EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
We don't have any new funds but if we had new funds then we would provide some for these new programs for renovation of housing units, but we will consider this item in our budget session.
Today, when these older units are being repaired, housing associations have in their budgets a maintenance budget for each year.
Question 194 - 1(3): Release of Budget Information
Mr. Speaker my question is for the Minister responsible for Finance and it relates to the newspaper coverage of the 30-40 million dollars or the radio coverage of the 30-40 million dollars surplus that we may anticipate.
My question to the minister, and I know he may at some point say there is nothing illegal or wrong about releasing that information, but I'm curious as to the fact that we haven't gone through the budget yet and we hear the Minister responsible for Housing say that she really doesn't want to deal with that issue now because it wouldn’t be appropriate as far as using surplus money for housing and whatever else.
I 'd like the minister to tell the members what his rationale is for releasing this information prior to the budget process being completed.
The Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Ng.
Mr. Speaker, the report came from questions from the CBC reporter yesterday in relation to the health board deficits and the coverage of some of those deficits whether it be for prior to March 31, 1999 or current year deficits that they were encountering.
It deals with, quite frankly, current year operating & maintenance budgets and the overall fiscal frame-works and condition of our financial situation.
So it was in that respect that I candidly gave out the amount of what all members have had the opportunity of being advised, as you know, in a caucus meeting about the potential for 30-40 million of excess unspent funds of this government.
Mr. Speaker, I've always been under the impression and I think the members also here alongside me that what we discuss in caucus prior to it getting to I guess, an open public meeting, that it would be confidential and we were of the understanding that we would not release that information and that it may in some ways cause some difficulties for people.
My question is, given the fact that we're involved with the various union negotiations, does the minister have any concern that this may in itself, by releasing information, it may cause some uneasiness, even some labour strife, I guess, the fact that we're talking about 30 or 40 million dollars that may be available.
Is he concerned about that.
I guess my concern is that does the minister feel that was prudent on his part to release this information prior to us getting to the budget process.
Minister of Finance, Hon. Kelvin Ng.
Mr. Speaker, one has to recognize that as I indicated, this is one time, 1999-2000 unexpended funds.
The primary reason, as members know, is the fact that we are at about 75% staff at this point, so there are significant under-expenditures in those areas throughout government.
That situation will rapidly change given that we are constantly filling positions and expect to be at higher levels of staffing for the 2000-2001 year.
Ideally we would be at a 90%-95% level, which is probably a historical operating level of government in respect to staffing.
So, I think it is important to recognize that. I'm sure that our union friends are undergoing collective agreement negotiations now with our government and I understand that situation as well.
If we were to use any of this money, these unexpended funds that we project, quite frankly, to be there March 31, if we were to make commitments for that for future years and then our staffing levels were to reach higher proportionate levels, we would have to look for ways to pay back that money.
Otherwise we would operate in a deficit situation, and I don't think any members of this House would want to operate under those conditions Mr. Speaker.
Speaker: Thank you Mr. Hon. Kelvin Ng. Oral Questions.
Mr. Speaker, I believe in the fall session, I could be mistaken so I won't mention which minister, indicated to me in reference to a question I asked about why we would, at that point we were only looking at I think it was approximately 10 million dollars surplus and I felt that we should probably have a lot more because of the fact that there are so many positions that have not been filled.
The comment, or statement, that was made to me by the member on the other side of the House was that, well actually it can't be more because most of these positions that are not filled, the money that would normally pay for that person's salary is being used to pay for consultants and contractual work so that we can have some capacity in the overall government.
So, and unfortunately the Hansard here does not clearly state that, so, with that in mind can the Finance Minister tell me now that we have the projected surplus of 30-40 million dollars out in the public and in the media, what has created this possible or projected surplus.
Mr. Speaker, the member is correct, during the mid-year fiscal update we projected at that time approximately 12 million dollars and since then it has been revised.
Given that the main reason, Mr. Speaker, is that we have financial reports that come from all departments of government through Finance and we co-ordinate the summary of that information and make our projections based on that, I can tell you, quite frankly, right now that if we base all of our financial projections on what departments advise us they were going to spend that we would not be in a surplus situation.
Given all the departments saying that they are going to be fully staffed up to the levels that they expected this year and expending funds throughout their programs again on what their expectations were, our budget would be right on, and in fact slightly over-budget.
So, the Department of Finance, quite frankly, has had to take another look at the information that was being provided by departments to see whether or not they were realistic and that took a considerable amount of time and that's why so late in the year we can have a better estimate of actual government expenditures, Mr. Speaker.
Question 195 - 1(3): Housing Corporation Surplus
Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister responsible for Housing.
Earlier the minister indicated that she couldn't talk about any funding, any new dollars, for housing. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if that means that the minister is indicating that in all this surplus that we are talking about, housing itself or her department has no surplus at all.
Just recently, we hired a President for the Housing Corporation and that person is in Iqaluit and my staff members are in Arviat and in my budget we will have a better understanding what the budget forecast is for March.
As I stated earlier we were looking at our departmental budgets and we would have to justify why we have those budgets in place and our staff members will be available for you to answer some of those questions and our finance people will be with us.
So, once we get into budget sessions then we will be able to respond to those questions.
We were talking about the 1999-2000 budget, I was wondering, it says we have, the Minister of Finance has indicated we have a 30-40 million dollar surplus, I would imagine that given the vacancy levels throughout government there are some substantial surpluses in every department including Housing.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister if she has any plans of making a submission to re-allocate some of this year's funds from the department that haven't been expended to go towards some of the operating and maintenance functions provided at the local level through the LHO's.
Minister for Housing, Ms. Thompson.
The Housing Associations have their own budgets and they don’t operate as a government agency, but if there are any surpluses within the corporation they can always use it up in the new fiscal year and if there are any surpluses we will ensure that we use them for those purposes, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, then I guess the minister is indicating that her department and her staff have not made any plans to re-allocate any current year dollars towards O&M funding that is provided to the LHO’s through the Nunavut Housing Corporation and what she is responsible for.
The housing association staff if they have any problems with certain budget items, then I don’t really state how much surplus we have because we’re not at the end of the fiscal year, but we can’t make a forecast for now how much we will be providing for those communities.
I don’t have any papers in front of me right now in terms of those forecasts.
We’ll take a break for twenty minutes.
>>House recessed at 3:50 p.m. and resumed at 4:21 p.m.
Getting back to the Orders of the Day, Tuesday, February 22.
Written Question 04 - 1(3): Rankin Inlet Birthing Facility
Mr McLean: Ma’na.
I have a written question to the Minister of Health regarding the utilisation of the Rankin Inlet birthing station.
In the last two years how many births were there at that facility.
Second part of the question: was it well received and accepted.
Third part of the question: is it cost effective in regards to how many births are being delivered there, and the fourth part: does the minister see it continuing in the future or being disrupted.
Item 11, Replies to Opening Address.
Item 11: Replies to Opening Address
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): Mr. Speaker, I am going to read my reply to the Commissioner's Opening Address.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to reply to the Commissioner's address.
I would like to tell my constituents what I have been doing as their MLA since I was fortunate to be elected about one year ago.
First I want to point out some very important needs in my community of Pond Inlet.
These needs are for new buildings.
The needs in our communities are urgent.
I think this is partly because when Nunavut was created on April 1, 1999, the new Nunavut government took over from the old Northwest Territories government.
We were very happy to see the creation of Nunavut; however, the way we see it when the new government took over from the Northwest Territories government the capital planning process was interrupted.
Under the GNWT, the Hamlet of Pond Inlet worked very hard on a five-year capital plan.
We were very familiar with the five-year capital plan; it seemed that as we prepared for Nunavut, the five-year plan was forgotten by the GNWT.
Then when the Nunavut government took over, it seemed that the planning started all over again.
Some important projects got delayed or forgotten.
This year's budget was not really the budget of the government of Nunavut.
It was based on the budget of the government of the Northwest Territories. Right now the government of Nunavut has put together a budget which will be tabled next month, but this budget is not based on the five-year plan.
It is only a budget for one year.
The Minister of Finance has said that we will only be able to work on a five-year capital plan after we have finished the budget for this coming year.
So the long-term plan, the five-year capital planning process was interrupted when we moved from one government to another.
We have several buildings in our community that, as a result of the interruption of the capital planning process, these old buildings which needed renovation or replacement have got older and are now very much in need of repair.
A very good example is our Takijualuk School, the school got so run down that it had to be closed.
Other buildings that are suffering from neglect are the community hall, the arena and the health centre.
Although these buildings have not had to close down yet, they may not last very long.
Something has to be done very soon.
Community hall; the community hall was built in 1977, it is now older than half the population of Pond Inlet.
The insulation in the building is very thin and some parts of the walls are not insulated at all.
The situation is so bad that every winter if we have enough snow, we insulate the outside of the building with snow to help with the heating.
The building was renovated about 12 years ago, but those renovations were only done on the outside of the building.
Inside the building, the person who was doing the renovations pointed out that there was a very serious problem with the roof.
Every spring, there have been serious leaks in the roof when it starts to melt.
These leaks have meant that there is hardly any insulation in the roof.
When the roof leaks, as it does every spring, the lighting and electrical wiring is damaged by water, the Hamlet must close the building when there is water in the electrical system and lights.
Mr. Speaker, the building has to be closed down because of problems with the sewage stink and plumbing in the winter when it is cold, and the building has to be closed down because of problems with the electrical wiring and lighting on the roof in the spring when it melts.
Mr. Speaker, this is a very important building in our community, this is the only place where children and young people can come to play freely.
The community has a strict rule against drugs or alcohol in the building, so our young people, our young children feel comfortable and welcome in this place.
Young people are in this building all the time, this is where they gather for dances or to play games such as pool, table tennis or video games.
This building keeps many of our young people from getting into trouble.
The community hall is important for other reasons, this is the only place where we can have public meetings, and this is the only place where we can have feasts and community celebrations.
This is the only place where the Nunavut Court of Justice can have court.
Mr. Speaker, this very important building is falling apart.
The mayor has told me that the Hamlet spends so much time and money fixing this very old building, sometimes he just feels like giving up and closing the building down.
The terrible thought of having no place for our young people stops him from closing the building down.
The Hamlet is very concerned with the huge amount of money they are spending to keep the building open.
These costs are putting a lot of pressure on the Hamlet budget.
The money is being spent on keeping the building repaired and causing other Hamlet programs to suffer.
The mayor is also worried that the problem with the electricity and the sewage tanks mean that the building might be found to be unsafe or unhealthy.
Arena; our arena was one of the first arenas built when the government of NWT started building arenas in communities.
The Pond Inlet arena was built as a pilot project.
Unfortunately, it was not a full size arena and we as a larger community are entitled to a full size hockey rink.
Government officials have told us that we are entitled to a full size arena.
Right now, having a small arena means that we can’t ever host hockey tournaments.
If our hockey teams want to play in tournaments they always have to travel to other communities.
If we participate in regional games, we always travel to other communities.
We can never host tournaments or regional competitions.
Our old arena is also very poorly insulated so the building is very cold.
My constituents are very concerned that it is not good for people to be breathing in such cold air.
While they’re skating, it is not good for people to be sweating in such cold air.
Since we have these problems with two old buildings, which are below standard, we have suggested that it would make sense for the government of Nunavut to combine these needs into a new building.
This would meet our very pressing needs for a proper community hall and arena and it would also save money.
It should cost much less to combine these needs for planning and construction rather than building two separate facilities.
New health centre; our community has been fortunate to have a resident doctor and her family move in last fall.
We were very pleased to welcome Dr. Demaio to our community and we would like to tell the Minister of Health and Social Services this is very much appreciated.
I would like to point out that the new doctor does not only serve the residents of Pond Inlet, she also visits other north Baffin communities from her base in Pond Inlet.
We are concerned, however, that our health centre is old and too small for a growing population.
The health centre will be under even more pressure when new jobs for government are received and more families are put in place in Pond Inlet.
We know that some communities were given new schools, more land, larger water systems, for example as a result of decentralization, however it seems that no one looked at the small size and the age of our health centre in Pond Inlet, even though we will see more government jobs located there.
Our health centre staff and space will be under even greater pressure to meet the needs of our growing population and especially now that we have a resident doctor in Pond Inlet who is serving the high Arctic we believe that consideration should be given to having some people from high Arctic communities sent to Pond Inlet for treatment in emergencies rather than the long distance and time it takes to send them to the regional hospital in Iqaluit.
Mr. Anawak, the Minister of Community Government and Transportation, and the Minister of Finance have been told of our pressing capital needs.
We are very hopeful that these needs will be reflected in the coming year's budget and built into the government of Nunavut five-year plan.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to explain these needs to my fellow MLAs and the people of Tunnuniqmiut through this reply to the Commissioners address.
Taima.
You were the first one to open the replies to the Commissioner's address.
Petition 09 - 1(3): Replacement of Jonah Amitnaaq School
I would like to table a petition from my community of Baker Lake requesting the replacement of the decrepit whole falling down Jonah Amitnaaq school with 336 names.
Item 13. Tabling of Documents.
Tabled Document 24 - 1(3): Letter to NTI
I wish to table a copy of the letter addressed to NTI in response to correspondence received by our office.
As this response is being alluded to in a recent article, I wanted to table it for the information of all members.
Tabled Document 25 - 1(3): Fuel Subsidies Details
I have another document to table.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table this document titled "Subsidy by Territory, Customer, Class and Product". This document covers the Nunavut territory for the period of 1998/99, the last full year for which figures are available.
This will highlight the amount of funding that the government of Nunavut contributes as a subsidy for all products sold.
Perhaps this will also clarify that fuel is already highly subsidized as it currently stands.
Tabling of documents Mr. Nutarak.
Tabled Document 26 - 1(3): Letter to Minister Anawak from Mayor of Pond Inlet
I wish to table my reply to the Commissioners address.
I also have two petitions Mr. Speaker.
One is addressed to Community Government and the Minister of Transportation.
One is dated February 14, they are both in my hands and I’ll submit them to the House.
I will not read them out.
Tabled Document 27 - 1(3): Nunavut Business Incentive Policy
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): Thank you Mr Speaker. I would also like to table a document titled "Nunavut Business Incentive Policy", with a note that this document is not etched in stone and is flexible.
I'm very open to all the members if you want to see changes.
Speaker: Thank you Mr. Okalik. Mr. O'Brien.
Tabled Document 28 - 1(3): Budget Surplus Article
Mr. O'Brien: Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a document titled "Media Monitor" and the item is the Minister of Finance announces budget surplus.
Item 14: Notices of Motions  Notice of
Motion 09 - 1(3): Tabled Documents 24 & 25 to Committee of the Whole
Mr. Tootoo: Mr. Speaker I give notice that on Thursday, February 24, I'll move the following motion: I move seconded by the honourable member from Baker Lake, that the tabled documents, which I don't have a number for, the last two tabled documents by the Minister responsible for Petroleum Products, on fuel prices, the petroleum products division subsidy by territory, customer class and product; and the letter in response to NTI move into the committee of the whole.
Notice of Motion 10 - 1(3): Ikuma Report to Committee of the Whole
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday February 24, 2000, I will move the following motion. I move seconded by the Honourable member for Baker Lake that tabled document number 20-1(3), the Ikuma Report, be moved to the committee of the whole for discussion.
Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will ask for unanimous consent to deal with my motion.
Mr Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with my motion today.
My motion today is seconded by the Honourable member for Baker Lake, that tabled document number 20-1(3), the Ikuma Report, be moved to the committee of the whole for discussion.
Speaker: Mr. O'Brien, you have consent to ask that your motion be tabled.
Mr. O'Brien: Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with my motion in the house today.
The member is requesting to deal with his motion today.
Mr. O’Brien, please proceed.
Motion 10 - 1(3): Ikuma Report to Committee of the Whole
I move seconded by the Honourable member for Baker Lake that tabled document number 20 - 1(3), the Ikuma report, be moved to the committee of the whole for discussion today.
Your motion is in order.
Motion 11 - 1(3): MS 45- 1(3) to Committee of the Whole
Mr. O'Brien: Thank you, Mr. Speaker and my colleagues for supporting my motion.
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to rule number 34 (5), I move seconded by the member from Baker Lake that the Minister's Statement 45 - 1(3) dealing with the Ikuma report be moved into the committee of the whole for discussion.
The motion is not subject to notice or debate or amendment, it is in order.
Minister's Statement 45- 1(3) is referred to Committee of the Whole.
Before I bring up the next item on the agenda I would like to recognize Rebecca Akesuk, the sister of our youngest member, Mr. Akesuk.
Bill 9 - An Act to Amend the Judicature Act and Other Acts in Relation to Judges - First Reading
I move that bill 9, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act and Other Acts in Relation to Judges, be read for the first time.
All opposed.
Bill 9 has had its first reading.
Bill 10 - An Act Amending the Boards of Management Dissolution Act - First Reading
I move seconded by the Honourable member from Rankin South, that bill 10, An Act Amending the Boards of Management Dissolution Act be read for the first time.
Bill 10 has had its first reading.
Bill 11 - An Act to Establish Nunavut Day as a Holiday - First Reading
Hon. Kelvin Ng: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable member from Iqaluit West that bill 11, An Act to Establish Nunavut Day as a Holiday, be read for the first time
Speaker: Mr. Ng your motion is in order.
Bill 11 has its first reading.
First reading of bills, Mr. Arvaluk.
Bill 12 - An Act to Amend the Divisional Education Council Dissolution Act - First Reading
I move, seconded by the Honourable member for Rankin North, that bill number 12, An Act to Amend the Divisional Education Council Dissolution Act, be read for the first time.
Speaker: Mr Arvaluk your motion is in order.
Bill 12 has had its first reading.
Item 18. Second Reading of Bills.
Bill 7 - Loan Authorization Act 2000/2001 - Second Reading
Mr. Speaker, I would like to move, seconded by the Honourable member from Pangnirtung, that bill 7, The Loan Authorization Act 2000/2001, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the Loan Authorization Act is to facilitate lending to municipalities, and will benefit municipalities that may not have the ability to borrow from commercial lenders.
The loan Authorization Act sets the upper limits for municipal loans for the 2000/2001 fiscal year at 5 million dollars.
I'm in receipt of correspondence from the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Government Operations & Services.
The committee wishes to waive the review of bills, and to deal with it in the committee of the whole.
Bill 7 is referred to the committee of the whole.