EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I understand there’s a lot of federal money that also gets spent through non-insured health benefits for residents of Nunavut that are travelling south to access those health services. According to information provided by the Minister of Community and Government Services earlier this year, health infrastructure is not eligible for investment from the Building Canada Fund.
My question would be: what, if any, discussions have occurred exploring federal investments in Nunavut infrastructure outside of other funding models that are already in place to alleviate pressures on federal expenditures?
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) Health may not be eligible for the Building Canada Fund, but we do find ways to access various programs and services that we can find. We have our telehealth technology. We access other pots of money that was available for health services and it was a national fund.
Now, we have telehealth in every community in our territory, for example.
There may not be funds the real mortar health facilities, but we do find ways to access other programs to try and assist in improving our services for our territory. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister’s mind-reading abilities are in full swing this afternoon.
I have often brought up telehealth as an avenue available to reduce travel and physician costs, as that’s what it was designed to do.
Has there been a notable impact on medical travel or physician services since telehealth was implemented?
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) Wow!
I didn’t know that. I was ahead of the game in this one for a change.
For this past year, it has been a very good uptake of telehealth. I believe there have been over 700 patients that have used telehealth throughout our territory from April to September of this year.
We are also increasing capacity with the technology by being able to get special cameras that can look into ears and eyes. Those will be put in place over the coming months.
It will increase our capacity for diagnoses throughout Nunavut and being able to provide for better care in the diagnoses for all patients in our territory. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Question 132 – 4(3): Strategic Investments Program (Savikataaq)
During our spring sitting, I asked a detailed written question concerning the hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and contributions that her department hands out each year to private businesses under its Strategic Investments Program.
I believe that it is important for the government to have some way of determining what the actual results are of its spending in this area.
As some of my colleagues would say, it’s bang for your buck. I say it’s value for your money.
In her response to my question, the minister stated that her department lacks a system to, and I quote, “allow program management staff to collect meaningful monitoring and evaluation data.”
I ask the minister: what is her department doing to address this issue?
I thank the member for that question. (interpretation) In order to report on that, on April 1, 2015, we introduced some (interpretation ends) guidelines (interpretation) directing the department to strengthen their work on this issue.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, what I’m talking about is that on April 1, 2015, we’re now having a look at the review of the guidelines in order to provide procedures to strengthen the administrative process and for reviewing the project proposals under the SIP program under Schedule A and also under the other schedule, Schedule B. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In the 2013-14 fiscal year, the minister’s department handed out approximately $1.5 million in grants and contributions to businesses.
I know the minister just stated that they just have new guidelines, but can the minister provide any kind of estimates as to how many jobs for Nunavut residents were created as a result of spending this money?
Currently, our department’s annual contributions funding are under review, including a review of how jobs are created and whether their job descriptions can be improved. Obviously, we want to be successful and complete in our review and completely understand how much return is stemming from our investment into Nunavut.
We have to grow properly within our territory. In order to move forward, the funds the Nunavut government provides contributions through have to be reviewed to ensure that they are being spent properly.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, the department is committed to evaluating the outcomes of these contributions to make sure that our economic development goals are being realized and that Nunavut gets the value for these public funds.
Moving forward, the evaluation of this programming is what it’s intending to do.
The department’s Strategic Investments Program Policy formally expired in 2011.
In her response to the question that I had asked her in the spring, the minister indicated that a new policy was expected to be introduced by the fall of 2015. We’re here, so where is it?
Mr. Speaker, the Strategic Investments Program is one of EDT’s largest economic development contribution programs and is presently being reviewed as per our departmental priority for the fiscal 2015-16. Currently that review is still in place.
Question 133 – 4(3): Baffin Island Caribou (Keyootak)
My questions will be directed to the Minister of Environment.
As we are all aware, in the Baffin region, there has been a caribou moratorium and then it opened for hunting this summer.
It was explained to us how many caribou can be caught. It was 250 caribou for the whole Baffin region for the communities that were closed to hunting.
Mr. Speaker, this past summer when they were allowed to hunt caribou and then they had to stop it in October for mating season, we were told not to hunt during mating season.
Can you give us an update on that?
What he’s talking about, during mating season, I will have to look into that to see if that’s actually the case.
I can’t respond to that question right now. I’ll have to look into it first.
This passed summer we tried to go caribou hunting, including myself. We were looking for caribou after it opened and then in the fall, just before we went to the fall session, I really wanted to go caribou hunting again and our conservation officer told us to stop because it was supposed to be closed again in October for hunting.
Mr. Speaker, can the minister explain to us: did you inform the HTOs in the communities that there would be another closure in October or did the conservation officers just do that on their own?
Hon. Johnny Mike (interpretation): As I stated, I will have to look into this matter first before I can answer his question as to what happened with that.
The 250 tags were made available and I don’t know why it was stopped in October. I will look into that.
When the caribou moratorium first started, we were verbally informed and that’s why I brought this up in the House. The first time the moratorium was introduced, we were only told verbally and I wanted to make sure the communities were not just told verbally.
We all know how the government operates. The government never wants to collaborate with Inuit, and the people we represent don’t want just verbal notifications but actual notices and announcements about the changes or the way it will be operated. They want to be notified through the proper channels, especially our harvesters if the animals they are subsisting on will be subject to management changes.
Most residents don’t want verbal notifications, as per my past statements.
I wonder if this initiative will fall into that type of verbal notification only and if residents are to be informed, all methods of notification have to be used for the moratorium issue.
Will we get written notices?
Hon. Johnny Mike (interpretation): Thank you. I also thank my colleague for that question.
As I indicated earlier, we will have to review this regarding the caribou moratorium and the reopening of the 250 tags. It was all in correspondence. We made sure that we got the information out there regarding caribou hunting in the Baffin region.
As I indicated earlier, I will have to review the situation and see if there’s a paper trail and what happened because I wasn’t aware that people weren’t allowed to hunt caribou during the mating season.
I never made a statement on this issue in the House. I will look into this because I never said anything in the House about putting a ban on caribou hunting during the mating season. I will look into this.
Question 134 – 4(3): Need for Daycare Spaces across Nunavut (Angnakak)
Mr. Speaker, as the minister is aware, the availability of child care is an important issue across many of the Nunavut communities.
Mr. Speaker, can the minister provide an update on what steps his department has taken to determine the number of daycare spaces that are needed across Nunavut?
On this issue, the Department of Education wanted to initiate a review for the 2014-15 fiscal year.
However, this initiative was stalled due to the (interpretation ends) Auditor General’s (interpretation) report which the department wanted to focus on, especially the recommendations.
Although we wanted to conduct the review in fiscal year 2014-15, we haven’t been able to conduct that to date and I can’t provide details on where this stands. However, the review will be commenced through (interpretation ends) public consultations (interpretation) and that is where it stands.
I look forward to hearing more about that kind of information.
Mr. Speaker, as the minister is aware, his department has committed to include a daycare in all educational facilities built in Nunavut.
Can the minister provide an update of how many new daycare spaces have been provided to date through this policy?
As per past departmental announcements, all new schools being designed and constructed include a daycare facility.
To date, all new schools that have been constructed have included a daycare centre. I can refer to the school in Naujaat as well as other new schools that have a daycare spaces.
I don’t have the number of spaces at this point, but I can give you the information once we have all the numbers.
This policy applies to all new educational facilities and not only the schools but also the community learning centres.
All new educational facilities will include daycare spaces. I will return to you once we have all the information.
I look forward to hearing more about that as well.
Mr. Speaker, our review of he Department of Education’s capital plan has shown that not very many new schools will be built in the near future.
Can the minister indicate whether any consideration has been given to including daycare spaces in other new government buildings or what other means for providing more new daycare spaces across Nunavut?
All future facilities we would be building incorporate daycare space, and further this applies to buildings being (interpretation ends) renovated (interpretation) as it includes that daycare space. Even if the building isn’t new, once the building is being (interpretation ends) renovated (interpretation) then the daycare space would be added as part of the renovation.
These are the two situations where this occurs, but I can’t speak to other government facilities, however I am focussing on the schools here. When schools are going to be renovated, the daycare space is included even if it is an older building. That’s the response I can provide.
Question 135 – 4(3): Harvester Support Programs (Enook)
I recently received a letter from the minister indicating that the Hunters and Trappers Disaster Compensation Program review has been completed.
Now that it is completed, what is the next step now that the consultations are done?
The review has been done and I indicated earlier that even though it’s completed, it would have to go to my office once we have the final report. After reviewing it personally, I directed my staff because I thought it was completed, but there is one additional review that has to go around.
I indicated that I wanted to give it back to the communities. Even though it was completed, I wanted to give it back to the communities. It’s back at the community level.
They wanted to get additional information.
The report was complete, but as the Minister of Environment, I thought that it has to be facts and figures and because of that, I returned it to the communities and to the hunters and trappers organizations.
They are reviewing the final report.
The hunters and trappers organizations received a copy of the final report. It’s an all-inclusive report.
When were those copies given to the hunters and trappers organizations?
It was just recent at the beginning of this sitting.
I directed my staff to get it back to the communities, especially to the hunters and trappers organizations.
That’s where we stand at this point. It’s for all of Nunavut.
When you wrote a letter to me, and I will go back to it again, you indicated that the consultation portion was completed, but that’s apparently not the case. It was not completed yet.
Now that the final report is back to the hunters and trappers organizations and the board of directors, when it comes back to you and you don’t like the contents of it, are you going to give it back to the communities?
The consultation stage is done. It has been done for quite a while.
The member for Arviat asked the same question in the spring sitting.
At that time, I responded that the consultation stage is done. We’re giving it back to the communities for further review and amend it if necessary. The consultation stage is done.
I wanted to get additional information from the communities and for the communities to have a change for a final review because I felt that there was a need for a final review. I indicated earlier that I would be able to table the final report in the winter session.
Moving on, Item 7.
Committee Report 007 – 4(3): Report on the Review of the 2014-2015 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nunavut (Hickes)
I happily rise today to present the report of the Standing Committee on Oversight of Government Operations and Public Accounts on its review of the 2014-15 annual report to the Legislative Assembly of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nunavut.
She was reappointed in February of 2015 for a fourth five-year term of office.
*See Appendix for full text of Committee Report 7 – 4(3).
As an independent officer of the House, the Information and Privacy Commissioner is required to prepare and submit an annual report to the Legislative Assembly.
Since her initial appointment in 1999, the Information and Privacy Commissioner has submitted an annual report each year to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act exists to achieve two broad goals: ensuring that the public has access to government information while preventing the unauthorized use or disclosure of personal information held by government departments and other public bodies.
The Information and Privacy Commissioner’s 2014-15 annual report was backdoor tabled under the provisions of Rule 44(2) of the Rules of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut on July 7, 2015.
The government’s 2013-14 annual report on the administration of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on November 4, 2014.
However, the government’s formal response to the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s 2013-14 annual report has not yet been tabled in the House.
Mr. Speaker, this year’s appearances of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and Government of Nunavut officials before the standing committee took place in the Chamber of the Legislative Assembly from September 28 through 29, 2015.
The standing committee’s hearings were televised live across the territory and were open to the public and news media to observe from the Visitors’ Gallery. Transcripts from the standing committee’s hearings are available on the Legislative Assembly’s website.
The standing committee notes that the government has made progress in a number of areas in recent years.
Amendments to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act were passed by the Legislative Assembly in 2012 and came into force in May of 2013.
These amendments provide the Information and Privacy Commissioner with clear authority to undertake privacy-related reviews concerning personal information held by public bodies.
The amendments also establish a statutory requirement for public bodies to notify her office where a material breach of privacy has occurred with respect to personal information under their control.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs has recently produced a formal Privacy Breach and Incident Policy, as well as a Privacy Management Manual.
Amendments to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Regulations were published in the April 2015 edition of Part II of the Nunavut Gazette.
The most significant amendment is the inclusion of housing associations and housing authorities under the definition of “public body.”
This means that the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act now applies to local housing organizations. This is an issue that received considerable attention during the standing committee’s 2014 televised hearing on the 2012-13 and 2013-14 annual reports of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
However, further action is required in other areas, such as the application of access to information and protection of privacy legislation to municipalities and addressing the need for health-specific privacy legislation in the territory.
First, the public disclosure of information concerning Government of Nunavut contracting, procurement and leasing activities.
The standing committee’s report raises a number of continuing concerns regarding the extent to which information concerning the government’s activities and expenditures in these areas is accessible to the public.
The application of access to information and protection of privacy legislation to municipalities. At present, Nunavummiut have statutorily prescribed rights under federal and territorial legislation concerning access to information and protection of privacy in relation to the institutions of the Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut.
The development of health-specific privacy legislation and the management of electronic health records. Nunavut is now the only Canadian jurisdiction without health-specific privacy legislation.
The application of access to information and protection of privacy legislation to district education authorities.
In addition, amendments to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act in relation to the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s discretion to extend the time for requesting a review.
Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, the Information and Privacy Commissioner discontinued her private law practice in order to allow her to focus on her work as Information and Privacy Commissioner for both Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
The standing committee is of the view that this will help enable the Information and Privacy Commissioner to engage in more training, education, and outreach activities, as well as helping to ensure that her website is kept up to date on an ongoing basis.
Consequently, a number of recommendations in this year’s report of the standing committee are directed to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner itself.
These include recommendations concerning the following thematic areas:
The importance of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner meeting with the Government of Nunavut’s IQK to exchange perspectives on issues related to access to information and protection of privacy.
During the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s recent appearance before the standing committee, a thoughtful dialogue took place concerning privacy rights and the obligations of government in the unique cultural context of Nunavut.
Public access to the government’s written responses to Information and Privacy Commissioner’s formal review recommendations.
Also, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s upcoming comprehensive review of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Lastly, privacy audits of Government of Nunavut departments, Crown agencies, and territorial corporations.
Mr. Speaker, I would note for the record that the standing committee is requesting that the government provide a comprehensive response to recommendations made to it in this report, pursuant to Rule 91(5) of the Rules of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.
Speaker (interpretation): There is agreement. Item 13. Tabling of Documents. (interpretation ends) The Hon. Minister of Environment, Mr. Mike.
Tabled Document 043 – 4(3): 2014-2015 Natural Resources Conservation Trust Fund Annual Report (Mike)
Hon. Johnny Mike: Uqaqtii, I am pleased to table the 2014-15 Natural Resources Conservation Trust Fund Annual Report.
Tabled Document 044 – 4(3): Nunavut Lottery Financial Statements, March 31, 2015 (Mike)
I am pleased to table the (interpretation ends) March 31, 2015 Nunavut Lottery’s Financial Statements. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Tabled Document 045 – 4(3): Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal Annual Report 2013-2014 (Okalik)
Hon. Paul Okalik: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal Annual Report for 2013-14. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Tabling of Documents. (interpretation ends) The Hon. Minister of Economic Development and Transportation, Ms. Ell-Kanayuk.
Tabled Document 046 – 4(3): Oil and Gas Summit Report, January 12 to 15, 2015 (Ell-Kanayuk)
I am pleased to table the Oil and Gas Summit Report held in Iqaluit, January 12 to 15, 2015.
Tabled Documents 107 – 4(2) and 149 – 4(2) with Mr. Akoak in the Chair.
Before proceeding further, we will take a 20-minute break.
>>House recessed at 15:27 and Committee resumed at 15:57
Chairman (Mr. Akoak): Good afternoon, fellow MLAs (interpretation) and Inuit who are watching and listening to the proceedings. (interpretation ends) I would like to call the committee meeting to order.
In Committee of the Whole, we have the following items to deal with: Tabled Documents 107 – 4(2) and 149 – 4(2).
Mr. Chairman, we wish to deal with Tabled Document 107 – 4(2) titled “Agreement for the Management and Administration of Local Housing Organization Programs.”
Are we in agreement that we begin with Tabled Document 107 – 4(2)?
Tabled Document 107 – 4(2): Agreement for the Management and Administration of Local Housing Organization Programs – Consideration in Committee
Chairman: Is the committee agreed that Minister Kuksuk’s staff go to the witness table?
Chairman: Iqsuqti, please assist the staff to go to the witness table.
Minister Kuksuk, please introduce your staff.
Hon. George Kuksuk (interpretation): Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. Good afternoon, my colleagues and Nunavummiut who are watching and listening to the proceedings.
Mr. Chairman, with me today to my left is Steven Hooey, Chief Operating Officer at the Nunavut Housing Corporation, and to my right is the President of the Nunavut Housing Corporation, Lori Kimball.
Proceed with your opening comments, Minister Kuksuk.
I want to first of all thank my colleagues for the opportunity to discuss the management agreement between the Nunavut Housing Corporation and its community partners, the local housing organizations.
The management agreement is an important document, as it is the basis of the corporation’s longstanding relationship with LHOs.
Mr. Chairman, I believe that many of my colleagues would share my sense that this relationship has taken a backseat to other priorities for a number of years now. Although very valid priorities, such as the delivery of several major construction initiatives to provide desperately needed housing to Nunavummiut, it has been clear for some time to NHC that it needs to do more to support its LHO partners.
NHC has been working hard to reconnect with our partners and determine the best ways to restore a strong working relationship.