EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I think that I would like to begin by saying I think all the staff and members, and Mr. Okalik in particular, know that I am hard working and take my job very seriously, although I may be a bit of a dithers at times, as he likes to say.
It’s just one of those things that happen to individuals.
Mr. Speaker, this is only the second time in 13 years that I actually did a reply to an opening address and Mr. Speaker, I would like to put on the record some things that I think are important for Nunavummiut and Members of the House to remember.
Mr. Speaker, in 1995, Nunavut was still an idea, it was a dream. We had no Nunavut flag, there was no logo, there was no Assembly, and there wasn’t even an official identity. The challenge of setting up a government, putting infrastructure in place, debating and selecting the location of a capital, the financing and operation model of our government, the number of MLAs we would have, the implementation of staffing, recruitment, and training for Nunavut had not even begun.
In that murky world, Mr. Speaker, commitment for an adequate financial base for Nunavut was in jeopardy because of a huge federal deficit. I think it’s important for the record to say this, and some of us even in this House don’t remember this or probably didn’t take it into account because they weren’t involved in politics, but there was a huge federal deficit and there was a cut in territorial funding.
For the first time, Mr. Speaker, and I say this with all seriousness, in the history of the North, the government actually laid off people. They cut VTAs, we rolled back wages, we sold off staff houses, and we cut the capital budget in half to balance the Government of the Northwest Territories’ budget.
Now, it was in this difficult, and I think it’s important again for the record, unsure financial situation that Nunavut was to be born. There was much work to be done. We had to choose a capital, we had to implement legislation to prepare for transition, and Mr. Speaker, I could go on, but let me say, here in Iqaluit, many long-term employees lost their jobs and they did.
The elimination of the VTA and the rollback of wages, and the sell-off of staff houses were unprecedented and it was difficult. And as the only MLA in Iqaluit and the only MLA for the second largest community in the Northwest Territories, let me say it was a very difficult time for our family.
None of the members in this House have had the situation where you go into a room with 200 people and people have lost their jobs, and people are yelling and screaming at you because they have no VTA and they have had their wages rolled back, and they haven’t dealt with it. You deal with it and I prayed to God, Mr. Speaker, that none of the members in the House would have to go through that.
And yet, when you wake up in the morning, there are eggs on your vehicle and there’s F-U written on your car, and Mr. Barnabas will remember because he was there when I and Mr. Barnabas went to my car and the window was broken. Do you remember, Mr. Barnabas, after a meeting?
The members didn’t go through that and some of them can smile. Let them go through that and they will find out how difficult it was. Mr. Speaker, it was difficult for me and I can tell you right now, it was more difficult for my family.
Many of our constituents were not happy at that time and indeed, Mr. Speaker, people across the North were not happy.
Mr. Speaker, many people didn’t think that Nunavut would happen.
Mr. Speaker, Nunavut did happen, but it was not adequately funded from day one. Mr. Speaker, no one actually did a study to see how much it would cost to run two territories.
Mr. Speaker, I chaired the Finance Committee and in fact, the federal minister of the day and Mr. Barnabas was in the room with me when that happened, and he’s the only member actually who was there at the time who is sitting here today, Mr. Speaker, in fact, the federal minister of the day said that two territories wouldn’t cost more than one and basically the budget of the Northwest Territories was split in half.
Here in Nunavut, we were allocated extra funds for incremental infrastructure and training. Mr. Speaker, that was less than $180 million, and Mr. Speaker, you know and Mr. Quirke knows because he was a deputy minister at the time, there was no money allocated for a Legislative Assembly and the building you’re in today was supposed to be a government office building and we actually had to renovate it for an Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, less than $180 million was put in place from 1995 to 1999 and that was to help finance Nunavut and pay for the entire infrastructure, it wasn’t enough.
For the record, I think it’s important to understand the fiscal challenges that were in place before Nunavut started.
Mr. Speaker, when I was elected first, Pakkak was a newborn. He was two months old, and Wally and Dora were seven and five years old each. Wally will be 20 in December in and Dora is 18.
Mr. Speaker, in that period between 1995 and 1999, because of the legislation that had to be put in place and because of the fiscal situation, the capital debate and the gender parity debate vote, among other issues, this meant that myself and my colleagues in the 13th Assembly were on the road quite a bit and we were in Yellowknife.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Barnabas and I, in one year, counted 137 days away from home and I know members here sometimes get upset when they’re away for two or three weeks. We were away for 137 days.
Mr. Barnabas, I know, in one year, was absent for eight months, eight out of 12 months, it’s a fact.
Mr. Speaker, the reason why I say this is I wanted to point out something. With a newborn at home, Pakkak was only a few weeks old, and with two small children to look after, Oopah had her hands full.
I don’t know, Mr. Speaker, how she did it because as I explained earlier, there were a lot of issues when people get laid off and you come home and you have locks and windows are broken, people were upset and I understand that.
Mr. Speaker, in public life, you are a target and it can be very rough.
Thirteen years as an MLA and a minister have been difficult for my family and me, and Mr. Speaker, as the Members of this House know, there is stress in being in public life.
Mr. Speaker, after four very difficult years with the Government of the Northwest Territories’ fiscal situation, the situation regarding Donny Morin and the Morin Affair, the set up and passage of legislation for Nunavut, the capital debate, we geared up for Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, we had no Legislative Assembly here in Nunavut, the Assembly sat at the cadet hall and high school, we had no ministers’ or members’ offices, and we worked out of Nobel House.
We had to officially set up all of our government departments, hire and train staff, assume all the processes of the GNWT system, adopt the flag and logo, and put all of this in place.
Mr. Speaker, many new people here in Nunavut or people who have been here for the past seven or eight years were mainly teenagers and young adults, people who are 18 and 20. Even my 20-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter can only remember Iqaluit as being the capital and Mr. Speaker, that our flag is actually new because they don’t remember a time before that.
That was a lot of work that was put in place by some of the members in this House and indeed many of our dedicated government and public employees.
Mr. Speaker, only five members in this House served with us in Yellowknife - me, Mr. Arreak, Mr. Curley, Mr. Barnabas, and Mr. Arvaluk - and Mr. Speaker, all of us could look back and compare the changes and the similarities, as well as some of the positives and negatives of that government and this government.
Today, Mr. Speaker, Nunavut is a reality. We have graduated our first Inuit nurses and lawyers, we have completed our hospital facilities, we have introduced and passed some of the strongest anti-tobacco legislation in the country, we have set up our first mental health care facility in the territory, we’re in the process of building our first trade school, our new student accommodations, and planning the cultural school.
Mr. Speaker, we’re seeing an increase in student graduates, and an example of that, Mr. Speaker, we had over 41 graduates at the high school this year here in Iqaluit.
Twenty years ago and that’s not very long ago, in all of Nunavut, in 1987-88, we only had 20 high school graduates in the whole territory.
In one school this year, we graduated 41. That’s some successes.
Mr. Speaker, we do have social problems, we have alcohol and drug problems, we have violence issues, we have domestic violence problems, and we also have overcrowding in our communities.
Mr. Speaker, some of the members have heard me say, when you have $800,000 worth of crack cocaine seized in your community like Iqaluit in the last three months, you have problems. When you see children who are going homeless, you have problems. When you have families on the beach in tents, you have problems.
Mr. Speaker, we’re trying to deal with it.
And I am happy to say today that the family that was on the beach that everyone here read about in the Nunatsiaq News, before it ever got to the paper, my friends, they had a house. They’re not on the beach anymore and they actually have a unit.
Sometimes we should be reporting some of the good news stories.
Mr. Speaker, we do have issues. But Mr. Speaker, the control of our own home communities, our government is now decided here in Iqaluit, decided here in Nunavut and not in Yellowknife.
Our economy, our mining potential, oil and gas reserves, all demonstrate and show that in the next ten years, Nunavut will become economically a viable place to live and indeed, Mr. Speaker, I believe we will boom economically.
Now, this will bring opportunities but it’s also going to bring challenges.
Mr. Speaker, this morning, Mr. Barnabas asked me, “What do you think of your most successful accomplishments as an MLA?”
And I said to Mr. Barnabas that it was tough, but probably passing the tobacco legislation, being involved in starting the Nursing Program, having a new Joamie School and Aqsarniit School built, hopefully getting a new Education Act in place, looking at funds to build a long-term care facility in Rankin Inlet, in Cambridge Bay, in Arviat, and indeed in Chesterfield Inlet, which was scheduled to be closed down, Mr. Arvaluk at the time was the MLA, and we were able to put funds in place and open that up.
Mr. Speaker, as a politician, when a constituent calls or needs help, they want to speak to you, they don’t want to speak to staff, they don’t want to speak to your EA, and they don’t want to speak to your CA.
Brian Pearson, who was a very successful politician and who is over 70 years old right now, a former MLA and one of the first MLAs in the Northwest Territories and/or Nunavut, he gave me some good advice a few years ago when I first was going to run.
Mr. Pearson said, “Ed, if Paul Martin is on line one and if Jean Chrétien is on line two, and if a constituent from Happy Valley is on line three, you talk to the Happy Valley constituent first because those are the guys who put you where you are today.
Don’t forget it.” Mr. Speaker, I never did forget it and I think that was very good advice.
Mr. Speaker, I have argued and I have had debates with every member in this House, members in the last Assembly, and indeed, 24 members in the Northwest Territories’ Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, I have disagreed with members, with ministers, with Premiers, but Mr. Speaker, in all cases, I think I could say to almost anyone here in this room, I could probably walk into their office and have a debate with them because at the end of the day, there’s one thing I learned in politics and that is it has to be like water off a duck’s back.
You can’t take it personally and you need to be able to do a job for your constituents. Yes, sometimes your debates get heated and yes, people say things they probably shouldn’t say, but at the end of the day, why are you sitting in the chair that you’re sitting in? You’re there to represent people.
You’re not there to represent yourself or your interests. Mr. Speaker, political life is hard. It’s frustrating and many times, it’s thankless, but on those rare occasions, Mr. Speaker, when people say “thank you” or when a good turn is returned, it makes it all worth it.
Mr. Speaker, I have tried, over the past 13 years, to be an elected representative that Iqaluit, Nunavut, and most importantly, Mr. Speaker, my family could be proud of. I have worked hard for all of Iqaluit.
I’m in the office everyday and I would hope, Mr. Speaker, that at the end of the day, my children see that their dad does get out of bed and show up from nine to five every day, and if he’s not in his Legislative Assembly office, he’s at his constituency office.
Mr. Speaker, I think that’s a lesson that my children and other children indeed could learn in Iqaluit and across Nunavut that there’s nothing better than a good work ethic.
Mr. Speaker, as the elected representative for Iqaluit, I would like to say that I take this opportunity to say that I have worked hard for all of Iqaluit and Nunavut, and I think sometimes, Mr. Speaker, that respect as a member or a minister from staff, from colleagues, from constituents is a two-way street.
These past few weeks, Mr. Speaker, and I want to say here in the House today, I have received phone calls, emails, visits to our house from our friends, from colleagues, from constituents from all across Nunavut, even in the south.
And I had a chance to talk to Prime Minister Martin in the last two days, the former Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Paul Martin, and had a discussion about politics and what I should do in the next few days. I thank Mr. Martin publicly in this House today for giving me a call. I know Mr. Curley is impressed with that, being a great Liberal supporter.
Mr. Speaker, a lot of constituents who have called and even members in the House have asked me to run again in the next territorial election. Mr. Speaker, I have been involved in every federal campaign since 1984 when we ran Robert Kuptana as a Liberal candidate and some people will remember that.
Mr. Speaker, I have been involved in every territorial election as a candidate or a manager of a campaign since 1991 when I helped Enoki Irqittuq when he ran against Titus Allooloo. Some of you might remember that.
Mr. Speaker, I was the member for Iqaluit for capital campaign and indeed some of the members here in the House will remember how, in 1995, we actually went into Arviat and Rankin Inlet and campaigned for Iqaluit.
Mr. Speaker, I have been the member and was part of the gender parity vote that some of you will remember. I have also participated in union elections, was elected as president of the union, and served on a negotiating team.
Mr. Speaker, I have been involved in board elections and more elections than I would care to imagine. Sometimes some of our members and some of our friends don’t remember any of these things, maybe they should be reminded.
Mr. Speaker, I believe everyone should run for public office at least once in their life. It can be rewarding and it can be exciting. It can be frustrating and many times, public life is too public.
A US news commentator just recently said, “When you are elected, so are your family.” And when you’re in office, if your children, or your brother, or your sister, or your wife has a problem, the first thing that happens is someone’s going to come up and say, “the former Minister of Education’s son or the former Minister of Education’s wife,” or what have you, even if it’s 20 years later. So we have to remember that in a small jurisdiction, politics certainly brings more stress.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to say something to my loyal and dedicated staff over the years that have put up with me and Members of the House who have put up with my idiosyncrasies, my weaknesses, and my overbearing personality. I want to say “thank you” to all of my colleagues, many of them I have known for a long time like Mr. Arreak and Mr. Arvaluk.
The first time I met James Arvaluk and he would remember, 25 years ago in Hall Beach, I won’t tell you what we were doing but we were having fun.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank in my constituency office, Oonga Henderson, Sarah Papatsie, and Lagaya Barlow, who have been running my constituency office for the past 13 years. My leg. staff, Aseena Allurut, Susie Baines, Martha Nowdlak, Annie Akoak, my EAs, Marianne Demmer and Laurie Anne White, they are hard-working, Mr. Speaker, and they are loyal.
I would like to thank them for their hard work and loyalty, and Mr. Speaker, say that they are honest and provided good advice and excellent debate on many of the issues of today.
Mr. Speaker, I have had an opportunity to serve in Yellowknife and when I say sir, I mean that sincerely. Whoever is running in the next election in the next six weeks, your job is to serve the people, it’s not to serve you and it’s not to get caught up in your own issues.
You have to be there for the constituents and they have issues. When you have people come to your house and knock on your door, you should be available.
Everyone in Iqaluit knows where I live. You know something, Mr. Speaker, talking to someone from NorthwesTel the other day, they said one of the most requested phone numbers in Iqaluit is Ed. Picco’s because it’s unlisted.
I don’t know why because everyone knows it, they certainly can phone me and find me at home.
Mr. Speaker, I want to quickly conclude and just talk about some of the people that I have served with. Mr. Speaker, if you bear with me, there are several colleagues of mine and yours and the Members of this House who aren’t with us anymore, they have passed on.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to mention Mr. Goo Arlooktoo. Goo Arlooktoo and I served in the 13th Assembly with Mr. Barnabas, and we had arguments and debates, and so on.
I had nothing but respect for Mr. Arlooktoo. He worked very hard for his constituents, he really did. I never always agreed with him but I can honestly say that Goo and I were friends and I would like to say that I do remember him.
Mr. Vince Steen, who Mr. Curley and Mr. Arvaluk know very well, served with me and Mr. Barnabas and he is no longer with us. He was a fantastic individual and a person who was dedicated and loyal.
I would like to pass on my condolences and sincere wishes to Mr. Mark Evaloakjuk’s family from Igloolik.
Mark was a chair of our caucus, we were on committees and I served with Mark for a long time. He provided great leadership and you can learn a lot from someone like Mr. Evaloakjuk.
Of course, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Jobie Nutarak who served with us since 1999 in that chair and I think all of us remember Jobie very well and we remember him to his families.
These are the types of people, Mr. Speaker, sometimes we forget and sometimes we should remember them.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to say with all sincerity and honesty that I appreciate the support and confidence shown in me by the constituents of Apex, Iqaluit, and Iqaluit East.
I also want to thank publicly, Opah, Wally, Dora, and Pakkak for their support and faith in their dad and also to my mother-in-law and family in Clyde River. (interpretation) Ningiuraapik Arnakak, I wish to express my immense gratitude to you, my mother in-law up in Clyde River, as well as the entire Arnakak family, I thank all of you for your support.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, I was not born in Nunavut but Nunavut is my home.
I am proud of Nunavut and over the past nine years, we, in this House, and other members, have made some mistakes.
Mr. Speaker, a good example of that was the time zone debate and I don’t want to get into that right now, we have no time for that.
Mr. Speaker, unlike many of the negative, cynical people who stated and indeed some of the southern media who stated that Nunavut in 1999, Mr. Okalik and I remember this very well because we had a couple arguments with some of these people, within three years, Nunavut would collapse.
We didn’t have the infrastructure, we didn’t have the money, and we didn’t have the capacity.
Mr. Speaker, the year is 2008 and Nunavut has been in place since 1999. Mr. Speaker, we haven’t collapse.
The feds didn’t come in and take us over. And yes, the lights came on in Nunavut. Our economy is stronger, we’re culturally stronger, and indeed, Mr. Speaker, we’re almost in the process of now passing two landmark pieces of legislation, Bill 7 and Bill 21, which enshrine our Inuit language in Nunavut and for the first time ever, our own school system with our own Education Act.
Hon. Ed. Picco: Mr. Speaker, Nunavut is a beautiful place. We should be proud of some of the things that we have done here, and Mr. Speaker, most of our constituents are proud of that and understand that.
To my colleagues, Mr. Quirke and his staff, our translators and interpreters, and I give them hard time, I do speak a little bit fast sometimes, and I appreciate that they have bared with me for nine, ten, or eleven years, and I’m sure they had some good conversations about Ed after hours.
Mr. Speaker, to our dedicated government staff, Kathy Okpik, the Department of Education, the Department of Health people that I’ve had an opportunity to work with, no one realizes how much time your staff puts in. In hours, how much time do these people put in, Mr. Speaker?
I know we all think we work a lot, but when I call Kathy Okpik at 11:30 in the evening because I remembered something or I send her an email on the Blackberry, she responds because she’s in the office.
When you see Peter Ma with the Department of Finance, who phones you on a Sunday evening at 10:30 because he’s in the office working, they don’t get the recognition and support that they deserve.
It’s easy for us to sit in this House and out in the public and say, “How come this is not happening? How come that’s not happening?”
People like Mr. Quirke; do you realize how much work goes in just to get to the point of having everyone here today and doing your debates?
Me, as someone who has had a little bit of experience in government, I didn’t realize how much work goes into being a House Leader, how much legislation, arranging the CCL meetings.
Someone would probably find out a little more about that in the next couple of months, but I can say to Mr. Quirke and the Legislative Assembly staff, it takes a lot of effort and time to get the Assembly up and running, but also to get government up and running. We had to be patient.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to say, and most of all to the people of Nunavut, Iqaluit, Iqaluit East, Apex/Niaqunnguuq that I really appreciate their support over the last several years and I would like to thank them for their criticisms, I would like to thank them for their thank-yous, Mr. Jerry Ell, Mr. David Ell, Ben Kovic, people who have supported me for a long time, Andrew Tagak, David Serkoak, and there are so many, Mr. Speaker, who are out there who give me advice on a regular basis and I appreciate it.
Mr. Speaker, I will be announcing on September the 22nd, I will make an announcement on September 22.
Mr. Speaker, on September 22, I will be making an announcement.
I will be making an announcement, Mr. Speaker, about my intentions in the upcoming elections and Mr. Speaker, Annie Ford is from CBC and she’s known all over Nunavut.
Annie Ford, Leonard Cohen, known all over the world, internationally and nationally, the famous singer, Leonard Cohen, Annie Ford, and myself, Edward Picco, a well-known singer…
... will be celebrating a birthday on September 21 and the next day on September 22, a day after my birthday, Annie Ford’s birthday, and Leonard Cohen’s birthday, Mr. Speaker, I will be making an announcement at that time about my intentions for the territorial election.
Thank you, colleagues. Thank you to the people of Nunavut, Iqaluit, and Iqaluit East.
I appreciate your support and indeed, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate being able to serve you in the last 13 years. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
If there are no more, Item 10.
Committee Report on Bills 022 – 2(4): Bill 43, Write-Off of Assets and Debts Act, 2008-2009 (Tootoo)