EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
With housing-specific programs, it has always been a very important component of providing local employment in addition to apprenticeship opportunities, especially through ongoing construction builds.
I can assure the member that apprenticeship training and apprenticeship access is a very important component to any construction that the Nunavut Housing Corporation entails.
Your final supplementary, Mr. Qirngnuq.
Mr. Qirngnuq: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the minister indicate when the community of Taloyoak can expect to receive new public housing units?
I thank the member for that question as well.
Every time we have money allocated towards housing, especially with public housing, we always take a look at identifying community needs.
With the money that we’ve got going this year for the upcoming fiscal year, unfortunately, we don’t have housing being allocated to Taloyoak.
We are very much looking forward to the upcoming federal announcement and hopefully there will be additional funding being able to be accessed so that we can expand our public housing infrastructure and expand construction into the public housing stock.
I will keep the member informed ongoing as to when and how that will entail Taloyoak’s public housing need.
Question 152 – 4(3): Plebiscite on Sale of Municipal Lands (Enook)
My questions are for the new Minister of Community and Government Services.
Mr. Speaker, the plebiscite on the sale of municipal lands will take place exactly 75 days from today.
It is critical that Nunavummiut receive clear information concerning this plebiscite so that they can make an informed choice when they vote.
I am aware that the department will be holding a public information session in Pond Inlet on March 7 at 7:00 p.m., and while I have the opportunity, I encourage all interested residents of the community to attend this meeting. I hope that there will be a good turnout.
Let me first ask this question, (interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) Can the minister indicate how many people have attended the department’s public information sessions to date?
Minister of Community and Government Services, Mr. Savikataaq.
I thank my colleague for the first question.
So far, I believe that the community consultations have gone to five or six communities. I don’t have the exact figures on hand, but the turnout has been good in all the events that they had.
When each region has its own crew that will be going to all the communities and when the regional crew goes to a community, they first have a meeting with the hamlet council and later on that night, they have a public meeting.
They put on a presentation and then they will take any questions from the public members. We encourage the members to ask questions because this is an important vote.
CGS is the plebiscite authority and CGS is neutral, but we want a high turnout and we want the voters to be informed and come out and vote because it’s an important vote.
It goes by majority plus one, so 50 percent plus 1 will determine the outcome of what each municipality wants.
I encourage everyone to get well informed, ask many questions, and go out and vote.
When a similar plebiscite was held in the mid-1990s on the same question, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated took a clear public position on the issue.
Mr. Speaker, I fully understand and appreciate that the minister does not speak for Nunavut Tunngavik, but I also understand that his department has had consultations with Nunavut Tunngavik concerning the upcoming plebiscite.
My question for the minister is: has the president of Nunavut Tunngavik indicated to the minister what position Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated is taking on this year’s plebiscite and, if so, what is the organization’s position?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) The Hon. Minister of Community and Government Services, Mr. Savikataaq.
The member is right. I have had meetings with the president but not the board.
I do not speak for the president of NTI, so the member will have to get NTI’s position from NTI.
The meeting was productive and they agree that the vote should be done.
We have some disagreements on some issues such as timing.
They feel that the timing was too soon, but due to situations beyond our control, the vote has to be now; it can’t be delayed due to the general election coming up in 2017.
CGS believes that all the decisions should be made locally and this vote is going to determine what each community wants. Each community is voting on their own.
It is a Nunavut-wide vote, but each community’s vote will stand on its own merit.
If a community chooses to sell land, it will not affect another community, whether that other community wants to sell land or not.
The vote is binding and the vote is for each community.
The Member for Arviat South was quite concerned about this upcoming plebiscite. I want to have the same understanding and all Nunavummiut need to have the same level of understanding, so I would like to ask the minister this question.
I know that each community will have their own vote, as the minister stated.
Depending on the results of the vote, some communities may need to administer a new system of land tenure.
I would like to ask the minister: can he clearly explain what resources will be provided to those municipalities?
If I understand the question correctly, the member would like to know what we’re doing to inform the voters in each community.
Right now, we’re having the public awareness campaign. There are pamphlets, there’s a website, and there will be public service announcements.
Each MLA was given a briefing by my department, so the MLAs should be informed.
If I am not answering correctly, then he can rephrase it.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) Can you please rephrase your question, Mr. Enook.
Mr. Enook (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I will try. (interpretation) I’m trying to ask this question.
Communities will vote independently on whether they agree or disagree with the referendum. Depending on the results of the vote, some communities may need to administer a new system of land tenure.
I’m trying to ask this question: can the minister clearly explain if his department will provide resources to those municipalities if they choose to sell municipal land?
I hope that I am coming across.
If there is a “yes” vote in a community, there will be changes.
The municipality will be allowed to sell land, a few administrative by-laws would have to be changed, plus the Land Titles Act would have to be changed.
CGS will be working with all communities in the event that there is a “yes” vote.
Even if there is a “yes” vote, you won’t be able to buy your land the next day.
It will take time. People will have to get trained. Administrative procedures will have to change.
Even if a community votes yes, it doesn’t mean that they have to sell the land.
It will be up to each municipality if they want to sell the land. This referendum gives them permission to sell the land, but it doesn’t mean they have to. Each municipality will decide whether they want to sell land or not.
If anyone has a lease, the municipality cannot force the lessee to buy the land; they can continue on leasing.
If there is a “yes” vote, my department will be out doing training sessions with each municipality.
We will give all of our help to any municipality should they vote yes.
Just so the general public will know, it won’t happen overnight, it will take time, but it will happen if they vote yes.
Question 153 – 4(3): Medical Travel Escort Policy (Keyootak)
Mr. Speaker, it seems that the patient escort system was running smoothly in the earlier government in relation to medical patients requiring escorts and particularly the types of patients that need escorts, including parents with small children.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to know if the Medical Travel Escort Policy is being applied in the same manner for every community.
Yes, we have written policies applicable to medical travel and the staff preparing the travel arrangements for medical patients requiring travel has to abide by them.
People who have gone for medical treatment while having to look after small children have provided me with relevant information about their difficulties.
I believe it is more applicable to babies, who are still suckling from their mothers where the child isn’t allowed to follow.
This has occurred to more than one of my constituents, as I have heard from several mothers who didn’t want to leave their baby behind, but they weren’t allowed to bring along their breastfed baby.
This is very stressful for mothers, as we Inuit are well aware that babies that suckle from their mother find it difficult to feed from bottles. This can be extremely stressful for parents stuck in that situation.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask the department to review this further to assess how babies suckling from their mothers can tag along to continue their feeding.
We conduct investigations for each case. Patients can call the complaint line if the handling of their complaint was not satisfactory and they provide that opportunity through that forum. Furthermore, I personally prefer to be directly informed about concerns by my colleagues when they run across them and when I have the information from members, I can look into the matter as well.
I am always grateful to patients who identify issues that allow us to make improvements in our system. We are continually reviewing the issues.
I also thank the minister for clarifying that members may approach him about these concerns from our constituents.
I will consult my constituents who have these concerns and will forward them to the minister upon completion.
I am very grateful to hear that we have some avenue to convey these concerns. Thank you for that clarification.
I didn’t hear a question, but I would like to thank the member for his comments. I thank him for providing suggestions.
We have to look into the issues carefully. We have to look into these issues first before we do something about it.
Question 154 – 4(3): Daycare Spaces across Nunavut (Angnakak)
Mr. Speaker, the availability of daycare spaces across Nunavut is important not only for the early childhood development of young Nunavummiut but also so that their hard-working parents can continue to be employed and play a role in Nunavut’s economy.
Last November, I asked the minister about the number of daycare spaces that are needed across Nunavut.
He replied that his department wanted to initiate a review on this issue.
Can the minister provide an update on the status of his department’s review of the number of daycare spaces needed across Nunavut?
Hon. Paul Quassa (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also thank my colleague for raising that question.
This is, indeed, a very important issue related to our children and the question of preschool classes, such as (interpretation ends) early childhood, child care, (interpretation) and daycare centres.
Mr. Speaker, at this time, I do not have exact figures to quote.
Nonetheless, we are beginning our review of this issue related to the (interpretation ends) Child Day Care Act (interpretation) and we are looking at ways to see how the Department of Education can manage daycares.
That is what I can state, but with respect to actual figures, I do not have that information currently, Mr. Speaker.
I recognize and applaud the government’s policy of including daycares in all new educational facilities that are built.
However, our capital plan does not include that many new educational facilities.
Can the minister confirm whether or not he has had any discussions with his cabinet colleagues about including daycare spaces in any other government facilities which are built or renovated?
As we should be well aware, as the Department of Education, we are not responsible for constructing daycare spaces, which has continued to date.
It was set up this way.
However, with respect to operational needs of local initiatives, it is the only manner we can provide funds at this time.
We do encourage the communities to consider that. If they are able to locate a building, the department can provide operational funding assistance.
Further, perhaps my colleague, Mr. Speaker, is probably aware that any new schools to be constructed or schools requiring renovations have a requirement to add on a daycare to the project.
In addition, if a community is getting a new learning centre, the requirement for a daycare space is included and this applies only to new construction projects or renovated centres.
Those are the two main things that we are doing. Obviously, this is applicable to a person’s work and education, so these are the two main items we have dealt with.
Additionally, as per my earlier statement, this is under the auspices of the Child Day Care Act and it is currently under review to see how we, as the Department of Education, can take over the operations of these daycare organizations.
As per my earlier statement, if any community organization has provided a building and if they are a recognized body with (interpretation ends) society status, (interpretation) that is how we can then provide funding assistance for the daycare.
To date, we are conducting our review of the Child Care Act to develop future strategies towards this goal. That is what I want to pass along to the member.
In order to fill any need, it is always good planning practice to get an idea of all the factors involved. In addition to more spaces, there will be requirements for additional staff, training and certification, as well as other resources.
Will the minister commit to finalizing his department’s review of daycare needs across Nunavut and reporting back the results of this review in this House?
With respect to the question our colleague raised, the department initiated this current review and upon completion of the review, we can present the report for tabling to the House.
This will also convey the information to everyone so that we are on the same page on developments to date.
I want to explain further that the local DEAs are mandated under the Education Act, which clarifies their role and options related to preschool programming.
Indeed, we have provided funding to the DEAs to offer the preschool courses in several communities.
To date, we have provided the funding so they can manage the program internally.
I would like all of you to be aware that the Department of Education has new positions that will work on (interpretation ends) early childhood education (interpretation) matters.
We consider that very important and so that is why I gave you this extra explanation, Mr. Speaker.
Question 155 – 4(3): Energy Initiatives (Mikkungwak)
Mr. Mikkungwak (interpretation): Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) My questions are for the new Minister responsible for the Qulliq Energy Corporation.
As the minister will be very much aware, section 12 of the Qulliq Energy Corporation Act provides that the president of the corporation shall be appointed by the minister on the recommendation of the board of directors.
Mr. Speaker, this is the law.
Can the minister confirm what role he and the board of directors have been playing with respect to recruiting and appointing a permanent new president of the Qulliq Energy Corporation?
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) The Hon. Minister responsible for the Qulliq Energy Corporation, Mr. Hickes.
There has been quite a bit of turmoil within the Qulliq Energy Corporation in filling the president’s position over the last couple of years. I know the responsibility, if you want to call it that, of the screening process goes through the Premier’s Office through Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs, as it is a similar position to a deputy minister.
That being said, I would like to let the member know the detailed answer or component to his question.
The chair of the board and I as the minister responsible for Qulliq Energy have been working very closely with the Premier and his staff on identifying candidates for this position and assisting with the interview process of candidates that are identified as qualified to fill this position.
Unfortunately, to date, we haven’t been able to fill the position, but there are a number of names that are coming forward through the executive search group that is assisting us with identifying a candidate for this position.
The Qulliq Energy Corporation’s headquarters are located in my community of Baker Lake, and we are very proud of the hard-working staff at the corporation’s headquarters.
Can the minister provide a clear explanation today as to why almost none of the corporation’s executive and senior management positions are located in QEC’s headquarters?
Just to clarify, I believe there is quite an extensive presence of the executive within the Baker Lake office.
Our chief financial officer is located out of the Baker Lake office, which encompasses the entire financial duties of the corporation.
Our human resource function is done almost exclusively out of the Baker Lake headquarters office. There is one position here in Iqaluit to assist in encompassing the human resource goals of the corporation.
In a perfect world, there may be some more senior positions that could be identified to work out of the Baker Lake office, but in my opinion, the office there encompasses very important roles of keeping the corporation in an ongoing working basis with some quite senior positions.
In fact, I would say the second most senior position to the CEO is the CFO, which is located in that community at the headquarters office.
As the minister is also very much aware, another issue of ongoing concern to Baker Lake is the contaminated site in the community that was inherited from the Northern Canada Power Corporation.
It has always been QEC’s position that the contamination in Baker Lake is, and I quote, “100% attributable to federal activities.”
Can the minister clearly explain what specific actions, if any, he is willing to take in order to get the federal government to acknowledge its responsibility to pay the costs for this clean-up?
I visited Baker Lake about two months ago.
I met with the hamlet council and I met with the member himself and a number of other members of the community who have continued to bring this contaminated site issue to my attention.
As I’m very much aware, the member has asked this numerous times over the last couple of years.
It was one of the first things that I looked into when I became the Minister responsible for the Qulliq Energy Corporation.
Like the member has stated, it is our belief that it is 100 percent federal responsibility.
Community and Government Services has taken the lead on identifying and negotiating for dealing with the contaminated sites across the territory.
That being said, there have been some shared mitigation measures taken in conjunction with Community and Government Services, specifically the Waterloo Emitter barrier system that oxygenates the soil in the area and helps deter any contaminants going into the drinking water or the source of water that is used for drinking in the community.
This upcoming spring, there will also be a human health risk assessment done on that area to make sure that any contaminants are being controlled going into the drinking water of that community.
I can assure the member that I will be participating in any way I can to assist Community and Government Services in identifying this as a priority for clean-up of contaminated sites.
Question 156 – 4(3): Baffin Island Caribou Tags (Enook)
At this time, although it is specific to the Baffin region, the residents of this region are under a caribou-hunting moratorium.
There is a process whereby communities can harvest caribou but with conditions and I believe it has now been in place for an entire year in our region.
Let me first ask Minister Mike a question regarding the tags distributed to the HTOs. If I am not mistaken, the department provided 250 tags to the organizations for this quota.
Have these tags all been used up in the Baffin region?
I was somewhat worrying if there were going to be questions on this matter.
Actually, with respect to the member’s question about the tags, what I can state at this time is that the hunters used about 110 to 111 tags and that is the information I have available now.
The overall number of tags available was 250 for caribou harvesting in the Baffin region and the condition was to harvest only male caribou.
That is what has transpired and the hunters will not likely finish the tags that we provided to harvest caribou in the Baffin region.
Let me raise another question about that issue then if any of the communities have finished their local tags.
I do not recall the distribution rates sent to each community. Have any communities depleted their local tag allowances?
If there are any communities that have used all their tags, what is the next step in the process?
Does the community have to wait until all the other tags are used before the department reconsiders the issue?
NWMB reviewed this issue last year and a quota of 250 tags approved for recommendation to the minister.
I approved of that request in my role as the Minister of Environment to set aside 250 tags after the Department of Environment and the GN approved this new set-up.
The Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board has the mandate to allocate the tags on a regional basis and to set a limit for each community to use. Further, QWB is the regional organization that manages all wildlife in the region that has tags and they generally come up with options.
I expect that QWB will deliberate on these 250 tags set aside for harvesting male caribou and the communities allocated their share. QWB has the experience to deliberate on these difficult issues.
Once the community tags are used, my expectation is that QWB will deal with this issue. We have to allow them to manage this issue, as they are the organization allocated the 250 tags for harvesting caribou in the Baffin region.
The last question I have is with respect to the 250 caribou tags in the Baffin region.
When the hunters use up all the tags by harvesting 250 male caribou and there are no more tags available, what is the process to move forward? Who would lead this management issue after that event?
Can you clarify that for us Baffin Island residents?
Minister of Environment Mr. Mike.
I thank my colleague for asking a question about the process afterwards.
When we first approved the 250 tags to harvest male caribou, the question was not about finishing the tags.
However, if that result showed up, we can only move forward using the Wildlife Act, which is the basis.
Therefore, on July 1, the number of tags will revert to 250 tags for the next season, presuming the hunters did not use all the tags.
We would renew the tags based on the legislation.
We are just following our obligations as a government when we approved the tag system for caribou, in consultation with RWOs, HTOs, and NWMB.
We will proceed to Item 7. (interpretation ends) Item 7.
Returns to Written Questions. Mr. Clerk.
Return to Written Question 006 – 4(3): Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training Course for Trainers (Clerk)
I am tabling the return to Written Question 6 – 4(3), which was asked during the November 5, 2015 sitting of the House.
Tabled Document 070 – 4(3): 2014-2015 Public Service Annual Report (Peterson)
I am pleased to table the 2014-15 Public Service Annual Report.
Tabled Document 071 – 4(3): Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission’s 2011 Annual Report (Peterson)
Today, I’m tabling the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission’s 2011 Annual Report.
Member of Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu, Ms. Angnakak.
Motion 015 – 4(3): Appointment to the Management and Services Board – Notice (Angnakak)
I give notice that on Friday, February 26, 2016, I will move the following motion:
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Hon. Member for Cambridge Bay, that Mr. David Joanasie, Member for South Baffin, be appointed to the Management and Services Board.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you. (interpretation ends) Notices of Motions. *See Appendix for full text of Return to Written Question 6 – 4(3).
Motion 016 – 4(3): Extended Sitting Hours and Days – Notice (Mikkungwak)