EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
That would be information that that architectural firm has.
Question 023 – 3(3): Update on Piqqusilirivvik (Elliott)
Mr. Elliott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth.
In the Budget Address, Minister Peterson spoke about the Piqqusilirivvik and I was wondering if the minister could give us an update as to what’s happened with that project and whether it’s still on the timeline to open this year.
Hon. James Arreak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also thank my colleague for raising that question.
Piqqusilirivvik has been completed and the keys have been turned over. It was completed before the completion date.
There are announcements that we still have to provide that I was going to speak to later on, but since he would like to know what the date is, we have identified May 4 as the opening date for Piqqusilirivvik.
As an educator, where my interest is, is the course outlines, the learning objectives, and what will actually be taught in the schools.
I’m wondering: is all of that information and material completed, and are we able to access that somewhere, maybe on the CLEY website, where we will be able to see that information?
Speaker (interpretation): Minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth.
Hon. James Arreak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Those kinds of details are still kind of being flushed out in terms of the curriculum as well as the operations. There are two communities involved, which are Igloolik and Baker Lake.
Basically it will be using the life skills as well as survival skills.
There are still a lot of details that they are working on to develop the curriculum and we are expecting that there will be some progress in April with respect to completing the curriculum. However, the planned start date is September and we are expecting that all of the learning materials and curriculum will be completed by that time.
It’s nice that the minister shared with us in terms of August is when the doors will open and the students will be coming to learn.
I’m just wondering: are all of the instructors in place?
That’s one of the concerns we’ve had in the past with the human resource department in terms of hiring people. Are all of the positions filled and the instructors ready to go as of August?
The main administration and operational procedures are all dealt with and we are still doing a lot of the courses and the curriculum.
We are not far behind in our scheduling in our plans and we are expecting that all of the courses and curriculum will be completed by that time.
When the minister mentioned about the satellite communities of Igloolik and Baker Lake, I think the initial idea of having those two communities was sort of a starting point and then it would spread out.
If other communities wanted to buy into it as well, like if Arctic Bay, Grise Fiord, or Resolute Bay were interested in participating, they would.
Is this still going to happen and, if it is, when do they foresee that rolling out?
I haven’t been updated or informed by my officials as to whether that will occur and whether any other communities will be involved in the satellite communities.
Question 024 – 3(3): Crime Prevention Funding (Tapardjuk)
First of all, I would like to thank the Minister of Finance for his Budget Address because there were a lot of good news items.
I wanted to speak about the crime prevention issues that the Minister of Finance alluded to. There are a lot of interesting issues in there and I’m sure that we will be discussing them down the road. I would like to have the opportunity to speak about these issues.
I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Justice. As the minister stated just prior to the conclusion of his Budget Address, the Department of Justice would be focusing on preventing crime and allocating an extra $1.2 million to be set aside for policing and also another $2.5 million to be utilized by the court system.
What I would like to ask, Mr. Speaker, is: out of these identified funds, is there a specific amount set aside for crime prevention or for ensuring that we have role models?
That question is directed to the Minister of Justice.
I thank Mr. Tapardjuk for that question.
Mr. Speaker, in the main estimates, when we get under review, the funding that we are providing to the RCMP are for the two RCMP officers who are working in the crime prevention area.
They will work with the RCMP and the communities to implement some of the recommendations from the RCMP and the Department of Justice’s crime prevention pilot project that was undertaken last year.
Additionally, it’s quite obvious that there will be a lot of questions on these issues when the appropriations request is in front of the committee.
What I really want to raise a question about is the funding set aside for the RCMP. We have already identified extra funds for the RCMP, as well as the court advisors and legal aid funding. It seems that the funds are growing every year, especially if we don’t focus on crime prevention.
I want to know how we can better prevent crime. That is my question to the minister.
How can we put an emphasis on culture that allows better interaction between Inuit and the RCMP or how to provide services so that they can become more familiar to Inuit? They could then work towards hiring officers who can speak Inuktitut so that they would become part of the community and there would be less friction.
Will the minister take these ideas into consideration?
I thank Mr. Tapardjuk for the question.
Mr. Speaker, in the last couple of years, we have been working very closely with the RCMP to do exactly what Mr. Tapardjuk would like. We have been working on the Inuit Special Constable Program.
We did have 35 interested applicants and we got it down to four or five. For personal reasons, some of them couldn’t make it.
There is one individual in the RCMP Special Constable Program in Regina and he will be graduating in April.
We are working with the RCMP through youth academies and through summer school programs to interest and encourage young folks to take up positions or careers in policing.
We are also working with the RCMP through cross-cultural awareness initiatives throughout the territory.
So we are stressing it.
There is a requirement in the shared directional agreement that the RCMP work closely with communities and work closely with the government to ensure that we do have a representative police force.
We are also working with my colleagues, justice ministers from the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, to lobby the federal government to provide some funding through the First Nations Policing Program. My colleague in the Northwest Territories is the lead minister on that. We will continue to work very hard to stress Ottawa that we require funding to help develop representative police forces in our territories.
I also wish to thank the minister as the public is very interested in this topic.
We want updates of any developments because the perception of most Nunavummiut is that the RCMP is too powerful as an institution.
In my opinion, they are servicing the Inuit who are aboriginal people and yet they are being serviced by officers who don’t share their culture, lifestyle, or language.
This can cause people to feel as if they are already incarcerated when they want to receive services.
I would like to hear more statements from the minister on this topic.
I will strongly support any initiative to recruit more Inuit into police services. Aboriginal people ought to be policing themselves without feeling alienated and to be respected as fellow Inuit.
For that reason, Mr. Speaker, I will be expectant that this minister will be making progress on this issue while he is still in office.
I apologize. I was getting ahead of myself. That was not your final supplementary.
Mr. Speaker, I think we all recognize in this House that the RCMP provides a tremendous service to Nunavut and keeps our communities safe for all of us to live.
They work in some very difficult and challenging situations, life-threatening in fact, as we all know. I think we should all support the RCMP.
At the same time, the RCMP also recognizes that they would like to have some more representative police forces.
They encourage young folks to apply for RCMP officer positions.
I think they have a lot of Inuit in the RCMP right now. We’re doing great work in communities across Nunavut.
Absolutely I will keep the members informed on the progress we make in getting a more representative police force in Nunavut.
Mr. Tapardjuk (interpretation): Thank you.
With regard to this question and being part of the government and operating on behalf of our Nunavut residents, it’s as if we’re always being treated paternalistically. Again, there is no ombudsman. It seems like the RCMP is our father and the social worker our mother.
There are things that we should be able to deal with in our own life. It seems like everybody is depending on outside agencies.
You should be able to conduct these life skills. We shouldn’t always be holding someone’s hand to pull them into a better life. I know that life skills and bettering one’s life or any initiative that relates to that field should be the focus, especially when we’re talking about traditional Inuit adaptations.
This is just a comment, Mr. Speaker.
Question 025 – 3(3): Review of Decentralization (Komoartok)
I would like to ask my question to the Premier, (interpretation ends) Hon. Eva Aariak.
(interpretation) We have heard about government operations and decentralization, and she stated that the comprehensive plans will be completed in June.
With respect to its impact on our community, it has provided a lot of benefits.
I would like to ask the minister: are you consulting not just your government employees but also the hamlet officials and workers? Are you trying to get a full representation of opinion from the communities?
I also thank the Member for Pangnirtung for asking that question.
The review is in the initial stages and we are looking at the affected communities and whichever organization or body is impacted will be consulted.
We are hoping to develop a comprehensive report specifying who should be consulted and how they will conduct that review.
I also thank the Premier for her prompt response.
With regard to decentralized communities, we know and realize that the benefits to the communities are quite large because a lot of the residents are now able to work for the government and I’m sure that it has provided a lot of valuable services that they would have had to pay for.
Are there any recommendations to change operations or to make changes in communities that have these decentralized departments? Will they be consulted prior to any changes or decentralization plans?
Yes, communication is a very important tool and we place a high priority on this as a government. We will ensure that we communicate all of this information.
With respect to the decentralization issue, it is something that is valued by the communities that received decentralized departments.
We have been apprised of the impact of one GN employee in a decentralized community.
When that employee is from that community, they generally leave the community for holidays and one GN employee can increase the local economy by as much as $100,000.
This is very important to those communities that have benefited from the decentralization initiative.
That is why the communities wish to be involved in any efforts to change the current set-up and we would want to be consulted if there are any planned changes.
Again, we will be reviewing all of the related items; what needs revision, what needs improvement, what poses a barrier or obstacle, and what is causing the lack of effectiveness.
These are the types of issues that we will be deliberating upon when we are conducting the comprehensive review.
We want to ensure that the government operates as effectively as it can to ensure that we don’t waste the limited fiscal resources that we have.
With regard to decentralized positions, some communities had identified a number of positions when they first undertook the decentralization process.
Other communities have surpassed the number of jobs that were originally allocated for decentralization and that’s a good benefit in its own right.
With regard to all of these issues that will be included in the comprehensive review, we will ensure that we keep communicating with the House and with the members, as well as the communities as a last reminder prior to implementing it.
We will be providing that report to the House.
Your final supplementary, Member for Pangnirtung.
I also thank the Premier.
My question was regarding recommendations and whether the government will be consulting with the communities prior to making any changes to decentralization.
We will ensure that we try to consult properly with all impacted communities.
Question 026 – 3(3): Funding for Community Freezers (Ningark)
In his Budget Address, the hon. minister spoke of “… a program to improve the storage and distribution of traditional food.”
Also, he spoke of $1.1 million to upgrade, repair, or replace community freezers in Nunavut.
Incidentally, Mr. Speaker, I just happened to have a request from Kugaaruk dated February 25, 2011, and I would like to ask the Minister of Economic Development and Transportation. Although this is for next year, I would like to think that it is first come first served.
Mr. Speaker, how can the community access this program funding?
What is the process? I would like to know.
As the member is well aware, there is a community freezer both in Repulse Bay and Chesterfield Inlet going back a couple of years.
For the process of accessing funds, it’s a process where a community does work through the community economic development plan.
An application is put together through various programs within the department and those applications are evaluated.
But with the process of the Poverty Reduction Strategy that we’re doing, we’re going to be communicating closely with all communities of Nunavut.
A supplementary question to my initial question, this request is coming from the Kugaaruk Hunters and Trappers Association, it is written to the Hamlet of Kugaaruk, and it is a partnership.
It’s my understanding from the address of the finance minister that these programs are for our community programs.
I will give a copy of the letter of correspondence to the hon. minister and I want to ensure that he will communicate with the Hamlet of Kugaaruk about these new programs.
I thank the member very much for keeping me informed of the things that are happening within his community of Kugaaruk.
Yes, for sure, with our program that we are going to be doing for the poverty reduction file, of course, we’re going to be talking to all of the communities.
The community round table discussions are starting this month and I cannot give him the specific details of where we are going to be starting first, but I can name off the communities where we are going to be having these round tables: here in Iqaluit, Pond Inlet, Rankin Inlet, and Cambridge Bay.
Throughout the process, we’re going to be constantly communicating with the other communities on the Poverty Reduction Strategy that we are planning on doing with every community, including our partners in NTI and other organizations that are willing to participate and contribute on poverty reduction for Nunavummiut.
Question 027 – 3(3): Cost of Artwork for Cape Dorset (Schell)
My question is for the Hon. Minister of CG&S.
I’ll be asking a similar question as what I asked the Minister of Education.
Can the minister tell me how much the actual cost was to design that new sled on the artwork on the exterior of that gym in Cape Dorset and to supply a new sign and to erect it?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) Since the Minister of CG&S has the iPad, perhaps he can answer this one.
In those situations where maintenance work has to be performed on buildings, such as was mentioned in this case as being the school’s exterior, the work on the exterior design, as well as the school signage lettering, and whether there would be a sign, they need to be planned in advance.
They then use the plans to develop a work plan and design the exterior with the hamlet, especially the name and whether the spelling is correct.
That is how it was dealt with in this situation where they designed the exterior of the school.
My understanding is that somebody locally designed the new design of that sled.
I would like to know who did it and what they paid for it.
The people who handle these designs usually designate the work to an artist, including the decision on who will paint the sign and how the name of the school will be laid out. This includes the estimate of the costs to complete the design.
I will check into this matter and get more information on the artist or if we can find out who designed the artwork, Mr. Speaker.
My second supplementary question is a bit of confusion: who paid for this sign?
I would like to ask the Minister of CGS: did CGS or the government pay for it or was it paid through the DEA?
It can be quite complex to deal with these types of issues. The government will sometimes designate an architectural firm to design the artwork and the firm has different responsibilities prior to the erection of the building.
Prior to the construction, some of the details included are the costs of the design, the name, and the exterior paint, how it will look, and so on.
There are different types of agreements made for the design, including the costs of construction and which body will pay for the construction.
Based on these details, that is how they check on who paid for which part, and so on.
At this time, I cannot give him the details as I don’t have that information.
However, I will commit to providing a response to the member once the details have been fleshed out.
Usually, when there is a design done on some artwork or something for a major project, it’s put forward to the DEA to get approval. My question is: was the original design or artwork that was put on the building originally approved by the DEA and then changed later?
Hon. Lorne Kusugak (interpretation): Yes, the member seems to be quite familiar with this matter.
Perhaps it would be much more prudent to have my colleague, the Minister of Education, respond to this question, Mr. Speaker. However, if the process was followed throughout all of its steps related to designing and approving artistic designs, then the approval has to come from the organization that is responsible for the administration of the building.
In this case, we are talking about a school building, which is under the Department of Education. If they followed their approval process, then the district education authority would have to approve the design as they are the mandated authority for this matter.
I cannot ascertain if this process was followed, but most projects generally follow this process that Mr. Schell was inquiring about.
Question period is now over, so we can now move on with our orders of the day. (interpretation ends) Item 8. (interpretation) Written Questions. (interpretation ends) Item 9. (interpretation) Returns to Written Questions. (interpretation ends) Item 10. (interpretation) Replies to Opening Address. (interpretation ends) Item 11. (interpretation) Replies to Budget Address. (interpretation ends) Item 12. (interpretation) Petitions. (interpretation ends) Item 13. (interpretation) Responses to Petitions. (interpretation ends) Item 14. (interpretation) Reports of Standing and Special Committees on Bills and Other Matters. (interpretation ends) Item 15. (interpretation) Tabling of Documents.
Tabled Document 007 – 3(3): List of Food Prices in Repulse Bay (Ningark)
I wish to table today a list of food prices at a major retail store in Repulse Bay.
I encourage my colleagues to collect similar information from their communities, which will help us in our upcoming discussions on the new Nutrition North Canada Program.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. Member for Quttiktuq.
Tabled Document 008 – 3(3): Arctic Bay Retailer Grocery List from the Nutrition North Review Project Website (Elliott)
Tabled Document 009 – 3(3): Grocery List from the Nutrition North Website (Elliott)
Further to my Member’s Statement of today, I wish to table a copy of the grocery list that was taken from the Nutrition North Review Project website. Again I commend residents of our territory for taking the initiative to make a difference. I encourage all members to review this list.
Would you like me to keep going?
I have a couple more.
In following with what Mr. Ningark has done, Mr. Speaker, and further to my Member’s Statement, I wish to table the prices of the items on the grocery list from the two retail outlets in Arctic Bay.
Mr. Speaker, you will note that some information is not available because items were not in stock on the shelves.
This has been one of the big concerns of my constituents: the idea of variety, selection, and choice.
Again I commend residents of our territory for taking the time to work towards initiatives and make a difference.
Tabled Document 010 – 3(3): From Food Mail to Nutrition North Canada: Report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (Elliott)
I wish to table a copy of the Report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development titled From Food Mail to Nutrition North Canada.
Mr. Speaker, this report was presented to the House of Commons a few hours ago and I encourage all members to review it with care as it contains what appear to be some constructive recommendations concerning such issues as the transportation of country food.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) I look forward to my country food. (interpretation) Tabling of Documents.
There are no more hands up. (interpretation ends) Item 16. (interpretation) Notices of Motions. (interpretation ends) Item 17. (interpretation) Notices of Motions for First Reading of Bills. (interpretation ends) Item 18. (interpretation) Motions. (interpretation ends) Item 19. (interpretation) First Reading of Bills.
I request consent of this Assembly to waive the two-day notice requirement to allow for the first reading of Bill 1, Appropriation (Operations and Maintenance) Act, 2011-2012.
The minister is asking to waive the two-day notice requirement to allow for the first reading of the bill. Members, do you agree?
Speaker (interpretation): The members agree.
Minister, you may proceed.
Bill 01 – Appropriation (Operations & Maintenance) Act, 2011-2012 – First Reading
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Rankin Inlet South and Whale Cove, that Bill 1, Appropriation (Operations and Maintenance) Act, 2011-2012, be read for the first time.
There are no hands up, so we will go to (interpretation ends) Item 20. (interpretation) Second Reading of Bills.
Bill 01 – Appropriation (Operations & Maintenance) Act, 2011-2012 – Second Reading
I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Rankin Inlet South and Whale Cove, that Bill 1, Appropriation (Operations and Maintenance) Act, 2011-2012, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill authorizes the Government of Nunavut to make operations and maintenance expenditures for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012.
The motion is carried. Bill 1 can now be referred to the Committee of the Whole.
(interpretation ends) Item 20. (interpretation) Second Reading of Bills. (interpretation ends) Item 21. (interpretation) Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters.
Bill 1 with Mr. Tapardjuk in the Chair.
>>House recessed at 15:22 and Committee resumed at 15:58
Chairman (Mr. Tapardjuk) (interpretation): Thank you for coming to the Committee of the Whole.
We wish to start the review on Bill 1 and commence with the Department of Health and Social Services. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Are we in agreement to deal with Bill 1?
Bill 01 – Appropriation (Operations & Maintenance) Act, 2011-2012 – Consideration in Committee – Health and Social Services
Minister of Health, we would like to hear your opening comments during our committee meeting.