EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I believe we allocate two tags for the McClintock Channel population.
Is that two tags per hunters and trappers organization, or two tags total?
It is for that zone on the McClintock Channel so it’s two tags for the whole area.
I thank the minister for clarifying that number.
Could the minister tell me why the number is so low?
Two seems like a fairly low number.
I don’t know how many previous tags were allowed but why is it only two if the population has recovered?
The recovery for polar bears takes years. It takes a long time for a population of polar bears to increase.
That is why we are diligent in allowing only two tags for that area.
As the years go by and we see the numbers rise, then we can certainly look at revisiting the figures under the memorandums of understanding with the hunters and trappers organizations and maybe allowing an increase here and there.
I thank the minister for explaining that. Can the minister indicate how closely the department works with the hunters and trappers organizations when they are reviewing the decision on when to increase the numbers?
Hon. Patterk Netser: We currently have memorandums of understanding with the hunters and trappers organizations and Nunavut Wildlife Management Board. It is a very complex issue and very technical and I don’t really want to try to get into that but we have a memorandums of understanding with the hunters and trappers organizations on the allowable harvest for that area.
I certainly appreciate why you don’t want to get into a technical answer there.
Maybe you could clarify, are the hunters and trappers organizations currently satisfied there are only two tags or are they putting pressure on you to increase the number of tags?
I can say that no hunters and trappers organization is ever satisfied with the allowable harvest we give to the communities and I’m sure the members from that area are not satisfied with the numbers either.
I wanted to follow up as well on the Community Harvesters Assistance Program where you have $251,000 identified.
Do you have a list by region of all the outpost camps that receive funding?
Under the Community Harvesters Assistance Program, we divide it into three regions because Nunavut has three regions.
In the Baffin region we give $150,000 to the Nunavut Inuit Wildlife Secretariat who administers that fund for us. For the Kivalliq region, it’s $50,000, and for the Kitikmeot region, it’s $50,000 as well.
I wonder if I could ask the minister, if, for the information of the standing committee and the Members of the Legislative Assembly, if he can provide a list of all the outpost camps by region and how much each outpost camp received out of the funding that was approved.
The way the Community Harvest Assistance Program funds are spent is decided on jointly between the department’s regional wildlife managers and the regional wildlife organizations.
This allows the money to be spent in areas that are deemed most important by each region, but I can commit to giving him the information that he is asking for.
I look forward to receiving that information. I think it would be very useful for us to know how many outpost camps there are in Nunavut and how much each one receives.
An issue came up several years ago when I was Mayor of Cambridge Bay. In the community you would walk by them all the time, but you would never see them. They are not visible.
Some of them are well hidden, and that’s the environmental hazards in the communities.
I remember we had a meeting with the Nunavut Association of Municipalities one year where we passed a resolution calling on the Government of Nunavut to help hamlets to undertake an inventory of environmental hazards in each community.
We roughly estimated the cost to each hamlet would be about $30,000 to $32,000.
I wonder if the minister could tell us if his officials are working with say the Nunavut Association of Municipalities to, at some point, take some action on inventorying those environmental hazards, and seeking funding from the federal government or other sources to clean them up in the communities.
Our department is involved with the hamlets in identifying contaminated sites, and when we do that we give them over to the appropriate department that does the physical work of cleaning up the contaminated sites, and I think it depends entirely on the budget as well too.
I think this year we are talking with Rankin Inlet, and Iqaluit and Cambridge Bay is one of the communities that we are currently talking with at the moment.
It is a relief to know that you are working with the hamlets because it is quite a serious issue in many communities.
I think we should undertake as much as we can within our resources to help the communities to clean up the hazards, or identify them.
Mr. Minister, on page I-14 in your business plan your priorities in 2006-07, you said work with the Nunavut Water Board to review water licensing conditions for development projects.
Your status is “ongoing completed reviews and provide a recommendation to date.”
Can you provide me with an overview of how your department works with agencies such as the Nunavut Water Board, Nunavut Impact Review Board, and the Nunavut Planning Commission?
What is your role in assisting them to do the work that they’re commissioned to do in Nunavut.
Hon. Patterk Netser: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Under the Land Claims Agreement we are required to work with these individual boards to implement programs and if there is any that need to be done, such as harvests; umingmak harvest in Cambridge Bay, we have to deal with the Nunavut Impact Review Board.
These boards were set up in place under the Land Claims Agreement and under that agreement we have to work with them in order to process the work that we have to do.
I think you do have to work closely but I am just wondering how much input do you have into the final decisions that these organizations make with respect to applications under their jurisdiction?
We do not have any influence in any way. We just provide information that is asked by these boards.
Recently an issue arose in the Kitikmeot region pertaining to the Miramar Mining water license application to the Nunavut Water Board.
The Nunavut Water Board rejected their application, and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association wrote a letter to the Nunavut Water Board. They were quite concerned because the Kitikmeot Inuit Association feels that the application, itself, should not have been rejected, outright and that the Nunavut Water Board was too hard on the applicant and that the Nunavut Water Board could have imposed conditions to be met by the Miramar Mine before they went into production.
The rejection of that Nunavut Water Board license seriously jeopardized the project. They had been reviewed and approved by the Nunavut Impact Review Board; they were reviewed and received the final approval by the minister of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The Kitikmeot Inuit Association had it approved and in fact they had an Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement in place ready to proceed.
There are a number of Inuit-owned businesses in Cambridge Bay that are involved in the project. It has a lot of employment opportunities so the rejection of the Nunavut Water Board license application has put everything into a bit of indecision of where and how they are going to pursue it.
I understand that the President of Kitikmeot Inuit Association has written letters and a minister wrote a letter to you.
I wonder if you have had a chance to talk to the Nunavut Water Board to see what their specific concerns were that they had to outright reject the water application license.
The particular project that he is talking about is the Doris North Project. The water license application was rejected due to a number of deficiencies that were highlighted by the Water Board.
I understand Miramar is due to resubmit this month, so we have a few days for that resubmission.
I was just wondering, if the minister himself had a chance to take a look at the Nunavut Water Board, and what their specific issues were … there were some really serious outstanding issues there, issues that the applicant can overcome in time to get the project license approved so they can proceed this spring.
These independent boards are bodies that we as ministers don’t talk to directly.
Can the minister indicate if he has a Government of Nunavut representative on the Nunavut Water Board?
I believe we have a member on there but I stand to be corrected.
I believe the Government of Nunavut has members or appointees on most of these boards. One of the issues I have raised, yesterday and again today with other government ministers is delays in applicants getting their permits to proceed.
There seems to be a lot of red tape and other issues surrounding some of these applications.
The proponents are not totally clear on who they apply to or how they should proceed.
There seems to be … even the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, who does a lot of work in that area. They deal with mining companies every day. They are confused as to why the Nunavut Water Board outright rejected the Miramar application.
I think it is important that the Government of Nunavut, if they are interested in economic development for the future of Nunavut, try to find a way to balance the environmental protection with resource development so that they co-exist.
We shouldn’t throw up all kinds of hoops, hurdles, and red tape if proponents are spending millions and millions and millions of dollars.
Communities are involved. There are lots of community consultations, and compliance with stuff. We should try to find a way to work with the proponents to ensure that they do satisfy the environmental considerations and that the projects are not unduly delayed.
Timing is everything in the mineral resources sector and, in the Kitikmeot anyway, we do depend a lot on the various mining companies.
We have a close relationship with many mines for the last 25 years plus a lot of employment and business and other opportunities for our community that people are going to depend on.
I urge the minister to participate in that workshop that Minister Simailak is going to have later this year. It is always good to find a way to speed up the process and hear everybody talk together and find out how we can move forward.
If the minister wants to comment on that, it would be much appreciated.
The member makes good points. However, the Government of Nunavut cannot speed up the process within these institutions of public government; however we are concerned with it.
We need to ensure that the environment is protected for future generations of Nunavut.
Moving right along. We’re on page I-6.
Branch Summary. Program Management.
Total Operations and Maintenance. $13,735,000.
Chairman: Page I-9 is an information page.
Go back to page I-4.
Departmental Summary. Detail of Expenditures.
Operations and Maintenance. Total Operations and Maintenance. $17,261,000.
Chairman: Are we agreed that the Department of Environment is concluded?
Chairman: Thank you. Thank you, Minister, Ms. Cooper, and Mr. Awa.
I just wanted to say thank you to the members and to thank my officials for being able to attend here with me. I will take into consideration your concerns. (interpretation ends) We will reflect on the statements made by the members.
At this time, we will proceed with Human Resources.
I will ask Minister Tapardjuk of Human Resources to make his opening remarks.
Bill 01 – Appropriation (Operations & Maintenance) Act, 2007-08 – Consideration in Committee – Human Resources
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Good afternoon Mr. Chairman, and members of this committee.
I am pleased to present the proposed main estimates and business plan for the Department of Human Resources for 2007-08.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Human Resources has been allocated a budget of $18 million which is unchanged since last year’s budget.
Through internal reallocations we have increased our complement of 91 staff to 94.
This includes 16 Management Intern positions that are assigned across most government departments.
While keeping in mind the fiscal restraints the Government of Nunavut faces, the Human Resources Department has re-profiled internal money to support program requirements that are consistent with the principles of Pinasuaqtavut and support the guidelines of Article 23 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
About 30 percent or $5.4 million of the department’s budget for the fiscal year is allocated for Inuit representation in the workforce, and to do training and employment initiatives.
We will endeavour to increase the representation of Inuit in the Government of Nunavut by providing departments with tools and technical support to achieve 56 percent Inuit employment by the end of the 2009-10 fiscal year.
In addition, we will continue to lead the implementation of the Inuit Employment Plan by working closely with the departments to develop a more defined plan, targets, and shared accountabilities, taking into consideration the challenges of current budget constraints.
The Department of Human Resources has conducted an employee survey to provide Government of Nunavut employees with an opportunity to provide input to ways to achieve the government’s target of 56 percent Inuit representation by 2010 and will act on those suggestions.
The department has also proposed the concept of an Inuit Peer Group Program to the Tuttarviit Committee to be initiated this fiscal year.
This program is designed to create a positive office atmosphere consistent with Inuit societal values and will support employee retention and increased staff productivity.
About 44 percent or $7.9 million of the department’s budget is allocated for the effective management of its recruitment, retention, training and development programs. We will continue to look for new ways to improve our Centralized Equipment Services, and the casual hiring process.
For example, the department is piloting a project with the Nunavut Skills Development Database to improve accessibility to casual employment opportunities for residents of Nunavut in their communities.
The department is continually enhancing the staffing process and guidelines to provide a responsive and transparent recruitment process to all government departments and to ensure the consistent application of the priority hiring policy which provides employment priority for beneficiaries.
In 2007 and 2008, the Priority Hiring Policy will be reviewed as per Cabinet’s request.
We will continue to provide training to Staffing Practitioners within the Department of Health and Social Services, Education and Nunavut Arctic College by communicating and advising them of Government of Nunavut approved staffing process and guidelines.
Through our Sivuliqtiksat Program, we continue to provide Government of Nunavut departments with a supportive and effective internship model to assist them in meeting their Article 23 targets.
This program has recently been expanded from 14 to 16 positions and we are offering more internship opportunities in our decentralized communities.
Providing Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun language training opportunities to employees remains a priority for my department. This coming fiscal year, we will be working in partnership with Nunavut Arctic College, the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, and Tuttarviit to complete the Inuktitut/Inuinnaqtun language training needs assessment which began last year.
Through our ongoing partnership with Nunavut Arctic College and the expertise of language specialists throughout Nunavut, we will offer an expanded and diversified language training program for both first language and second language learners of Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun.
We are currently working with the Department of Finance to develop a comprehensive human resources strategy for finance positions in the Government of Nunavut.
The strategy will provide a plan of action for strengthening our capacity, expanding our knowledge and skills and increasing Beneficiary employment in the area of financial management.
The Summer Student Employment Program continues to be successful and funding is maintained at $950,000.
With the ongoing support and cooperation of all Government of Nunavut departments, we will continue to provide training and employment opportunities that provide bridges to full-time employment for Nunavut students.
The remaining $4.7 million or 26 percent of the total budget is allocated for management of operations and job evaluation, employee relations, and employee wellness programs.
A two stage implementation of Leave and Attendance, the last module of Phase 1 of the Human Resources Information and Payroll System will be complete in the summer of 2008.
Completion of this phase combined with the planned incorporation of selected modules of Phase 2 will enable departments to use the system and reporting capabilities to improve human resource management throughout the Government of Nunavut.
The review of the Public Service Act and consultations will be completed in the fall of 2007, and will reflect the objectives, policies and practices of the Nunavut Government.
The Act will be introduced in the legislature in the spring of 2008.
We will also research and develop a database for job evaluation information and will implement a Language Skills Profile for Government of Nunavut job descriptions.
The department will develop and implement an attendance management program and have targeted a minimum 30 percent level in resolving grievances.
In 2007, the Human Resources Department, working with the Department of Finance, will continue negotiations on the new collective agreement wit the Nunavut Employees Union to replace the one that expired on September 30, 2006.
The negotiations have begun and the first face-to-face meetings were in mid-December.
The Department of Human Resources will continue to provide wellness programs by delivering year-round courses and workshops designed to improve the well-being of employees and to ensure safe working conditions.
The programs and services of the Human Resources department continue to support the goals and priorities in Pinasuaqtavut and are culturally sensitive to Inuit societal values.
To enable us to carry out our tasks in leading and developing the government’s public service and providing human resource management support to Government of Nunavut departments and agencies, we will need the resources identified in the draft main estimates.
I would be pleased to answer your questions.
Would you like to appear with any of your officials today?
Chairman (interpretation): Sergeant-at-arms, if you would escort the officials, please.
Before you do that, do we agree that the officials can go up to the witness table? Are we in agreement?
On my right is Victor Tootoo. He is my Deputy Minister for Human Resources. On my left we have our Corporate Manager, Bob Loehr.
Chairman: Chair of Standing Committee on Government Operations’ opening comments.
Mr. Tootoo: Mr. Chairman, I am extremely pleased on this lovely Friday afternoon to be able to provide you with my opening comments to the 2007-08 Main Estimates and Business Plan of the Department of Human Resources.
The standing committee notes that the proposed 2007-08 budget for the department is $18,019,000. This is the same amount that was budgeted for the 2006-07 fiscal year.
This represents a 66 percent increase over the department’s initial 1999-2000 budget allocation of $10,836,000.
The department’s total number of PYs has increased by approximately 11 percent since the 2004-05 fiscal year.
The standing committee notes that the Government of Nunavut’s overall vacancy rate continues to remain static at approximately 20 percent. In other words, one out of every five positions in the Government of Nunavut stands vacant.
Approximately 42 percent of the vacant positions are located here in Iqaluit, where there are approximately 311 vacancies.
A number of other communities also have a significant number of vacancies.
In January of 2000, the Government of Nunavut-wide vacancy rate was approximately 25 percent. It remains unclear to the committee if reducing the government’s overall vacancy rate to 10 percent is a realistic goal in the short or even medium term.
The standing committee recognizes that the department has Government of Nunavut-wide responsibilities in the areas of job evaluation and classification. The committee continues to be concerned by what appears to be a high rate of growth in the number of Government of Nunavut positions classified as being in the management categories.
According to the Government of Nunavut’s quarterly Inuit Employment Plan Report, in January of 2000, there were 233 positions across the Government of Nunavut classified as middle management.
That number has since grown to approximately 432; an increase of over 85 percent.
By contrast, the number of administrative support positions has actually decreased by almost 15 percent over the same period of time.
According to the Government of Nunavut’s September 2006 Inuit Employment Plan Quarterly Report, there were a total of 473 casual employees employed with the Government of Nunavut, of whom 311 were Inuit.
181 casuals were employed by the Department of Health and Social Services. In the past, concerns have been raised with respect to the excessive use of casuals to fill positions on a long term basis.
The standing committee is supportive of efforts to ensure that casual hiring concentrates on brining Inuit into the Government of Nunavut’s workforce.
The committee also notes that the department has implemented a number of recommendations from its recent audit of the casual staffing process.
The department’s business plan indicates that it is continuing to develop a new Public Service Act, which up until today, we thought may be introduced in 2008.
The standing committee would wish to see the Nunavut Employees Union and the Federation of Nunavut Teachers have meaningful involvement in the development of this legislation.
The committee has also noted the minister’s commitment to fully consider the issue of whistle blower protection in the development of the Act. The idea of reintroducing binding arbitration into the Government of Nunavut’s collective bargaining process is worthy of careful consideration.
The standing committee also notes that the most recent Annual Reports of the Integrity Commissioner of Nunavut of the Legislative Assembly has recommended that senior Government of Nunavut officials be subject to the same legislative standards of ethical conduct as ministers and Members of the Legislative Assembly.  The standing committee looks forward to the new Statute providing for the Public Service Code of Conduct and clear conflict of interest rules.
According to the 2004-05 Public Service Annual Report, 421 Government of Nunavut employees received a $1,500 bilingual bonus. The 2005-06 Public Service Annual Report does not provide data on the current numbers of employees receiving a bilingual bonus.
According to the department’s 2006-07 business plan, a draft of a new Language Incentive Policy had been completed. Recent ministerial correspondence to the standing committee indicates that no new initiatives in this area have been approved, as a consequence of the Government of Nunavut’s fiscal restraint measures.
The standing committee supports measures to compensate for, and encourage the use of, Inuit languages in the workplace, especially with respect to front-line positions that directly serve the public.
Mr. Chairman, the committee notes the department’s focus on the Government of Nunavut Inuit Employment Plan. According to the department’s own Inuit Employment Plan statistics, 888 beneficiaries were employed by the Government of Nunavut in January of 2000.
A total of 1,377 beneficiaries were employed in September 2006, an increase of 55 percent.
Members note that the overall Inuit employment rate in the Government of Nunavut is approximately 48 percent.
Members note with particular concern that the Inuit employment rate for headquarters positions in Iqaluit is just over 33 percent. In other words, only three out of every ten filled Government of Nunavut jobs in Iqaluit is staffed by a beneficiary.