EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
So with that, I want to wish you all the best, and to wish my colleagues here a happy and safe summer as well.
Member’s Statement 499 – 2(4): Father’s Day Message to Fathers (Netser)
I would also like to thank Mr. Kattuk for being someone who talks about life in the most memorable terms just like elders do.
Mr. Speaker, it will be Father’s Day on June 15 and I would like to make a brief statement on that.
I urge all children to wish their fathers a Happy Father’s Day.
I would also like to tell fathers themselves to look after their children because they are building the road for them to take.
We have seen and followed the footsteps of our own fathers, so be mindful of the future you are making with your footsteps.
From time to time, we have lost our temper with our children, but when it passes, we wish to be forgiven by our own children because we know we have to share life as the future unfolds. It is our inherent duty as fathers to lead our children forward and help shape a future our children deserve.
If there are no more... I’m sorry.
Member’s Statement 500 – 2(4): Wishing Nunavummiut a Safe Spring and Summer (Okalik)
Today is our last day and I would like to make it clear that, even though this is our last day, I will be travelling to the communities and I will probably go to half of the communities.
Let your constituents know that I will be travelling to the communities and I am always thankful every time I go to the communities because when I go to the communities, they take a big load off of me because they’re always so welcoming.
So I thank them in advance and I am looking forward to seeing them.
I wish all Nunavummiut a safe spring and summer. Take good care of your relatives and enjoy the hunting season this summer.
If there are no more, we will go back to our Orders of the Day.
If there are no… my apologies, Minister of Community and Government Services, Minister Brown.
Return to Oral Question 563 – 2(4): CGS Initiatives in Kugluktuk (Brown)
I have a return to a question on the shortage of naphtha in Kugluktuk. The Petroleum Products Division discovered, during their annual year end inventory tour in early March of this year, that the inventory of naphtha on hand in Kugluktuk would not be sufficient to sustain sales until the summer re-supply season.
On April 4, 2008, a total of 12 drums of naphtha were airlifted from our Cambridge Bay inventory to provide sufficient fuel until the anticipated re-supply date.
However, due to increased activities in the community this spring, our sales of naphtha increased from 10,000 litres for the past four years to 17,000 litres this fiscal year.
PPD was advised by the fuel delivery contractor in Kugluktuk that our remaining inventory was nearly depleted the week of May 23.
PPD is working to secure… pardon me, Mr. Speaker, I will start that over. PPD is working to source a supply of naphtha to airlift into Kugluktuk. However, all suppliers contacted are waiting on the main supply from Imperial Royal Limited of Edmonton, Alberta.
PPD was advised that the supply of naphtha from Imperial would not be available until the first week of June.
PPD will airlift an additional 15 drums of naphtha to sustain the community as soon as the product is available.
Hon. Patterk Netser: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) I would like to welcome all the visitors here.
My Constituency Assistant in Coral Harbour is Paul Pudlat.
And right next to him is Lucasie Nakoolak, formerly of Coral Harbour, but I believe he is now a minister in Taloyoak. He looks almost like his father, so it’s very good to see him.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome them to the Gallery.
I am very honoured to finally recognize a person from Repulse Bay, Seemee Maliki.
He is originally from Igloolik but has lived in Repulse Bay for a long time. With him is his son, Paul Maliki, who is well-known throughout Nunavut, perhaps throughout the world, as a very famous carver. Some of his work is even here in the Assembly and outside as well.
I welcome both of them to the Gallery.
Welcome to the Gallery. (interpretation ends) Item 5.
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery. (interpretation) I would like to welcome all of our visitors to the Gallery.
If there are no Oral Questions... Member for Cambridge Bay, Mr. Peterson.
Question 607 – 2(4): Road Dust (Peterson)
I have a few questions here. My question is for the Minister of Community and Government Services.
Mr. Speaker, last week, I walked around Iqaluit and noticed there has been quite a bit of dust and it has been hard on the eyes and throat.
Mr. Speaker, I raised the issue of road dust control with the Minister of Community and Government Services during our fall session and I suggested a meeting with the Nunavut Association of Municipalities to discuss how to control dust on the roads this summer.
My question for the minister: can the minister update or inform the House what her department is doing this summer to help communities control the dust?
Hon. Levinia Brown (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank my colleague for raising his question.
All Nunavummiut are concerned about dust, especially when it gets windy.
I can only tell the member that all hamlets within Nunavut get funding of about $48,000 every year from the government to try and address the road dust problems.
Mr. Speaker, it has been well-documented that road dust is a health hazard and that it’s a danger to pedestrians and traffic, and I mentioned that during the fall session. Other jurisdictions in Canada have actually addressed it by coming up with some innovative solutions. In Northern Quebec, I think they even paved most of the roads because it’s that serious down there.
My question for the minister: would the minister explain to the House why the issue of uncontrolled road dust has not been a priority for Community and Government Services in recent years?
It is an obvious concern.
We can work closely with other organizations and provinces.
As a government, if these were related to health matters, we can sit down with the Health Department to resolve these concerns.
As well, I believe that there are funds set aside for that through the Building Canada Fund.
However, the plans are not finalized yet.
This is still an utmost priority for this government and as I mentioned earlier, $48,000 has been set aside in our budgets for every community.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the minister does recognizes that dust is an issue. I’m not sure about the figure that she just gave me, the $48,000, it doesn’t sound like a lot of money for such an important issue in the communities.
Mr. Speaker, I’m sure the Department of Community and Government Services has done some research into road dust.
My question to the minister: would the minister tell us which method of road dust control the Department of Community and Government Services prefers?
Thank you for raising that issue.
Yes, this is indeed an important and serious matter due to its health implications. Some of our people can get health complications due to the dust.
The mandate for the road dust control methods lies with the hamlets, and the communities have free rein as to the method and usage of those funds to deal with the dust control issues.
I have been apprised of some of the methods used in the communities and every community has slightly different methods of dust control which they lay down on the roads.
Roads with heavy road traffic and the main roads within the hamlets usually are the ones that are focused on for dust control. I will keep encouraging the hamlets to inform us of the issues surrounding dust control.
If I am notified that the funding of $48,000 is inadequate, then I could look into the matter and help in trying to find solutions to this problem.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize that hamlets are responsible for dust control, but they are also responsible for thousand other things and there is only so much funding to go around.
Last summer in Cambridge Bay, the hamlet had to water their roads two or three times a day and that just wasn’t adequate. You need a more permanent solution than watering.
I believe this isn’t a problem that’s going to disappear overnight.
The increasing use of vehicles and four wheelers contributes to the dust control.
The minister mentioned earlier that she talked to the Department of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, my question for the minister: has the minister talked to her colleagues about forming an Interdepartmental Committee of Community and Government Services, Economic Development and Transportation, and Health and Social Services to talk about innovative solutions to control the road dust in the communities in the summer months?
Hon. Levinia Brown (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to acknowledge the Hamlet of Kugluktuk who waters their roads to control road dust.
This is indeed an increasing problem, seemingly with no end in sight.
This can impact on several ministerial portfolios, including Community and Government Services, Economic Development and Transportation, Health, as well as Environment. Quite a number of departments can be impacted by this issue. This is especially the case if the road dust causes health complications or issues.
We would not be the only department dealing with it, but I know that we are the only department to allocate funds to combat this problem and this is to try and minimize the impacts on our residents.
I am sympathetic to the concerns of our residents with respect to this common concern, but I take this problem seriously and will assist in finding solutions.
Question 608 – 2(4): Help for Substance Abuse Addicts (Simailak)
My questions are for the Minister responsible for Health, especially with regards to her Social Services portfolio.
Our population is increasing, who are our fellow Nunavummiut, especially the younger generations. However, it is affecting those who have grown past the age of majority and whom are now capable of thinking for themselves.
A person has to make their own determination as to their condition and only an individual can ask for help prior to them being assisted by the pertinent services.
However, unfortunate as the case may be, people with impaired mental faculties are gaining the age of majority. These people are suffering from FASD, or suffering from drug or substance abuse stemming from their childhood, and so on.
However they fell into that category of mentally impaired people doesn’t matter, but these people cannot make decisions as it relates to their mental or physical health and they will not ask for assistance.
When people are in that situation, how is it understood that they need treatment and how can they be treated if they have not personally asked for assistance, such as requests to the Social Services?
I would like to understand how we can best assist these individuals who are in that situation.
First of all, we have mental health workers, social workers, A&D counsellors, nurses, and psychiatric nurses that are available in the community level that are there to provide assistance for mental health issues or counselling, and so on.
If I understand the member’s question correctly, I believe he’s asking the question: how do we deal with individuals that cannot identify that they have mental health issues? From what I understand of the programs, there are referrals that can be made and concerns can be expressed through family, and so on, to be reviewed by individuals.
Under the legislation, I believe we also have provisions there where we can intervene in some cases. I’m not sure exactly which legislation that applies to, but the services are at the community level.
At the same time, respecting that individuals have their rights, and so on, when referrals are made, the assistance is at the community level.
From the broader perspective, we’re also trying to build better capacity at the community level through training people in the north to be mental health and addictions counsellors. We had our graduates last year and we’re continuing with that program to try and build the capacity at the community level to deliver counselling services, not only through training, and so on, but also in the Inuktitut language and so on at the community level.
I hope that addresses some of the questions.
This issue is such that one wants complete clarity on.
Do I understand correctly that a person who has attained the age of majority, who is suffering from mental health issues, who cannot ask for help, and whom the family wishes treated, that either the direct family or relatives can identify that person to Social Services?
Let’s just say for example that my son or daughter, whomever, has someone who requires assistance but who cannot ask for assistance, they can now go directly to the Social Services and request assistance for that person.
I have to further investigate, but I understand there are provisions in place and I don’t know if it’s under the child welfare legislation or under the Mental Health Act where the department can intervene.
I will have to clarify what legislation is in place when it’s deemed “in danger” to that person. So before I elaborate on that, I would prefer to research that further before I can respond to the member’s question.
But there are some services available at the community level and if there are issues around mental health issues, parents can seek assistance for their children, or family members, and so on.
At the same time, where there are extreme cases, we, as a department, will provide 24/7 support to people with mental illness issues, and are provided 24/7 care and assistance by the department whether it be within the Nunavut territory or outside the territory as well.
Mr. Simailak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) Thank you, Minister, for that clarification. (interpretation) What about the social service workers? Take Baker Lake for example.
Are they trained to identify individuals with mental problems and how to give them the type of support that they require?
With mental health, FAS, or substance abuse, are social service workers trained to identify those types of illnesses?
I have to go down the list of physicians that are available in Baker Lake to see which professions are there.
Having said that, there are also referrals made. If the service is not readily available at the community level, referrals are also made to specialists that can provide counselling.
In the north, like doctors that visit our communities, we also have counsellors that come in, psychiatrists that come in, or referrals can be made as well, depending on what is available at the time, at the community level, whether it be for assessments or ongoing counselling services.
People with mental health problems need services and I’m very proud of the nurses in our communities who have very heavy responsibilities. They try to provide all the services that are required, which is not a light responsibility.
That’s also the case with your social service providers.
Could you direct your senior management here in Iqaluit or in Rankin Inlet to make sure that there are support services provided to the social service workers so that we can provide the type of services that are required by the people with mental problems?
There is additional support required by the people with those types of work.
Could the minister indicate to the House if she would be willing to do that?
I’m just going through my notes. We have three mental health workers and specialists in Baker Lake and three social workers in that community.
But to go back to the member’s question, some time this summer or in the fall, in partnership with the Department of Justice, there’s a conference that will be held in Nunavut to talk about mental health and addictions programs in Nunavut.
Having said that, I also responded to a couple of questions yesterday on the work that the Department of Health and Social Services is trying to do in developing a Mental Health and Addictions Strategy for Nunavut. I mentioned yesterday and responded to the Member from Cambridge Bay’s question that we’re doing a baseline assessment on how better we can integrate the services at the community level around treatment and mental health issues.
A lot of that work is still ongoing but I look forward to reporting on that.
It is an issue that we have to address.
I recognize the member’s concerns and I share the member’s concerns, and I look forward to providing some information on that, hopefully in September.
At the same time, the conference, in partnership with other stakeholders, will be held in Nunavut this fall or this summer just around how we can better address mental health and addictions treatments in Nunavut.
Question 609 – 2(4): Marine Safety Program (Curley)
I would like to ask a question about an issue that I mentioned in my Member’s Statement earlier.
With boating and outings coming up this summer, there will be safety incidents taking place.
I would like to ask the minister what types of marine safety programs will available during this upcoming boating season. Will adequate information be made available to the boating public about safety and whether their equipment is adequate?
I am directing my question to the Minister of Community and Government Services, whom I believe is responsible for boat safety.
Yes, he is right on the nose, I am responsible for safety programs.
I am also trying to ensure that we have safety programs available with the assistance of the different government departments during the boating season this summer.
We will make sure that the regulations are put out by Community and Government Services. We will be conducting a boating safety campaign and make sure that all information is made available to the communities with the assistance of Economic Development and Transportation and the RCMP.
I hear what the minister is saying and I hear that the various departments are going to be working together, but I’m sure that the Nunavummiut would like to know what exactly will be available.
Some of the boats are too small and get overloaded, and I think it’s about time that we, as a government, should regulate the capacity of boats, floaters, and so on. Some boats go out without any floaters or lifejackets.
Will this kind of thing be included in your safety campaign?
I thank the member for his concerns and for bringing up safety awareness.
Of course, it’s the responsibility of each boat owner, vessel owner, or large and small boat owners to abide by the guidelines. However, that does not always happen, so there needs to be some kind of a monitoring system, which has been poor in the past, and we’re trying to upgrade that.
We will work with that new Workers’ Compensation Board, they have a new name but it’s under WSCC. I have not got the proper term yet, but it is under Workers’ Compensation.
We will work on that with ED&T, the RCMP, and our own department because safety awareness is an issue, as the member mentioned.
There will be advertisements and we will make sure that every community is aware about safety and regulations.
So we will attempt all we could and awareness is most important by any means of media, or TV, or even pamphlets, local radio - any avenue that we could use, we will try to use just to put safety awareness out to the public.
I would like to thank the minister because we have to get the information out there.
I’m sure you will be working with the RCMP in the communities, but I think it would also be important for you to work with the search and rescue organizations.
This spring, after there was a search and rescue issue, this individual was told that there are emergency locator beacons that are available from the RCMP.
They shouldn’t be with the RCMP because the RCMP is not user-friendly.
I would strongly suggest that you give those devices to the hamlet councils because they will be more available to the individuals who are going on long hunts.
We use high frequency radios, but the Coast Guard uses antennae and beacons where they have a very strong signal and those can also be available to the boaters.
Is it possible to get beacons set up in the communities so that we can have better frequencies?
Hon. Levinia Brown (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to thank my colleague for providing very good suggestions and advice.
I would like to thank him very much because those radios have to be available. I know that we will start enhancing all of this because we’re starting to work closely together with the RCMP. I know that we need to start developing some programs so that we could start saving some money on safety issues.
I take my colleague’s question to heart because, as I stated, the RCMP, the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission, ED&T, and our department will continue to work together, especially search and rescue will be involved.
I apologize for forgetting the fact that the search and rescue organizations are so useful and beneficial to the communities.
They will continue to be involved because they hold vast knowledge in the communities when there is a search and rescue situation.
We will tighten the loose ends that need to be tightened.
I would like to state that because I know that we had expended a lot of money in search and rescue due to flaws in the system.
Sometimes the hunters don’t bring their emergency equipment that they’re supposed to bring along.
The hunters have to make sure that they have adequate equipment when they go boating, or hunting, or travelling on the land for any reason.
They have to bring along their survival equipment. Ed Zebedee, who is on our staff, knows about locator beacons.
I have heard many times that those beacons should not be at the RCMP.
When I was going to travel to Whale Cove by snowmobile, I had to go get my own locator beacon from the RCMP. I wanted to bring it because, as the minister, I didn’t want to lead a bad example, even though I didn’t have to use that equipment.
The RCMP officers were very receptive. All you have to do is sign the locator out and tell the RCMP when you will be coming back.
I know, however, and I have heard that these locators should be situated at the hamlet offices.
Just a reminder to the members that in order for all members to have an opportunity to ask their questions, please try and make your questions and responses short and to the point.
Question 610 – 2(4): Concerns Regarding Where Nunavummiut go to Voice Concerns about Mining Development (Arvaluk)
I would ask my question to the Premier.
Last week, I had asked who our constituents can go to if they had a concern in regard to the impact of mining development.
When the Premier made his response to me, he stated that we could speak to the regional Inuit associations, such as the Qikiqtani Inuit Association as an example.
I was not too pleased with his response when our communities are going to be impacted.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, we cannot deny that the mining development can and will have an enormous social and economic impact. This issue was raised last fall by my colleague from the west.
At that time, the Minister of Health and Social Services recognized the government’s important role in the area and made extra effort to start their partnership with the regional Inuit association in order that all parties be better prepared with the impact of resource development
(interpretation) I would like to ask the Premier for a detailed response.
How come the government has no direct role in addressing Inuit concerns regarding the social and economic impacts of resource development in the north during the same time in which they’re negotiating with the federal government and the mining companies?
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I believe I was responding to a question in relation to the land claims agreement and IIBAs, Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreements, which are clearly outlined in the land claims agreement.
Those are private arrangements that are negotiated between the regional Inuit associations and the developer.
There is no role for the federal government and no role for the territorial government in those discussions. Those are private matters that are arranged through the land claims agreement.