EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
People are starting to voice their concerns to the government today and I would like to acknowledge them.
I believe that the public out there is voicing their concerns a lot more than with our previous government.
When I was with the previous government, even through the media, the media would announce public announcements and the reaction would be totally different in those days than today.
I would listen to the Inuktitut and English comments, and the priorities were totally different from each other back then.
Today the priorities of the media seem to be coinciding with each other.
I believe that they have a better understanding how the government system works.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the Inuit who voice their concerns through radio.
They speak their thoughts.
I would like to thank the media for providing us with Inuktitut programming.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. Members’ Statements.
I would like to advise all the Members that you have two and half minutes for Members’ Statements.
If you are going to go over your two and a half minutes, please ask for unanimous consent to conclude your statement.
The Member for Akulliq.
Member’s Statement 371 – 1(6): Suicide Prevention and Tradition
All winter long my voice hasn’t cleared up and I haven’t got my voice back.
I'm glad that I was able to make it here, although I was stuck in Cambridge Bay.
But today, Mr. Speaker, I rise to make a statement is regards to suicide in the communities.
There are people out there who are caregivers and counselling and there are Inuit people who are very capable counselling other people.
Mr. Speaker, Inuit culture, Inuit knowledge, if it was utilized more at the local level there would be less problems and less suicide.
We have to look at ways of how to eradicate suicide and by using traditional methods of relating to your relatives, I'm sure it can help to reduce the number of suicides.
I know this is a very hard issue and it hurts us and touches us emotionally, not just us but also the young people and the old people as well.
We have to help and support our youth and we have to voice our support to the youth on how we can reduce the number of suicides and provide them with advice on how to live a healthier life.
Elders are very capable people and they should provide more support and assistance to our youth at the local level.
That’s how it all starts, from the grassroots.
That’s where we can reduce the number but when we run into legislation and rules, they become our barriers.
But Inuit tradition and laws are not written down, but they should be utilized.
We should be looking at how we can utilized them and improve the lives of people of Nunavut.
Member’s Statement 372 – 1(6): Weathered in Pangnirtung
You mentioned that there were a few of Members who were stranded due to bad weather.
It snowed quite a bit in Pangnirtung; I think it was close to three feet of snow that fell.
After approximately 80 hours past the time that I was supposed to leave for Iqaluit, I finally arrived at 9:00 last night.
When I was up there, I watched the proceedings during the sessions.
I'm very pleased to be back here in the House and I know that this won’t be the last time you hear about this comment.
I say hello to my Kevin in Qikiqtarjuaq.
Speaker: Thank you. Item 3.
I’d like to recognize two people from my community; our Wildlife Officer, Elijah Amarook and our Mental Health Worker, Mosesie Ainalik.
I have to concur with my colleague from Pangnirtung about weather, but I think I hold the market on weather and snow this year from trying to get in and out of my constituency.
It gives me great pleasure Mr. Speaker, to recognize one of my constituents, who is working in Cape Dorset.
And he’s a trained and qualified Renewable Resources Officer.
This is another example of one of our young people leaving the community to seek employment in another community.
Like I said in the past, Baker Lakers travel where the work is.
I’d like to recognize Elijah Amarook from Baker Lake, now living in Cape Dorset and he’s performing the wildlife officer’s function.
Mr. McLean: I would like to recognize a company that is really showing excellent leadership in Nunavut.
And this Government of Nunavut could learn a lot from them.
I know Canadian North has been around a lot longer than the Government of Nunavut but, as of today, they’re showing excellent leadership in hiring and training Inuit, and retaining them.
I don’t know if our Human Resources people would like to talk to them, but I’m encouraging them to go talk to Canadian North about hiring, training and retaining employees.
I would like to recognize on my right, a long term Canadian North Employee, and always happy to see us, Eva Onalik, Chris Cote, Christi Brewster, Wanda Noreeja, Debbie Kenneally, Elaine Oparak, Carmen Parsons, Mosha Cote, Gordon Norbert, Keith Hanson, and I hope I’m not incorrect here, a pilot for Canadian North, Annie Stein, Tanis Thomas and I’m not sure about that young fellows name on the end but I think his name is Dan Kane.
As of today Mr. Speaker, this is a long recognition, but it gives me pride to see a company operating in Nunavut, that has sort of a head office in Nunavut in hiring employees.
As of today, 88 percent, I want people out there to listen to this, 88 percent of their employees in Iqaluit are Inuit.
I want the government to recognize that also.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you for recognizing visitors in the gallery twice.
Good to see you here.
Mr. Speaker, I won’t go on as long as Mr. McLean did and I won’t forget the people that I want to recognize and have to do it twice.
I guess that’s something that we all have to look forward to when we get more experience in the years.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize two members of the Iqaluit District Education Authority who are in the gallery today; they are Mr. Tim Neily and Ms. Caroline Anawak.
I’d like to recognize them and welcome them here and thank them for the support and work that they’re doing for our students in the schools here Iqaluit.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize a relative of mine.
Probably without his hard work, we wouldn’t be here today.
And that’s Mr. Paul Quassa, the former President of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.
Mr. Speaker, I’d also like to recognize a constituent of mine.
I don’t usually get an opportunity to recognize this individual as a constituent because a lot of time she’s in here working and that’s Ms. Sue Cooper.
I would like to thank the Member from Baker Lake for his comments about Canadian North hiring Inuit.
Today I would like to recognize, even though Glenn already recognized them, but I would like to further recognize these people.
He used to live in Kugluktuk when he was younger.
They have a lot of relatives in Kugluktuk.
He is working here.
The NTCL Manager of Marketing and Traffic Coordinator West; Mr. Gordon Norbrook.
The other person I used to go to school with in Inuvik.
I have not seen him for about thirty-five years.
We used to go to a residential school.
He said that as soon as he finished high school, he started going to flying school.
He is Captain Cecil Hanson.
I was able to get the concerns that I had out of me.
I would like to recognize someone, Mr. Speaker; I am proud of this person.
He was one of the signatories on the creation of Nunavut.
We have all learnt not to fear what to say when we believe in things.
There should be more recognition of this person.
He is in the media now.
I think that he should be working somewhere else. I would like to recognize Paul Quassa.
Speaker (interpretation): I welcome you to the House.
I have some constituents in this House I want to recognize as well that.
First Tim Neily, thank you for being here.
And our elder Celestine Erkidjuk, who is also from my riding.
It is always nice to see you.
Also, Paul Quassa, who is also in my riding.
I have worked with him and I have known him for many years.
I am also always happy to see him.
He is always in support of what I do.
We have worked hard together.
I would like to recognize someone, although I rarely have a chance to do so, a past resident of the Kivalliq who now lives in Iqaluit.
Who also supports me, the elder, Celestine Erkidjuk.
I would like to recognize him.
I’d also like to recognize, I recognize a lot of people here from Canadian North whom I have worked with and know personally from Canadian North, and so I’d like to welcome the staff from Canadian North.
And it’s nice to see you here as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
Paul Quassa who was recognized earlier and he has helped make it possible for us to be here today.
I think he can ask for a raise because of the recognition he’s had in here.
Speaker (interpretation): I didn’t realize we can speak that dialect in here.
I’d like to recognize two people who are visiting the community and I recognize a lot of people in here but particularly, there are two I’d like to welcome.
I went to Inuvik a few years back.
It was in 1972, about 30 years ago.
When I went there, Gordon who is always hospitablel, he was much younger in those days and Cecil Hanson, it’s good to see you.
Their mother used to teach me in Inuktitut over there, Kathleen Hanson.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to have an opportunity too, to welcome some people to the gallery.
First of all the brothers Cote, Mosha and Chris.
I missed Chris the other day when he visited the assembly so I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Chris and Mosha to the gallery.
And, just down from Chris is a constituent of mine, and their father is an old friend of mine, Debbie Kenneally and I’d like to welcome Debbie to the assembly.
Also on the other side of the Assembly there is a person sitting next to Mr. Neilly, who was just introduced, Caroline Anawak.
Caroline, the wife of our member, Jack.
Caroline has done tremendous work Mr. Speaker, in suicide prevention and counselling over the years in Nunavut, and I think she deserves recognition for that outstanding work.
Also, Vinnie Karetak was here earlier I think now he’s gone. I just want to welcome Vinnie to the Gallery.
And Mr. Speaker, Paul Quassa, everyone’s welcoming Paul basically to the gallery.
But in 1988, there was a flight that used to go from Iqaluit to Igloolik to Hall Beach to Taloyoak to Kugaaruk, Gjoa Haven, Pelly Bay, Spence Bay, Cambridge Bay and then to Yellowknife.
Paul and myself were on that flight.
And every time Paul got off the plane, it didn’t matter what community, we would get off, we’d have a smoke, and it was in the middle of January; it was really cold.
And every time Paul got off the plane, people would ask him: when is the land claim going to be signed, when are we going to get money.
I remember getting on the plane and saying to Paul, how much pressure he was under.
I think that has to be remembered as some of the Members have talked about, some of the hard work that was put into the land claims.
Also, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Celestine Irqittuq.
Celestine is well known throughout Nunavut for his reporting on Iqaluit events.
He’s our Iqaluit CBC radio reporter.
I also wanted to thank him for visiting my father-in-law in the hospital on the past weekend.
I know that Celestine goes to the hospital quite bit to visit patients from out of town so I wanted to thank Celestine for that.
Speaker (interpretation): Welcome, I would like to welcome you all.
I recognize a lot of people in the gallery.
But here is one particular individual that I would like to recognize today.
I have a lot of appreciation for this individual who is from Canadian North, Ms. Eva Onalik.
She had worked extremely hard, I think it would even be best if she got ownership of Canadian North or become the pilot of this airline.
During the Christmas holiday, she helped two individuals who were stuck because of weather, she sent them over there to see their relatives and I know she’s very compassionate and understanding.
Maybe she should be the Prime Minister of Canada.
Speaker: Thank you Madam.
Ms. Onalik, welcome to the gallery.
You will soon be the Prime Minister of Canada.
Hon. Jack Anawak: I already recognized my wife Caroline.
I would also like to take up some of the comments made by people here about Canadian North.
Praise is good.
But the praise doesn’t bring in the money.
Fly Canadian.
Member for Tununiq. Mr. Nutarak.
Question 368 – 1(6): Heating Fuel Subsidies for Elders
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): Thank you. I will direct my question to the Minister of Education.
I was waiting very patiently for his arrival in order to ask him some questions.
In regards to the elders who receive home heating subsidies, I would like the Minister to give us a brief summary of how many times they can get subsidized for home heating, especially for the elders who are on pensions and homeowners.
Minister for the Department of Education.
This is a subsidy that is provided by our Department and has helped, especially a lot of the elders out there who need subsidies for their home heating.
They can get subsidized up to 2,275 litres and that’s up to the end of the fiscal year 2003.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): In regards to the number of litres that the Minister has stated from March to September, during that time period do they give this subsidy only during the warm times of the season and not during the cold season when it’s definitely required?
You put it the other way around.
It starts from September to March.
That’s when the elders get the subsidy and usually an elder is considered one when they are 60 years and older.
You mentioned a specific number of litres.
You stated that the elders get a subsidy.
Does he feel that it is two times or three times?
Because I don’t believe that they are eligible to be filled four times.
To give you brief overview, 2275 is the number of litres and they are eligible to get their tank filled as long as it doesn’t go over the 2,275 litres.
They can be filled no matter how many times during that time period as long as it doesn’t go over 2,275 litres.
Question 369 – 1(6): Issue of Different Levels of Grades in the Classroom
Thank you, very much for coming back.
My question to the Minister is in regards to the Members' Statement that I made on the issue of education.
The question that I would like to pose to the Minister is in regards to the different levels of grades.
Teachers or instructors have been talking about their students and their levels of competency or having students in the same class where there is varying degree of competency.
What is the Department of Education doing on this issue?
Minister of Education. Minister Kilabuk.
As I said, there is another side to the story but in regards to the question posed by the Member, there are parents and teachers who like the idea of mixing a class group because if a level of competence is true, and is mixed in with a higher level, then they tend to learn from those peers and accelerate their learning.
Because of this situation, we have recognized it and looked at the issue and they’re agreeable to it.
I don’t like your response because I’m just making my statement as I hear it from the people that I represent.
There have been a lot of dropouts, a very high number of suicides, unemployment and everything else, which I believe is directly related to the level of education that is provided out there.
If there’s a high variety of competence, there are some students that are at a very low level and because they can’t seem to get on par with the rest of the class, they will drop out of school because they’re ashamed of their level of competency and ashamed that they can’t be on the same level as the rest of the classroom.
What can we do in order to improve the situation?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. Minister Kilabuk.
Since there has been an increase in the number of Inuit teachers in the school environment, this is not the first time that we hear about the question that you are posing.
We have been looking at options at what would be better for the students.
But I can’t give you written documents today on what causes students to dropout.
I don’t have the statistics or the reasons but I would like to inform the Member that the Department of Education reviews this on an ongoing basis.
It has been voiced as a concern and we have also heard about individuals who support having a mixed variety in a classroom setting.
So there are some people who support it and then there are some people who oppose it.
With that, we review this on an ongoing basis on this matter.
I don’t want your department to keep reviewing this on an ongoing basis.
If we review it all the time and do not implement an action plan then we’re not going to go anywhere.
We’re losing too many young people to dropping of school and committing suicide.
We have to do something about it because it has a detrimental effect on the students.
There has to be an implementation plan and an action plan instituted.
I probably should have included this issue; as I stated earlier, there is an ongoing review and as I stated again, we’re not just going to keep reviewing it without putting something in place.
The education system had been in Nunavut for a long time and we have to look at the long-term process in order to implement something that will work in Nunavut.
I can’t give you statistics on why and for what reasons the students drop out of school.
It is something that I can’t make a comment on at this point.
Last Supplementary.
Thank you for your response Minister.
Is it possible for the Minister to provide us with statistics on why there are a high number of dropouts?
I would like the Minister to provide us with written responses to the questions that I'm posing at this point.
I'm not trying to be difficult here, but I would like the Member to provide specific questions so that I can provide a written response to his questions.
That was your last supplementary, Mr. Iqaqrialu.
Returning to Orders of the Day, Item 6.
Question 370 – 1(6): Doctor for Igloolik
Mr. Irqittuq (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that some of us Inuit have very long term memory, which can be a cause of concern for some of us.
When the Minister of Health went to my community of Igloolik about three years ago, he made a very good comment and told the people of Igloolik that their community was going to be getting a doctor.
Where did that doctor go?
Speaker (interpretation): Minister of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Member’s comments and question and I believe that we’ve answered it in the House before.
But just a chronological sequence of events that occurred in the spring of 1999, the Member is correct; we had a very good visit in the community of Igloolik.
At that time, the mayor of Igloolik was Amie Panimira.
Amie was also the Public Works employee in the community and had been doing some renovations at the health centre in Igloolik for the doctor that was going to move there.
Shortly after that, the Baffin Regional Health and Social Services Board changed their mind, that there was better logistics in placing the doctor in question to Pond Inlet.
The doctor in question is still in Pond Inlet doing a very good job for the people of the high arctic.
She’s still working there so I think we’re quite pleased with that.
So the Regional Health Board changed the physician that was to be in Igloolik at that time and the position is now staffed, the Member is correct working in Pond Inlet.
In my riding, the community of Igloolik and Hall Beach are very close together and there’s a large population if you combine both Hall Beach and Igloolik.
We estimate the population to be approximately 2,000.
Especially in Igloolik, there are approximately 1,500 people.
They have very major concerns in regards to the state of their health care.
Is it possible for your department to reconsider or consider moving the physician that’s based in Pond Inlet at this point or getting another physician to be based in Igloolik?
Mr. Speaker, I would prefer to look at an option that was based on the Member’s comments and that would be to look at, if there’s an opportunity to put a physician in Igloolik.
I would not want to pull the physician who is currently residing in Pond and doing a very good job for the people out of Pond Inlet.
What I would try to do is to see if there is an opportunity to put a physician in Igloolik.
This is something that we have talked about in the past and there may still be some opportunities available for us to look at, not just Igloolik, but also some of the other communities where we have tried to have staffing with physician services.
So, I would not try to move the physician out of Pond.
I’m not requesting to move the present physician who is based in Pond Inlet but there are other able and competent physicians out there who we can hire.
I think that if there’s a large combined population, such as Igloolik and Hall Beach, there is a possibility of placing a physician there.
If there’s no housing available in Igloolik, then you can consider basing that physician in Hall Beach.
I didn’t say anything about the communities; I was concerned about the two communities that I represent.
My question was have you considered, or made any plans to base a position in Igloolik or Hall Beach?
My question is do you have any plans in place or not?
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to thank the Member for clarifying his question.
Mr. Speaker, there are currently some plans underway to look at the allocation of physicians throughout Nunavut, the number of physicians that we have.
There have been some concerns that we have not had the proper coverage.
Mr. Speaker, that is something that is ongoing.
I am not is a position to say that I am putting a physician in one community, or another, or in one region, or another.
At this point I need to be able to have those people available first, before that decision is made.
I can say to the Member that he is correct that we are looking at what opportunities are available with the staffing of physician services outside of the three regional centres.
Last supplementary Mr. Irqittuq.
The reason why I am asking you these questions is because you made an announcement at one point that Igloolik was going to be getting a doctor.
Based on your statements, I am assuming that all this has been reviewed and that there is a doctor required based on the total population of my riding.
That is why I am asking you these question because you had made an announcement that there would be one based in that particular riding.
Since you probably did a review, or a study, and everything else, is it going to be very soon that you will consider moving a physician there?
I said about three years ago, and I even went back to Igloolik and spoke to the Mayor and to the Regional Representative of the Baffin Regional Health Board at that time.
I did not say that I was going to put a doctor at any time in Igloolik during my meeting there.
What I had said was that the Mayor of Igloolik, I am sure if you ask him, he would say, I know because I actually had a letter from him, is that there was some discussion by the Health Board to place a physician there.
The Health Board decided because of logistics that they place the physician at that time in Pond Inlet.
However, I have been, and the Member is correct, with opportunities for increased recruitment we would look at staffing physician services outside of the three Regional Centres, and that is Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Cambridge Bay, to see which communities would benefit from that.
There has been some work done, as I said, with some of the larger communities, in Pangnirtung, in Igloolik, in Gjoa Haven, in Arviat, some of the larger communities to see whether there is an opportunity for physician services.
Mr. Speaker, I do not have those positions available right now.
And that is why I am not able to commit to the Member.
But, it is something that the department is looking for.
As the Members knows once the Budget comes down next week, there may be additional opportunity for the Minister to look at what allocations can be made for the physician services and other issues.
Again, we will have to wait, as Mr. Ng just indicated for the Budget to come out.
MLA for the High Arctic.
Question 371 – 1(6): Arena for Resolute Bay