facilities are now.
I know if they’re moving the terminal down there and they have selected a site, I’m sure that that’s something that they have informed both major airlines.
I know Canadian North had an unfortunate fire in their warehouse or their hangar. I would assume that both Canadian North and First Air would need to know where that location is if they want to plan on building any facilities that they would require in that new location.
Can the minister inform me if his officials have notified the two major carriers that fly out of there, Canadian North and First Air, of exactly where that location is so that they can plan for what they need to build?
We keep the major air carriers abreast of what we plan to do in terms of setting up the new air terminal building. I believe Canadian North is currently working on a new facility where we would like to establish the ATB.
Question 687 – 2(4): Will the Government of Nunavut Help Nunavummiut with Increasing Fuel Cost (Arreak)
I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Finance and it’s in regard to the price of gasoline.
The price of gasoline has kept rising seemingly with no end in sight.
It is very difficult for unemployed people and the full-time hunters in particular.
These hunters provide a lot of assistance to their fellow residents by providing country food.
In southern Canada, it seems that every time farmers request assistance during times of hardship or when they are trying to produce goods for food processing, they receive it.
So is our territorial government here in Nunavut contemplating to provide any type of assistance for our hunters at this time?
We introduced the Fuel Tax Rebate Program last winter as assistance for our hunters and fishermen.
This was initiated to assist the hunters and the fishermen or remote industries, such as adventure tourism or exploration camps.
It was developed especially to assist the hunters and fishermen so that they could apply for a rebate on fuel taxes and that’s what we have put in place, Mr. Speaker.
We know about this rebate, but the fact is that the subsidy is slightly over six cents per litre and it was developed prior to the increasing costs of gasoline. When the price of fuel went up, this subsidy was not increased.
I’m not asking specifically about the Fuel Tax Rebate Program.
For example, when a hunter or fisherman applies for a rebate, there are many reasons why that application may not be approved. A lot of the reasons listed are reasons why the application may be declined. What I would like to see is something that doesn’t penalize those hunters who support their fellow Inuit and provides support without constraints.
So my question is: has any kind of assistance program been considered? That’s what I was trying to get at with my previous question.
The government has provided much needed assistance to our hunters through the Harvesters Support Program. This program is administered through NTI and other wildlife organizations.
As a government, we set aside funding that is geared towards that program for use by the hunters and fishermen and that’s how we have assisted them, Mr. Speaker.
I had pretty much given up on that issue, but I realized that the government provides assistance for the hunters. At this time, the cost of everything is rising and I wonder if the government has reached the end of their rope or if they are looking at providing more assistance programs. Are there any plans to further assist those hunters, yes or no?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): We are not just planning; we are actually already providing assistance.
I believe the Minister of Environment can provide further details, but as a government, we have set aside a fairly large amount of funds to assist the hunters in cooperation with the HTOs and NTI and under the direction of the Department of Environment.
We haven’t just made plans as we have already been providing assistance, Mr. Speaker.
Question 688 – 2(4): Safety of Airplanes Used for Medical Travel (Kattuk)
I’m not sure which minister to ask this question, but I know that the appropriate one will answer.
It was good to hear that the medical patients will now be offered three flights weekly, which was nice to hear.
We’re experiencing some displeasure in our community. For example, my maternal uncle usually goes out for regular medical check-ups.
He stated that he is getting fearful of flying as the plane had mechanical problems which caused the cancellation of the flight yesterday.
It seems that planes have had problems regularly and this all started in the winter when the airline started to fly through Sanikiluaq.
The passengers on that flight are getting anxious and fearful.
I wonder if the minister can check into the matter and see what reasons that Kivalliq Air has to offer.
I believe that the department has been consulting with the airline to see if they were actually following the contract, so I wonder if the minister can look into this matter with Kivalliq Air.
Mr. Kattuk, can you please clarify which minister you’re posing your question to?
Mr. Kattuk (interpretation): Eeny, meeny, miny, moe…
Since you’re leaving it up to me, I guess I’ll direct my question to the Minister of Health.
It is entirely up to any member to direct their questions to the minister whom they feel is appropriate. Although I am the Speaker, it’s not at my discretion.
But at this time, we will take a 20-minute break.
>>House recessed at 15:34 and resumed at 15:59
We will continue on from where we left off.
Response from the Minister of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr. Premier.
I can’t provide details as to an airline’s operations and cannot really answer the question, but I will commit to looking into the matter.
With respect to any flights, irrespective of any airline, there are mechanical problems that occur from time to time and they have to be diagnosed by mechanics.
We accept that practice as safety is an important issue and we don’t want to endanger any of the people we represent in Nunavut.
The airlines themselves wouldn’t want to endanger the lives of any of their passengers either.
We would like the residents of Sanikiluaq to inform us if this problem persists.
I forgot some of the questions I wanted to pose. But according to the response I got from the Premier, I would like to continue my line of questioning.
There have been too many incidents involving mechanical problems with the airplanes. Some of the passengers are reticent to board the flights, but they seemingly have no choice in the matter. Kivalliq Air has been experiencing nothing but mechanical problems lately.
I even ended up questioning my colleague, who is also served by this airline, specifically the Member from Repulse Bay, whether or not they have these same issues. He stated that they didn’t experience that too often in Repulse Bay.
Even on a beautiful day, Kivalliq Air has mechanical problems and therefore, the flight is cancelled.
I wonder if the Premier will look into the problem with Kivalliq Air. He stated that he will, so could he tell me when that would be?
I wanted more details on how many times Kivalliq Air experienced mechanical problems.
Quite a number of airplanes have experienced issues. We hear about mechanical issues even here in Iqaluit. I, too, have experienced times when they have to delay a flight due to mechanical problems.
It’s always frustrating to be stuck at the airport and waiting for a flight when you are all packed and it gets cancelled. It’s especially inconvenient when you have to go some place or are in an emergency.
Yes, I will task someone to research this matter and I will ask them to provide a report to the member on what the airline has been experiencing.
The airlines are required to make safety a priority.
When a plane goes mechanical, they will delay or cancel the flight because they have to follow aviation regulations and legislation.
So I will commit to conducting research on this issue and provide a report on our findings to the member.
The passengers who have to use that airline are nervous right now because of continuing mechanical problems. When will the Premier look into this matter?
Kivalliq Air operates independently and we don’t have oversight on their operations.
The Department of Transportation looks after those issues and I will direct that department to undertake a review of the airline.
I will get back to the member on that, but I can’t state when I will do that because I have to wait for the meeting between the transportation officials and the airline before I can get a report on it.
Question 689 – 2(4): GN’s New Public-Private Partnerships Policy (Curley)
The minister made a statement yesterday in the House.
So first, I would like to thank him for making a statement, which made me quite happy, regarding the government’s new policy on public-private partnerships.
It was tabled in the House yesterday, so we can now peruse it at any time.
For the past four years, I have been a strong advocate for that approach to meeting our territory’s capital and infrastructure needs as our own capital funds are inappropriate.
That policy is very important for the business sector or community and they will be quite pleased to hear the statement.
I would now like to ask the minister a question.
I believe he told us that there will be an oversight committee comprised of three deputy ministers who will review projects applicable under this new policy for public-private partnerships.
Has this committee started meeting to review projects or started planning? Can the minister indicate to the House what specific projects his department is currently looking at that might be undertaken as P3 projects?
This type of initiative would follow the Request for Proposals process and the government would notify appropriate companies on their list that an upcoming RFP that may be of interest will be released for bidding.
We stated that the committee will review Requests for Proposals valued at over $1 million to see how best to award the contract, and then the business owner and the government would negotiate the deliverables.
In the RFP process, the size of the project will determine whether it would be best suited for the P3 policy and the committee would make that determination, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, that was my question. I am guessing that the P3 committee was already formed.
Has this committee started to meet to discuss the issues?
If they are operational, have they met to evaluate proposals in regard to public-private partnerships to build something under the policy? If they are operational, then when will we hear about their choices?
Does the minister know if there will be any projects announced as awarded under the P3 policy via the Requests for Proposals to build infrastructure or buildings in Nunavut? Does the minister have any plans to do this?
The process was approved by the Executive Council on August 28 so that the initiative can proceed. We are putting a plan together at this time.
With respect to some of the other matters that have to be identified, which includes principles as well, the committee will have to identify the basis for how private companies and the government will operate under the contract and they will be reviewed.
At this time, this initiative is ongoing and we are putting together a plan.
Obviously, if there’s an RFP in the near future, the bids will be reviewed to see if they fit under the P3 policy or other criteria. However, the committee will review the projects to figure out which policy to use for awarding the contract.
Both the government and company awarded the contract would have to draft up the terms of reference and they would review what would be the best fit.  So those are the types of matters that would be reviewed, Mr. Speaker.
I would now like to ask about the details of the committee members. There are three deputy ministers who do the evaluation of proposals.
Can the minister indicate which department will be the lead department in this regard?
There are many businesses that are very interested in this initiative and want to hear more details on the P3 policy.
Can the minister inform us as to which department will be leading the process under the P3 policy?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): We envision that the government departments that award these contracts would be the ones to lead as they already are well versed in the RFP process and they invite companies to bid.
The details will be answered as the RFPs are finalized by their respective departments.
Obviously, the Department of Finance will be involved in awarding those contracts and we will be assisting the other departments to determine what the best course of action would be, Mr. Speaker.
In reading the material, it’s quite lengthy and interesting, but it’s clear to me that anyone who wishes to get more information will not be able to get it just over the phone.
I wonder if the minister could advise the committee or the contracting department to send out an information item to the companies.
Can the government work to draft up a concise and complete news release so that companies are fully informed of this new policy that the government wants to adopt?
The Minister of Community and Government Services, whose department awards most of the contracts, and I can deliberate on how to keep Nunavummiut well-informed about this new process.
Question 690 – 2(4): When Can Pond Inlet HTO Expect a Response to a Letter Written April 30, 2008 (Arvaluk)
I was informed by the Pond Inlet Hunters and Trappers Organization that they sent a letter to his department on April 30, 2008, and that they still haven’t received a response.
Can the minister tell us the reasons why they still haven’t responded to the Pond Inlet Hunters and Trappers Organization?
I would have to find the correspondence in question in order to find out why it wasn’t answered.
I will look into the matter, but I continue to remind my staff that all correspondence should be answered in a timely fashion.
My staff obviously deals with correspondence on all sorts of issues and there’s usually a timeframe for responding to letters, so I will commit to looking into this issue.
Once we find the letter referred to by the member, we will see if we can provide a timely response or what the reasons were for not responding.
I wonder if the minister can respond in writing. I would like a copy of the correspondence if the minister responds and that way, I can ascertain whether or not a response was sent to the HTO.
I am very interested to know which correspondence he is talking about so that I can respond immediately and I will also copy the member.
Question 691 – 2(4): When Will Arviat Get a Gravel Crusher (Alagalak)
I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Community and Government Services and the Minister of Transportation may want to respond as well since this is also under the responsibility of his department.
Mr. Speaker, as you are probably aware, the hamlet staff workload is inundated by the problems with the airstrip because the top layer gets too soft every spring.
The airstrip gravel stockpile was used up two years ago and the hamlet was informed that a crusher would be brought into the community in the summer.
Once the next spring melt is underway, there will be airplanes stuck when their tires dig into the airstrip as they pivot in preparation for takeoff at the end of the runway.
Does the minister know about the crusher that was supposed to be brought in this summer? It is now fall and we have yet to see it. We haven’t been advised as to what the situation is, so it seems we are being left in limbo.
My apologies, I’ll have the Minister of Transportation respond first. Minister Netser.
It’s the first time we have heard that the problems with the airstrip have been occurring every spring as we haven’t been informed of that before.
I personally have never been told about this situation in Arviat, so I’ll have to check into it further and get back to the member.
That’s interesting because we have been kept abreast of the situation since last spring.
We were told that there is a crusher that will be transported around the Kivalliq region and that they were going to bring it to Arviat.
We almost failed to fix the problem last spring since we don’t have the proper type of gravel, especially the specified grades used for airstrip grading in Arviat.
They ran into a situation where they couldn’t fix the airstrip as whatever top layer was put down would just get blown off.
I wonder if your department can check into this situation.
What’s the status of the crusher and will it be shipped to Arviat before the land starts to freeze so that they can crush gravel for the spring when the airstrip requires a new top layer?
We work with the members to resolve local issues and we want to know of any issues or problems that they face in their communities with respect to transportation.
I will get my officials to check into this and provide a response to the member once that has been done.
It’s becoming an urgent matter and we only have one working day left in our session.
However, we always hear that the government officials are working really hard, as well as the leadership under the ministers. The deputy ministers can sometimes deal with these issues very quickly when tasked.
Can the minister provide a report on the status of the crusher? How soon can they make the equipment available? How much material can be crushed prior to ground freeze-up?
I would like to see our hamlet receive written correspondence outlining the situation, along with a copy for my records.
It’s becoming an urgent matter and I know that it can be remedied quickly because all they have to do is set the shipping date for its arrival.
I would like to see a plan outlining how the department will meet the needs of the community as it relates to their airstrip gravel requirements and I would like to see one as soon as possible.
I will check with my transportation officials on the situation in Arviat and request more information from the airlines that land in Arviat about the problems they have faced.
Question 692 – 2(4): When Can We Expect a Docking Facility in Qikiqtarjuaq and Clyde River (Arreak)
I too, have a question to direct to the Minister of Transportation; at least I believe it’s under his mandate.
At least four years ago, prior to my campaign, we were led to expect a new breakwater docking facility for our community and I have posed questions on when the construction would commence.
Clyde River and Qikiqtarjuaq are included in the list of docking facilities earmarked for Nunavut.
If Clyde River or Qikiqtarjuaq, or any of the communities listed for that matter, received the docking facilities, then their quality of life would improve - employment opportunities would emerge and the community would benefit. (interpretation ends) It will improve the quality of life in my community.
(interpretation) Since plan A seems to not be going ahead, does the government have a plan B?
Qikiqtarjuaq was included with the seven communities that will receive docking facilities, but we all know that it’s dependent on funding from the federal government.
We have continued to lobby the federal government to initiate the work in the other communities.  Currently, Pangnirtung has received a docking facility under this fund from the federal government, but our government continues to advocate the completion of the docking facilities since the communities need them.
As I mentioned, plan A doesn’t seem to be working because the federal government hasn’t allocated the funding.
Does this mean that we cannot expect these facilities to be constructed anytime soon? Can we expect any docking facilities for the listed communities?
On behalf of the communities, our government was requesting only $45 million from the federal government.
If they don’t produce the required funding for the docking facilities, perhaps the new government can look at appropriating capital funds.
Clyde River may have to decide whether they want a docking facility or a cultural school, but it’s conjectural at this point.
If the federal government will not come up with the money, then that’s what we will have to do.
The minister shouldn’t even think of those options, especially as the minister of that department. He also seemed to consider $45 million just a small amount.
We have been expecting this from the federal government because the territorial government keeps saying that they are negotiating on the issue. We seem to be getting led around by the nose since we are still expecting these funds.
In order to get a more appropriate answer to my question, I am asking: if the federal government is not doing anything, will the Government of Nunavut take the necessary steps to try and get it?
Our term is up and we will no longer be a government by tomorrow.
So the next government elected by our residents will have to consider which direction they wish to take with respect to the docking facilities in the communities. This is an issue for the next government.
Question 693 – 2(4): Construction of a New Nunavut Arctic College Campus for Cambridge Bay (Peterson)
Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, I questioned the minister about construction of a new Nunavut Arctic College Campus in Cambridge Bay. In the past, the minister has stated that this is a priority project for Cambridge Bay and the Kitikmeot.
The other day, the minister mentioned that a new 5,000 square foot mine training facility will be constructed by 2010.
My question for the minister: can the minister explain to the House how the 5,000 square foot mine training facility will tie in with the new Nunavut Arctic College Campus in Cambridge Bay?
Mr. Speaker, very quickly, we see the new facility that we’re attempting to put on the ground and in place in Cambridge Bay as a complement to the expansion of the Nunavut Arctic College in the community.
Indeed, the member has been very strong as an advocate for Cambridge Bay for a new campus in the community and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his good work on behalf of the community as well as the campus.
What we see happening, Mr. Speaker, is that this new building would probably be the genesis or the foundation, as it were, of a new campus in the community.
Part of the plan would be to make sure that the building is expandable, meaning we would be able to add to it as we move into a format for a new campus for Nunavut Arctic College in Cambridge Bay.
Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, on February 21, I asked the minister and he said, “… we have an opportunity to review the Five-Year Capital Plan and see what monies we can move around, we’ll be able to look at projects like the Coral Harbour school and the campus in Cambridge Bay.”
My question for the minister relates to moving the money around. I understand that the federal government signed an agreement with the Government of Nunavut for the Building Canada Infrastructure Fund that allowed the government to move monies around.
So my question for the minister: could he clarify again or tell the House what stage of planning the new Nunavut Arctic College Campus is at?
The Building Canada Fund, or the BCF, was well welcomed by the Government of Nunavut and indeed it has given us a little bit of a luxury of being able to move around certain projects in our Five-Year Capital Plan. Instead of having to use direct GN money, we would be able to access the Building Canada Fund.
And that’s the case with what we’re looking at in Cambridge Bay. We believe that this new building, which we have approved about $300,000 at FMB to look at the design and build of a building in Cambridge Bay, once that progress continues through the spring and hopefully with construction next fall, should be completed then by 2010-11.