EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Mr. Picco will be strongly speaking on this issue.
We in Nunavut do not have roads and if patients need to go to a hospital they have no choice but to fly.
We are working on the issue and asking for more money from the federal government.
The two elders are enroute right now.
Can the government ensure that they travel safely and can this be done immediately.
One patient requires surgery and the other has shortness of breath.
I am very upset about this, if anything can be done I will be very grateful.
Once again, this is an urgent issue.
Yes, I will direct my staff to check into this immediately.
The government is taking over health issues from the regional boards in a few days and we as a government expect these types of things to be dealt with in a better way.
We as a government will be in charge.
Improvements are expected in the immediate future.
Before we go on with Mr. McLean who I know is just biting at the bit to get his question in.
We do have a brief technical problem.
We would like to have the members stay in their seats and we will have the technicians make the changes.
Please be seated and the technician will exchange the microphone equipment.
Okay we will proceed to oral questions, Mr. McLean.
Question 338 - 1(3): DSD Regional Superintendent Position
Last week I made a statement about polarised sunglasses and snow goggles and old technology seemed to beat out the new technology and maybe we should just start yelling at each other without this technology but it could escalate.
Mr Speaker, I would like to welcome the Minister for Sustainable Development back, he was out on the West Coast there where I have lots of family and friends.
They were talking about the green house effects, global warming and things like that.
Coming from one of the coldest communities in Nunavut, I know many other members don't want to hear this, but I don't really miss forty-five below anymore.
We are only getting forty below so I hate to complain about global warming but I'll take a few degrees while I'm living up here.
My question today Mr. Speaker, is to the Minister responsible for Sustainable Development.
Recently there was a job opening in Rankin Inlet, the regional superintendent of Sustainable Development I was wondering if the minister could update me on when this position will be filled.
Hon. Peter Kilabuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you Mr. McLean.
Yes, I'm just coming back from a trip as the member indicated from Vancouver and I can only respond to his question by saying we will fill this position once a successful candidate has been identified.
Mr. McLean: Ma'na Uqaqti. That is good news to hear because in the Kivalliq that is one of the most important positions that we have over there.
I wonder if the minister, when considering filling this position, will have a representative from the business community or the Keewatin Chamber of Commerce involved in the selection committee.
At this time and looking at the schedule I cannot identify who will be on the interview team or whether those organizations that you mentioned will be involved.
McLean: Ma'na Uqaqti. I have to emphasise that the business community in the Kivalliq is very concerned and they have to work closely with the individual who is hired to fill this position.
I wonder if the minister can assure me that if he can't have somebody from the business community involved in the selection process could he have one of the MLAs from Rankin Inlet in the selection process.
I am not familiar with the individuals concerned.
Whoever is concerned with this position can direct their concerns to my department and to the people are responsible for hiring this person.
McLean: Ma'na Uqaqti. It just seems not to be my day with this instrument of modern technology, but I would like to keep pressing the minister because this is a very important issue for the Kivalliq and I have to emphasise that he should maybe have somebody from the business community involved.
If he would consider that I could probably call somebody over there to send them a letter to say they are concerned about being involved in the staffing of this position.
Speaker: Minister Kilabuk.
I lost my microphone but to answer your question if they want to be involved in the selection process I would like to see something in writing so we can make a decision.
I will wait for that letter then.
Question 339 - 1(3): Housing Corporation Tender Update
Mr Speaker my question is for the minister responsible for Nunavut Housing Corporation.
It was earlier last week that I asked the minister about a tender and she had indicated at that time she was going to check into it.
I would just like to ask the minister if she has made any progress on that issue.
Speaker: Minister Responsible for Housing.
I looked into it right away on the very day that the question was asked.
He was also concerned about the NWT Housing Corporation being involved in the tendering process.
I looked into it and it has to do with a shortage of employees or under-capacity in the Nunavut Housing Corporation so we have the NWT Housing Corporation doing some of the work..
The problem is we do not have enough employees yet.
The deputy minister of Public Works made an agreement with the NWT Housing Corporation and we are working together on technical services.
At the present moment we are using the NWT Housing Corporation to work on these issues.
I appreciate the minister providing me with that information and I'm surprised that it hadn't been looked into already with me having to ask the question on that.
As the minister indicated this is a service that has been contracted back to the NWT Housing Corporation, could the minister provide us with a list of what other services are contracted back to the NWT Housing Corporation.
Speaker: Ms Thompson.
We did that because we didn't have enough staff and we didn't have the technical services people.
If there is anything else that is contracted back I will disclose it.
Speaker: Supplementary Mr. Tootoo.
Following the minister's response I would ask her, as she has indicated a change in services over the year leading through this past year and going into the new year, are the same level of services being contracted back or has the department been able to assume some of those responsibilities.
Hon. Manitok Thompson (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Speaker I'll let the member know.
The Housing Corporation is now an entity on its own .
Once we fill the positions and have our own technical staff this will become a better situation.
Perhaps it will be easier by way of replying to you in written form.
The question has been taken as notice and there will be no further questions on this.
Oral questions, Mr. Barnabas.
Question 340 - 1(3): Climate Change Conference Information
Mr. Speaker, I have been watching the media and my colleague, the Minister for Sustainable Development attending a meeting down south.
In my constituency in the High Arctic scientists are always doing studies on ice and glaciers.
They have done scientific studies on global warming and therefore I would like to ask the minister if he could update us on the results of his meeting .
Yes, the meeting that I attended in Vancouver to deal with this issue, all the Canadian Ministers of the Environment and Energy attended that meeting to deal with global warming issues.
At this point we are at the planning stages and the north is going to be greatly impacted from global warming.
At this point we are now working together to get a memorandum of understanding in regards to this subject.
The results form the scientific study have to be made public and once we have accumulated and collected all the information I'll be able to table the information to the House once it is completed.
Speaker: Thank you Mr. Minister.
Mr. Barnabas (interpretation): Thank you for your response Mr. Kilabuk.
I just wanted to confirm that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has said that he will not be allocating funds for global warming research in the high arctic.
What is your department doing about that.
Hon. Peter Kilabuk (interpretation): We met in Vancouver to strategize and do some planning on how to deal with this issue.
This was just in the planing stages and once we have a strategy, in October all the provinces and territories will hold a conference this coming fall.
This meeting was just the planning stages so there was no concrete strategy that was agreed upon.
We will be strategizing in the next meeting.
Oral Questions. Mr. Kattuk.
Question 341 - 1(3): Medical Escorts
Mr. Kattuk (interpretation): I would like to ask a question that is the same concern as my colleague.
I will use myself as an example.
I have travelled through rough waters where I got scared in the past.
My colleague's concern with patients going down south for medical purposes and being scared is comparable.
Two of his constituents going down south were not sure if they would be taken care of.
As we speak I'm sure the staff of the Minister for Health and Social Services is watching this proceeding through television so my question is are they are working on this problem as we speak.
I know that is hard on these two elders.
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): I did not hear a question but I think your question is whether we are working on this as we speak.
I think that is what my colleague asked.
We are looking into it and as the minister stated in this house they are looking into the issue of patients travelling down south, whether they are being escorted or not.
I will say they are looking into it right now and if we are told which elders have been mistreated in their travels down south then we can look into these problems.
I apologise because I know you didn't quite understand me.
I am talking about the two individuals going to the hospital and they are travelling on the jet right now as we speak.
My colleague is concerned if someone will be meeting them at the airport.
As we speak I'm sure the minister's office is watching the proceedings right now and are they doing something about it now.
I can tell you that when patients travel to Ottawa there is always an escort to meet them at the airport upon arrival.
We have heard of the mishaps and most of the problems are eliminated concerning trips and people picking them up at the airport.
Question 342 - 1(3): Gjoa Haven Soccer Team
Mr. Puqiqnak (interpretation): For a while I thought I would not be recognized .
I had some questions from my community and I will direct them to the minister responsible for community government and transportation.
Mr. Speaker, my question is the soccer team from Gjoa Haven is hoping to go to a soccer tournament in Yellowknife from May 4 to 7, 2000.
However, they have to pay the registration fee by April 17, 2000.
They will need funding support to pay for their transportation, accommodation and registration.
They have sought funding from the Nunavut Soccer Association and from the Hamlet but there is none available.
Can the minister please advise which organizations have the mandate to provide support for team travel.
Now I am copying that fellow across from me.
Yes there are a number of sports teams that require funding and we will let them know right away.
For all those teams that are interested in obtaining funding from any of the communities and not just the ones the member mentioned.
There will be a discussion on where they can go to get information for assistance to find funding.
I understand the response from the Minister.
However, although he indicates when they plan to make decisions or in this information as to how much funding will be made available to the soccer teams, can he find out prior to April 17, 2000 to see if they can receive financial support.
Can he provide that information soon.
Yes we will do that.
I'll find out the information, find out what the staff have done to now and we'll make the information available as soon as possible whether it be through in-house or to the soccer teams themselves.
So that they can be ready for the Arctic Winter Games in 2002, we need to be supporting our local teams so that they can compete with other communities and learn new skills.
Is there funding put aside in the interim appropriation Bill which we voted on this week to pay sport team travel in April of 2000.
Mr. Speaker, I know that the Minister is very involved in this concern but these games are considered very important by our communities.
Although they want to participate they cannot do so unless they come up with their own funding from within their own communities.
At the same time since we are the Nunavut Government we have to be providing for these organizations.
We should provide some sort of funding to offset their expenditures.
Speaker: If you could please keep your preamble short.
Hon. Jack Anawak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I agree that our young people should receive our full support to do their optimum in their endeavours to participate in the Arctic Winter Games and to ensure that they come home with the gold medals when the games are played in Nuuk.
We are seriously encouraging this assistance and this is under the management of the Sport North foundation.
I will be detailing these and making the information available to the House as well as to the Gjoa Haven soccer team.
Also we will inform them whether they can be given the funding before April 17.
We will try to let them know well in advance in case we might encounter some difficulties or whereby they might have to find alternative funding.
This will relieve some of the pressure so we will ensure that we give this information out well in advance of that date.
Question 343 – 1(3): Allocation of Surplus Funds
I think our Minister for Finance is falling asleep so he has to wake up a bit.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Finance regarding regional budget allocation and the details.
First I want to ask him concerning the surplus monies.
Did you put together your surplus from all the departments into one pot.
That is my question first.
Mr. Speaker the surplus is a result of all government expenditures from all government departments.
Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Minister can indicate how many different functions they have within the departments.
I wonder if he has details as to the regional budget allocations.
Can he indicate to me how much was surplused in the regions.
For example, how much surplus was from Sustainable Development Department how much was surplused from Department of Health.
I wonder if he can provide that information or does he have the details as to the surplus numbers from each department.
Mr. Speaker as I indicated yesterday in answer I believe, to Mr. Tootoo, I said that we would provide all that information.
It is broken out by departments from what we anticipate the projected surpluses will be.
I would really like to see those details in from of me.
I wonder if he can make those available to me.
Mr. Speaker, I said that we would provide them as soon as possible, in fact the staff are probably preparing it as we speak.
Question 344 – 1(3): Term of Decentralized Positions
I am going to address this question to our Premier regarding decentralization.
I did not quite understand from my question earlier his response regarding decentralization to the smaller communities.
I understand that there are going to be some positions in Repulse Bay but how long will these positions be in those communities.
I am wondering about the duration of the jobs because some of the communities are not going to get jobs.
Have we considered the smaller communities for decentralization.
Yes, regarding decentralization only some of the communities will actually be getting jobs.
We have already known that all along and this was already in place, they were already planned even before our own government took effect.
This is an on-going review process.
For those communities that we don't plan to provide decentralized jobs into them we plan to create other opportunities as I have mentioned earlier.
For example, we are going to support the creation of a park close to Repulse Bay and in that way the park would have to open an office in Repulse Bay which would create employment.
I would really like to pursue this capital project because it will be of benefit to the community residents and that was how I was trying to respond to him.
I understand his response very well and I thank him.
For those smaller communities I keep saying they have no government staff housing and I'm wondering if you could consider this further remembering that there are not very many government offices or staff housing in those small communities.
I cannot answer that definitely as to just where the government staff houses will be.
We have to review this once we find out the budget allocation and once the budget is approved in the House then we could probably provide more housing in the communities.
Oral questions. Mr. Tootoo.
Question 345 – 1(3): Surplus Funds for Housing
Mr. Speaker my question again is for the Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
Mr. Speaker in the 1999/2000 supplementary appropriation Bill that was introduced by the Minister of Finance yesterday, number 3, I would venture to guess this is probably the last supplementary that we will see this year as it ends tomorrow.
Mr. Speaker, I know that since before last fall, members of this House and I believe there's even a motion in this House coming from the regular members and committee of the whole I'm not sure, were asking that if there were any surplus dollars to have them allocated towards housing.
Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the supplementary appropriation Bill would be approved by the Financial Management Board based on proposals submitted by departments.
I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Housing if her department prepared any proposals to use any of these surplus funds for housing.
Speaker: Minister responsible for Housing, Ms. Thompson.
[Ed. Note: Minister Thompson’s response has been re-interpreted based on the floor recording]
The Nunavut Housing Corporation was in a complex situation in the beginning because it was been amalgamated from two separate entities.
That being the case our work that we had to carry out was quite difficult although I can tell you this, the funding was something that we didn't know the numbers about until the Minister indicated how much of a surplus he was estimating.
Before that we had no information as to what the surplus numbers would be.
I can tell you that the Housing Corporation had a very difficult job to do and they had a lot of numbers and figures to work with.
There was a lot of information we had to provide to the committee and this compounded the problem.
I think we all know that should there be any surplus we were planning to try to obtain some of that funding.
As I had stated earlier we were still understaffed.
I can tell you that if there is to be any extra money made available we are going to put in a proposal along with the other departments.
Mr. Speaker so if I understand the Minister correctly she indicated that the department was too complicated therefore no proposals were prepared.
Mr. Speaker I still, did the Minister ask, it was quite evident and hinted from last fall by the members of this House that we would like to see and would support some type of a supplementary if it were to come forward to utilize some surplus funds for housing.
Mr. Speaker, I know the target is a moving target but given in the fall we were told there would be a ten million dollar surplus and it turns out that at the end of the year there is a 34 million dollar surplus, I'm sure there would have been a little bit of room there to develop some type of proposal to even use a fraction of that amount.
I would guess to say that it would have been safe to develop some type of a policy or proposal to use even a fraction of that amount in housing this year. So did the Deputy Minister and the Minister understand that the department didn’t bring anything forward.
Did she instruct her staff to develop, look at developing, any type of proposal.
I am very proud to be speaking in Inuktitut and some times it doesn't come across as well when it goes through the interpreter.
I didn't say that it was too complicated.
That's not what I said in Inuktitut, I didn't say that.
There was a mistake there.
What I said was the Housing Corporation has been moved to several locations and we just finished the relocation.
They were in Community Government & Transportation for a while, then they went to Public Works right afterwards, and now it’s a stand-alone organization.
If there is going to be any surplus we will be making a request to get some of that funding and I could use an example where the houses that are too old will have to be renovated.
There are various things that we have to get and I am very glad that there is going to be a surplus and we will be making a request for some of those surplus dollars.
I believe that is quite clear.
Mr. Speaker I know that this fiscal year ends this weekend and the surplus is then carried over to the next year's budget.
So just after this weekend it's somewhat late to be putting forward a sup for a surplus to use this year's funds it’s already been lapsed into next year, Mr. Speaker.
That's my understanding of it Mr. Speaker.
In her statement Mr. Speaker, the Minister indicated part of the problem for not developing something is she had indicated that she received some inadequate information from the LHO's.
I was wondering if the minister could further elaborate on that.
Hon. Manitok Thompson (interpretation): I am sorry you did not understand.
I do want to use my own language and I have to use the interpreter.
What I said, I could use an example, in Rankin Inlet Mr. Tootoo said that the 1996 figures were too old that were used for the review by the Housing Corporation.
Those were what I was talking about.
We have to update the information and that is going to be a lot of work.
We don't have enough staff, and I'm talking about staff capacity here and I didn't say anything about the communities, what I said just as an example, we all know that in my budget the standing committee knows that we were recommended to build public housing.
These dollars that we are going to be using to build the houses, of course, if it is approved because of course, if it is not approved we will not be building those houses.
Anyway, the task force recommended that we build those houses and we do know that there have to be renovations done on the older units.
I think that's clear enough and if there are dollars available we will be renovating the older units.
We will be making a request for the surplus dollars to renovate the older units.
Mr. Tootoo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker…
Speaker: Final supplementary.
Mr. Tootoo: You caught me.
I guess I would just like to get some clarification from the Minister.
She has indicated they will be asking or developing a proposal to use surplus funds.
In that case, I'm pretty sure of my understanding that after this weekend there are no more surpluses, they're already gone.
So is she going to be developing a proposal that will be trying to obtain some of the funds that are in the contingency reserve, that's the 15 million dollar contingency reserve that is being carried over to next year or is that what she means.
Mr. Speaker what I'm saying is that if there's any shortage then the Housing Corporation, we are going to work on that.
We've been doing the best we can.
If we know that there is a shortage of funds, we do know that there are too many houses that are dilapidated, the older units that need renovation and of course we want everything to be perfect because of course we have a new government.
There are many people out there that want to have everything new and everything perfect.
But it is not possible to have everything done all at the same time.
What I'm saying is that if we need further funds I will work on it to get additional funds because that's my job as the Housing Minister.
Speaker: As I indicated yesterday, I am trying to select the members that haven't had a question yet or that have only had one question.
So next on the list for oral questions is Mr. Nutarak.
Question 346 – 1(3): Pond Inlet Arena Renovations