EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
31 - 1(3): Completion of Nursing Programs (O'Brien) 384
32 - 1(3): P3 Projects Review (O'Brien) 384
33 - 1(3): Translation of Materials (O'Brien) 384  34 – 1 (3): Rehabilitation in Corrections Planning (O'Brien) 384
35 - 1(3): Responsibilities with Resources (O'Brien) 385
36 - 1(3): Materials for Housing Construction (O'Brien) 385
37 - 1(3): Increases in Mining Activity (O'Brien) 385
38 - 1(3): One Window Approach (O'Brien) 385
Bill 3 - An Act to Amend the Interpretation Act 386
Bill 1, Loan Authorization Act 1999/2000, 387
Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Worker’s Compensation Act, 387
Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Interpretation Act, 387
Bill 4, An Act to Amend the Legal Services Act, 387
Bill 5, Supplementary Appropriation Act 1, 1999/2000, 387
Bill 6, An Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. 387  Wednesday November 3, 1999
Wednesday, November 03, 1999
Speaker (interpretation): Good morning.
I would like to ask Mr. Irqittuq to open the session with a prayer.
Before we start I would like to thank the pages who started from Wednesday.
The students are from Inukshuk High School.
If I pronounce their names incorrectly I apologize ahead of time; Mark McKenna, Jocelyn Morrison, Benjamin Temblin, Levi Ejeesiak, Son Dorothy, Lyla Mahoney.
I would also like to thank the Sergeant At Arms, Timothy Kamookak from Igloolik who came here to be our Sergeant At Arms for this session.
Member’s Statement 72 - 1(3): Rescue of Doreen and Stanley Kenalogak
Today I rise to talk about a rescue that happened in Baker Lake on October 27th at Nuvu’tuaq Point, the point the members fished at this spring.
Doreen and Stanley Kenalogak fell through the ice and Norman and Diane Haqpi were travelling quite a few kilometres behind them and happened upon them.
Without their daring attempt to rescue these two individuals they may have perished.
Today I rise to recognize these two individuals for their courage and bravery.
On behalf of the Legislative Assembly we will recognize these two people who saved those lives through the Commissioner’s Bravery Awards.
Member’s Statement 73 - 1(3): Reason for Yesterdays Absence
Yesterday I had to leave the session for a bit because I had a family member medivaced to Iqaluit from Pangnirtung.
That’s the reason why I was unable to attend the session.
I am happy to announce that my family member was treated as soon as possible and he is a lot better than yesterday.
I just wanted to point out why I was not here yesterday.
Member’s Statement 74 - 1(3): Baffin Leaders Summit in Hall Beach
I just want to remind members that on December 6, the Baffin Leadership Summit will be held in Hall Beach.
We will prepare the community for this gathering to welcome all delegates and I invite all of you.
If the delegates wish to get country food I am sure the community will be pleased to provide meals for free as usual.
Speaker (interpretation): Members’ Statements.
Member’s Statement 75 - 1(3): Support for Smaller Communities
There is a newspaper article that talks about our community’s deficit.
We have to give the smaller communities our full support, especially as members of the Legislative Assembly.
The community requires support and assistance, especially at the point where they are getting into a deficit.
I do not mind this report here, but I do not like to see these types of situations, especially when the Nunavut Government is quite new.
So we will have to rectify the situation, especially with the smaller communities, we have to protect all the communities equally.
Member’s Statement 76 - 1(3): Retirement of Mathias Awa
I would like to make a member’s statement about a special occasion.
Since this is probably our last day, I want to inform you that my father is going to retire this winter.
He has been working for the Hamlet Council, I don’t know for how long, I don’t even remember when he first started work.
I know some of my colleagues remember when he started working.
He is now 78 years old and he is retiring.
He has been doing physical work and has been a member of the Education Council for I don’t know how many years, but it has been so long I can’t remember the date he started.
He has been a member since that entity was established and he has been visiting the other communities to talk about religion.
Mr. Speaker, I know that he doesn’t talk about his children, or boast about his children, but he is always in support of his children so that they can be responsible for themselves.
Some of his children are in Iqaluit, Toronto, Winnipeg, Grise Fiord.
All of his children are employed because of all the support he has given.
He doesn’t boast about his children but it is evident that he is very proud of us silently, so therefore I stand today to say how proud I am of my father.
When we were members of the GNWT Legislative Assembly, somebody stated that we should recognize and acknowledge our elders while they are still alive.
That’s what Mr. Evaluardjuk said and we are proud of you for making that member’s statement and we appreciate the fact that you acknowledge your father’s retirement.
Member’s Statements.
Return 08 -1(3): Question 7 - 1(3) Annual Cost of Caribou Harvest in Coral Harbour
First of all I would like to apologize that my responses are not translated into Inuktitut, but the Inuktitut translation will be given to the members within 24 hours.
Mr. Speaker I would like to respond to a question that was posed on November 2, by the member from Qamanittuaq on the annual cost of the caribou harvest in Coral Harbour.
The Department provides an annual subsidy of 75 thousand dollars to the Coral Harbour Hunter’s and Trapper’s Organization for this hunt.
The return on this investment is very good.
The community has harvested about 2800 animals per year in the last six years.
Total revenue for this period was 2 million 53 thousand 947.
The annual harvest provides part time work for between 35 to 40 people for a two month period.
In dollar terms it has provided 1 million 137 thousand 877 in wages to the community.
Purchases from local businesses during this period were 359 thousand 441.
This is the first year that the Federally inspected meat has been purchased by the Keewatin Fish & Meat Ltd, and this has created 14 new full time positions in Rankin Inlet.
The regional offices of Sustainable Development are working closely with the community of Coral Harbour on this year’s harvest.
The community is hoping to harvest 3500 animals this year.
Mr. Speaker it gives me great pleasure to welcome in the gallery this morning the grade 10 class from Inukshuk High School here in Iqaluit, the social studies class with their teacher Mr. Brian Dorey.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.  >>Applause
Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize some of the senior staff from Canadian North Airlines.
Kelly Kaylo, Garry Reed, Trina Daniels, and Dan Kane.
Hon. Donald Havioyak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize someone in the gallery who is going to school, Jose Krinikulik Junior, who is going to school here from Holman Island.
I really enjoy seeing students, I like to see students here and I encourage them to stay in school and complete their education so that they can become responsible for themselves.
I would like to welcome all the students and it is so nice to see them all in here.
Welcome to the gallery again.
I raised my hand too late, I apologize.
Speaker (interpretation): You can ask to go back to the Recognition of visitors in the gallery.
You can ask for unanimous consent if you want to go back Mr. Nutarak.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): Mr. Speaker I am requesting that we go back to item 5.
Speaker (interpretation): Mr. Nutarak is asking for unanimous consent to go back to item 5.
Mr. Nutarak you have unanimous consent.
I rarely recognize people in the gallery as there is not usually anybody from my constituency in the gallery and then item 5 comes and by the time I look around at people in the gallery and it’s my turn there is nobody around.
I would like to recognize a person who was working in the Pond Inlet Hamlet Council.
That person worked with the Nunavut Implementation Commission.
As Arvaluk had stated his father’s children are all over the communities.
Mathias Awa has many children and I have worked with his children and I would like to recognize Simon Awa in the gallery.
I would like to recognize the people who have not been recognized in the gallery and also I would like to recognize the staff and the interpreters.
I don’t think everybody knows my executive assistant and I have never given that person any recognition.
I know that I work very hard on education and she was a teacher for the EATEP students in Coral Harbour and Kugluktuk and she is very experienced in the education field.
I am very proud of the fact that we can recognize her.
Question 131 - 1(3): Asbestos in Baker Lake School
Mr. Speaker I rise today to talk about an issue that has been long standing in the community of Baker Lake.
When all the members were in the community they had a tour of the Jonah Amitnak School.
I refer to a document in a technical status report that was completed in October of 1996.
Lo and behold on page 48 of the document there was an article 90 on page 48; the insulation on the heating pipes in the 1957 section, which happens to be the oldest school in Nunavut if not in the NWT, appears to have asbestos content.
This was in 1996 Mr. Speaker.
We finally get somebody to do a check on what the suspicious insulation was and lo and behold, it was discovered to be serpentine asbestos.
Mr. Speaker, when we hear the word asbestos we often fear the worst in the damage it can do to people.
In the last three years we have known that there has been a suspect item in that school.
And, through no initiative of Public Works, did they go to look at this substance.
So, we found somebody to look at it and that is what they came back with.
I know that there are schools that have asbestos in them but it seems to be a hushed up subject in Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister of Education, does he have any plans to deal with asbestos in the Baker Lake school.
We had Public Works make an inspection of that school as soon as it was reported to us, in fact while we were still in the Baker Lake retreat while the Department of Public Works was coming in to inspect the school.
We asked them to look into that amongst other things and there is to be repair work being done on that.
However, we have the same concerns about the safety issues for the students and we are expecting a more detailed report and from those recommendations we will deal with it, definitely.
I appreciate the Minister’s response on it and I know it has been an issue that was brought over from the Government of the NWT into the Nunavut Government.
Like we have all been saying we are going to be closer to it and deal with these situations quicker.
In my numerous phone calls this week to certain departments, Workers’ Compensation, Public Works and the health people, there was no real concrete plan in place and no real answers given to me as the MLA that represents Baker Lake on what was going to happen.
It is my opinion that a private assessment should be done on that school by an outside source rather than Public Works, because as I have just explained, it was three years that they knew about this and they didn’t deal with it.
The same people are in Rankin Inlet that knew about this issue and they don’t seem to be moving forward.
I know the minister is not responsible for Public Works but I am responsible for the people in Baker Lake and he is responsible for all the people in education.
So could the minister commit to me that they are going to do an air quality check in that school in December or January when school is not open to look and find out if there is airborne asbestos in that school.
Question 132 - 1(3): Dewline Cleanup
I was going to ask the Minister of Community Government and Transportation, however I will go ahead and express my comments with respect to the DEW line clean up.
There is one site near my community and it has been a long time with no clean up for this site.
It is an old site and we are starting to see more contaminants from the erosion that is taking place on this site. Also, the one in our community, the area of contamination is increasing in the damage that it is causing the environment.
I would like to see some consideration of what initiatives we can take on.
We have two questions.
In regards to the question and the cleaning up of DEW line sites.
The Department of Sustainable Development when they are informed about contaminants on the ground, usually our staff works on it and assess the complaints.
When we are contacted we can ask to have the contaminants cleaned up.
I will take your question as notice as to whether we have analyzed it or not.
So I will review your question and take it as notice.
Mr. Iqaqrialu your question is taken as notice by the Minister.
Question 133 - 1(3): Inuit Teachers in Secondary Classes
I was very pleased to see that the Department of Education over the last six months has started up the Nunavut Teacher’s Education Program in Rankin Inlet, and I think they have one in Cambridge Bay.
That’s great to try and train more Inuit and northern people to take on this important role that I personally feel is one of the most important roles in Nunavut, the education of our children.
We already know that we have a large Inuit teacher work force in the primary grades.
They have lots of experience, most of them are probably the longest serving civil servants in Nunavut today.
Has the minister considered trying to elevate these people from the primary classes up and give them more training so they can teach in the secondary classes.
Yes, we have launched an initiative to start high school programs for our NTEP students.
Those teachers already teaching in the classes who want to upgrade their teaching levels to high school have that freedom and option to take further training as high school teachers.
That is part of our education for teachers initiative.
Yes, they will have that option.
Oral question, Mr. McLean.
On the same question.
Can the minister explain to me, in very brief detail, what the initiative is right now.
Unlike my friend, I can be very brief.
In order to become a high school teacher you need a special one year course where you take a specific subject, like if you want to become a math teacher, or a science teacher, etc.
These are all part of the areas where any teacher who wants to upgrade must identify.
With that identification we will have the numbers and work with the University and Arctic College together to have these programs planned.
But the funding for it has already been approved and we will proceed.
Speaker: Thank you Mr. Arvaluk, third supplementary Mr. McLean.
I am very glad and happy to hear that Mr. Minister.
So, any teacher that is in a primary program right now and wants to upgrade into a secondary end of the school system, can just apply after March, to the Department for educational training and funding.
Yes, however as the member also will appreciate, that some NTEP graduates did not have their high school diploma, so they will have to get that diploma, and have the necessary level of education that they will be teaching in.
Having said that, we are also talking about having the culturally oriented programs, like Inuktitut Language Arts, with a different requirement than that of the regular math or science or other subjects that are usually taken in a regular high school.
So those are separate, and it must be appreciated that they must qualify to teach materials or curriculum that they have been hired to teach.
The short answer is that if an NTEP elementary teacher does not have grade 12, they must have it in order to take specialized high school training, or if it is an Inuktitut language art then that person will have to be recognized as having the ability to be a potential teacher in the culturally oriented programs in the high schools.
Question 134 - 1(3): Trades Training in Arctic College
The Nunavut Arctic College, I know that we have basic office training courses, but my question is, have you initiated other training courses, like plumbing, drywalling and taping, through the Arctic College.
I was wondering if Arctic College has those kinds of training programs.
Minster responsible for education, Mr. Arvaluk.
Hon. James Arvaluk (interpretation): Yes, the subjects that you just mentioned we do have entrance exams for those in the training programs and from there, for example for plumbing or drywalling, if their grade level is up to par then they are told when and where the training program will be.
For example, we do have training programs in Fort Smith for those types of subjects.
We are talking about holding those types of training programs within Nunavut.
Yes, they go through the Arctic College and the communities.
I thank the minister for his response, because in our communities we know and feel that there should be career training programs in the communities of Nunavut.
We should have training programs for relevant things.
For that reason I thank him for the response, I know those kinds of training programs are outside of Nunavut and we should have those types of programs in Nunavut.
I expect to have those types of training programs in Nunavut because especially my constituency residents that I know of have been working in these areas for a very long time and are very professional.
They know how to work as mechanics and so on and they want to train people. Nunavut residents want to train their people now.
Therefore I urge the minister and his department to initiate these types of training programs in Nunavut.
Also I would like to tell him that even when the session is not sitting he can approach me and discuss this.
Speaker (interpretation): Although I did not hear a question Mr. Puqiqnak, Mr. Arvaluk.
Mr. Speaker, I did not hear a question either.
When he speaks Inuktitut I understand what his point was.
For those people who have been training on the job in the trades areas, we are proud of those people who have worked through these things, there are two tests done.
In regards to mechanics if they wanted to test in this area, they do it on paper and also in physical, actual work.
I am using a mechanic as an example because they have to change engines annually.
If there was a unilingual Inuk who did not get official mechanical training, that person would still know what to do if they had been working in this trade.
I know that if this person looks at this testing, he would know right away, but if they were unilingual they would have to be taught a week or two.
For example the engines change annually and he would have to be brought up to date.
But for welding, plumbing or carpentry, which don’t change annually it would be different.
But I would like to work with him and discuss these issues as to how we can recognize these kinds of people who do not have official schooling.
Question 135 - 1(3): University for Nunavut
I have another question to the Minister of Education.
Last June during the session I asked a question in regards to a University.
We require a University in Nunavut, so I was wondering if that is a possibility for our territory, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, we have been working on the planning stages for quite some time but it won’t be called the University of Nunavut.
We thought about calling it Arctic University.
There are quite a few things not done yet and we have to work on this University which may be open for the circumpolar communities, not just for Nunavut.
We would have students from the various countries such as Alaska, Greenland and the other circumpolar countries.
The Inuit Circumpolar Conference has been discussing this matter for quite some time and the governments in the different jurisdictions are now working on an agreement.
I am smiling now, I was thinking that if we get a University I say that it should be in Clyde River.
I did not hear a question.
Question 136 - 1(3): Postal Rate Increases
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure whether my question should be directed to the Finance Minister or the Premier, once they hear it they can decide who is the appropriate person to answer.
Yesterday I was listening to the news and was very shocked to hear that Canada Post is increasing the postage rate by 27% for all communities in Canada that have fly in mail service and are not on the road systems.
Mr. Speaker, that effects every single person living in Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, we always talk about wanting to be treated on the same level with the rest of Canada.
Mr. Speaker I know that in any other jurisdiction in the south if ratepayers were hit with an increase like that there would be a huge public outcry.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask this government who and how and when will the government be addressing the concerns over this outrageous hike in postage rates.
Like you I learned of it through the news and I wasn’t pleased at all about the increase and we will be working to lobby the Federal Government as this is a federal jurisdiction and I will be in contact with my northern colleagues and find a way to lobby the Federal Government to raise our objections over this increase.
Thank you Premier.
I am wondering if in your discussions, I also understood yesterday that the representative from Canada Post that was the spokesperson would be looking at the same increase next year.
I understand that with this increase this year it will be over 50% in the past two years.
To me that is totally unacceptable.
Also the fact that what really offended me yesterday after hearing it on the news, was the representative from Canada Post saying that, “oh people choose to live where they live”. I think that in our response to the Federal Government, they’ve been debating where they are going to be spending the budget surplus.
Where are they getting the surplus from, they are getting it from us.
I would like to ask the Premier if he would convey those types of comments to whoever it is they are going to be lobbying at the federal level.
As I have done in the past I will do whatever I can and use whatever arguments that I can present to the minister responsible in the Federal Government.
Question 137 - 1(3): Aviation Fuel for Repulse Bay and Pelly Bay
I would like to direct this question to one of the ministers, I am not sure which, I will be talking about fuel.
We don’t have aviation fuel in my two communities, Repulse Bay and Pelly Bay.
It is very difficult at times when they have to get a medevac to Repulse Bay.
When there is no aviation fuel in these communities it is very difficult for the medevac to get into that community due to the fact that there is no aviation fuel, a lot of aircraft do not like to get another kind of fuel for their aircraft.
I would like to direct this to the appropriate minister.
Minister Thompson is not present so I will take that as notice on her behalf.
Question 138 - 1(3): Health Board Deficits
Mr. Speaker, my question today is directed to the minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker we have heard in the recent weeks and months of the financial crunch that the minister’s department is in.
A good portion of this relates to deficits in the health boards.
My question to the minister is what plan or scheme does he have in mind to deal with this issue and also what impact are these deficits having on the delivery of health care.
Two question, minister responsible for health, Mr. Picco.
First of all, in regards to the deficit, I am not pleased with the deficit myself, honestly.
Mr. Speaker the deficit problem within the board has caused me as the Minister of Health and indeed, our department of health and the board and the staff, a lot of concern and stress.
Coming into Nunavut on April 1st, as has been related publicly, the health boards had an accumulated deficit of 8.9 million dollars.
We became aware of that shortly after we came into power, and it has gone through analysis in the department.
Right now Mr. Speaker in conjunction with the Department of the Executive and the Department of Finance and the Department of Health & Social Services, we are completing our analysis on the causes of the debt and what we can do to look at some type of restructuring and to take care of that problem.