EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
My only point is that these review recommendations and I would appreciate if the Minister and her Deputy Minister would provide updated status of what is happening with these services so that the public and members will be fully aware of what is happening.
The measures that the department is taking appears to be very positive and I’m pleased with that.
That will be my last point on that.
Chairman: Thank you. That was just a comment.
In the Business Plan on H-12, Kugluktuk Medical Affairs, 2004/05, there’s $53,000 and in 2005/06, there is $0.
I’m wondering why, Mr. Chairman?
Chairman: That’s a good question.
I wonder if Mr. Whitworth can answer this question because it’s something I wouldn’t be able to do at that level.
Chairman: Mr. Whitworth.
The decrease is because our Director of Medical Affairs, Dr. Sandy MacDonald is located in the Baffin Regional Hospital and he coordinates all of the physician’s services through out Nunavut.
That’s the reason for the decrease.
Chairman: Thank you. Mr. Evyagotailak.
Are there any plans to put more money into this in the future?
Yes, as the Minister had stated in her opening remarks, we have increased the physician budget by $3 million this current year which is what the Medical Affairs position does, is to bring more physicians to Nunavut.
On H-13, of the Business Plan, right almost in the middle, fill the Midwifery Consultants and the Community Homecare Consultant position in the Kugluktuk office, not just completed because of the difficulty recruiting suitable candidates.
I’m just wondering if these two positions have been filled?
The consulting position for midwifery, if according to the Care Closer to Home Strategy will be upgraded to a Coordinator for Maternal and Childcare so that we can have someone in place to help develop a strategy for the next five years.
The answer is yes to that.
We will be recruiting for that position.
The other one, I didn’t get the second one, I didn’t get Mr. Chairman.
Chairman: Community Homecare Consultant.
Mr. Blais: As far as I know, that position is still there and hopefully will be recruited as well.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you. Do you have anything else Mr. Evyagotailak.
So are you saying that you have found the midwifery consultant already?
Mr. Blais: No, I am saying that we will be actively recruiting for a coordinator of maternal and child care, instead of midwifery.
Midwifery will be a component of that, but that position will be in Kugluktuk
There was a nurse that knew about midwifery there that you guys can look into.
And, if you want a name I could give you a name.
That way, you don’t have to spend no dollars on travel and moving, I’m sure you’d be happy on that.
Mr. Chairman: Thank you Mr. Evyagotailak.
Maybe Ms. Minister can respond to that.
I would be very pleased to get that name from you, I would definitely like to get that name.
Mr. Chairman (interpretation): Is that it for you, Mr. Evyagotailak?
Mr. Evyagotailak: Yes, thank you, Madam Minister, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman (interpretation): Are you done?
On page 8, Mr. Peterson.
I’d like to ask the minister for an update on the community health representatives.
I’d like to know how many there are in Nunavut, how many there should be in Nunavut, by community, exactly what their role is in the community.
I don’t know how many there are, but we will get that answer for you, if that’s possible.
On the second piece, we are undertaking a review of all communities in terms of staffing patterns and looking at what the need might be over the next five to ten years.
So in terms of how many CHR’s we do need, the purpose of this review, which will take four to five months, is to determine exactly that question, not only for CHR’s but for all other positions, such as social workers, mental health workers and things like that.
In 2001 or 2002 in Cambridge Bay, we had a Arctic College course, I think there were eight community health representatives, or students who graduated.
They came to our hamlet council and asked for lobbying support to help them get jobs across Nunavut, which are back in their communities.
It was quite surprising that they had to do this.
Because I was president of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities at the time, I was able to bring the mayors’ support across Nunavut.
I think most of them were hired, they are folks who are right from the community, they know the people, they know everybody.
I know there are two in our community who seem to be doing a very good job.
They take a lot of the pressure off the nurses and other people, social workers, but something’s sticking to my mind here, I think there’s a ratio of community health representatives by community.
Large communities obviously need three or four and the smaller might need one or two, there’s some ratio there that exist in some policy.
I wish I had that information that I could share with you.
You talked earlier about training nurses.
I think Nunavut Arctic College should be putting on courses for community health representatives because they really do a good job to help community health.
I’m wonder, Mr. Chairman, if the minister or Mr. Blais could comment on that.
Mr. Chairman: Could you comment on that, Ms. Minister.
I would like to thank the member for bringing up the issue of Community Health Representatives.
There were four graduates from the program in Panniqtuuq last year, and every two years there are always graduates, so the numbers are increasing.
I would also like Mr. Blais to make a supplement to the comments that I just made.
If you could make it real brief, Mr. Blais?
I really don’t have anything to add at this point.
The minister has said every two years is what we do in terms of access for Community Health Representatives.
Do you have any more questions, Mr. Peterson?
I don’t know if four every two years is a good number.
We could probably use 10 to 12 every couple of years.
Hopefully, they will get hired.
I have some questions specifically to Cambridge Bay, but maybe they are applicable elsewhere in Nunavut.
I had a young lady come to me last summer.
She was young but she was a teenager, she had just turned 18.
She wanted to get her birth name and apply for her Social Insurance Number.
It was quite amazing, actually, she had spent two years searching around and getting the run around by the bureaucracy between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and Ottawa.
I thought it would be difficult when she phoned me up looking for help, I thought I was going to be caught up in the loop.
As it turns out she came with a complete file, to my surprise.
She brought all this paperwork that she had done, so it was quite easy for me to pick it up.
I had to call Inuvik, and then they had to chase around over there.
And then I had to call Rankin Inlet, and then Rankin Inlet had to do something.
Ultimately, she did get the papers that she needed to go apply for a Social Insurance Number.
I am wondering, Madame Minister or Mr. Blais, how does the Adoption Services work in Nunavut when we have to put people through a complicated system that requires you to call three or four different places in the north and down south, to get an adoption document so they can apply for a Social Insurance Number.
Without your Social Insurance Number, you can’t legally work.
This was the problem.
She needed her Social Insurance Number so she could get paid from the Government of Nunavut, and she was working for the Government of Nunavut.
It had taken her that long to get the step where she could get an SIN number.
If she didn’t get it within a certain period of time; she wasn’t going to get paid.
It caused her quite a lot of grief.
What got me is that she spent two years trying to get this.
To me, it seemed like it should be a one or two month process and not two years.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the files here.
I would table all those documents for your information just to prove a point.
I am wondering if the Minister, or Mr. Blais, could comment on what their department is doing to speed up the process for people trying to sort out their adoption records.
The process of applying for a Social Insurance Number, I know is not the responsibility of our department.
All I can say it is the first time I have heard a complaint of that nature and we will look into it, but I am not aware that we are responsible and provide that kind of service at this point.
So if you could give us the person who had the incident, we will certainly look into it.
Mr. Peterson: Thank you, Mr. Blais, and Madame Minister.
I know that Health has a role in there somewhere because you have a bullet in your Business Plan on page H-18, Adoption Services.
So your role is there.
I think that is a start.
If it's done properly upfront, then your paperwork will be done properly as well and you will not lose files, if people come along years later to look at their files, if it is not filed correctly, it will start to cause some problems.
Another question that has been raised by some of my constituents has to do with child apprehensions, and in particular has to do with Child Tax Credits that parents get from the federal government.
People have been wondering if the parents who have had their children apprehended, do they continue to get the Child Tax Credits every month.
Or is that cut off to them and then the money goes to the Government of Nunavut to help support the child.
Mr. Blais: Mr. Chairman, again I don’t know that answer.
It’s the first time I’ve been asked that.
I will have to get back to get back to you with a response.
He will get back to you.
I hope this isn’t strike three and I’m out of here.
My other question is related to my riding.
It’s to do with, and I’ve been trying to get this answer for several months out of your department, but since I have the Minister and her senior officials here, I’ll ask it here.
Medical and treatment services for Umingmaktuk and Bathurst Inlet.
I would like the Minister or her officials to explain to me how the regional department, how Cambridge Bay provides medical services to those two communities when they require it?
Mr. Blais: Sorry.
Are we referring to the two outlying communities?
Mr. Peterson: Yes, if he wants to call them outpost camps.
I don’t think they refer to themselves as outpost camps but those two outlying communities.
Typically, clients from those communities are flown out to Cambridge Bay, or where appropriate to Yellowknife, or Edmonton, for care as required.
We have historically, as least in the last couple of years that I’ve been able to examine, have sent medical charters in to conduct vaccine vaccinations and other things into those communities I believe twice a year.
So, there are times when we send a medical team in on a charter to services those clients if we feel there are enough clients to be serviced in those two communities, most of the time we fly those people into Cambridge Bay or out of territory for care.
Go ahead Mr. Peterson.
I thank Mr. Blais.
Yes there are always people down there, I think Bay Chimo or Umingmaktuk, you have anywhere between 20 and 25.
Some of them are elders.
And then in Bathurst Inlet, you have ten, and some are elders.
They are there all the time.
That’s their homes.
What I’m trying to get at as well is do you have someone in either of those communities, who if one of the residents gets sick, a cold or a toothache or any kind of ailment, is there someone there that can provide immediate medical treatment or contact to your nurses’ and doctors in Cambridge Bay to get advice.
We have a person in each of those communities that has a certain level of training to provide assistance.
Where required, that person would then be referred to either Cambridge Bay or out of territory as well.
So, we do have that service available as well in both of those communities.
Do these people in the communities get regular medical training somewhere in Cambridge Bay, or Iqaluit or somewhere so that they know when there is an emergency situation what they have to do to help who ever is requiring treatment?
Again the answer is yes to that.
In reviewing that last year, I noticed in one of the communities, that training had not been updated.
So I directed my staff to develop a plan to ensure that the level of training was completed and I believe that training is underway currently.
I just want to turn to your business plan for a few minutes on page H-20.
Priorities for 2005/06 is they are talking about creating a Nunavut Foster Parent Association with the links groups in all three regions.
Could you expand on that for us a little bit?
Expand on that, Mr. Blais.
Our department has done extensive work on this particular foster care, and I know the current leader is now an Association for Foster Care in Iqaluit and one in Cambridge Bay.
The idea is that over time to have Foster Parent Association that would be a Nunavut, an umbrella association for all of those so that we could create, at the same time, capacity in Nunavut because we know we have a shortage of foster parents.
The only way to achieve that is to create and hopefully encourage people to form these types of groups.
Over time, they will hopefully transform the system as it currently is today.
My colleague from Rankin Inlet brought this up a couple of weeks ago in the House about foster children, and I think it’s a concern in Cambridge Bay as well that we don’t have enough foster parents to try and track foster parents to try and look after the kids is quite a challenge in some communities.
I am wondering if the minister, or Mr. Blais could comment on what their department is doing to encourage adults or parents in Nunavut communities to become foster parents.
I think if you look at what took place two weeks ago in Rankin Inlet.
We are encouraging our staff to go out and hold forums in communities, and talk about the need for foster parenting, but also we are providing information in terms of what you have to be to become a foster parent.
We have just completed a Foster Parent Handbook that provides extensive information.
I think it has been translated and circulated already.
At the same time, we have looked at the fee structure, which is currently in place, because depending on the type of individual that we are asking you to take into your home, often, many of these have a higher level of need.
So, therefore, we will be proposing, very shortly, a new foster parent fee schedule, or fee initiative, as well as a fee for special needs children who have a higher level of need.
Our hope is as well that that fee will also reflect the more remote the community, the higher the fee will be, similar to what the northern allowance is currently.
So that work has already been done.
Through our minister, we hope to bring that to Cabinet for a review in the foreseeable future.
Does the department have a ballpark number for how many kids are in foster care in Nunavut or group homes?
I believe we have approximately, I guess that varies on a day-to-day basis, but I will give you the numbers I had lets say two weeks ago.
It was approximately 293 children in foster care, and 30 children in special care, which require that all of those 30 children would be out-of-territory because they require either medical or some type of support structures, which is not provided in Nunavut.
On page H-21, if Mr. Blais or the minister could give us an explanation of what the public guardianship for all challenged adults in Health and Social Services facilities.
I believe the intention here is that we have approximately 37 children out of territory that would be what I consider special needs and about 54 adults in the same category, but anybody above 19.
Our hope with repatriation is to establish services in Nunavut.
In order to do that, we have to complete a full assessment of each of these individuals to determine their ability to be repatriated.
At the same time determine what level of service that we would have to provide and hopefully which communities could provide that level of service so that we could bring many of these children, and of course, adults back to Nunavut.
So, this is one of our goals I would say.
I’m going to go to the next person.
Mr. Kattuk: Mr. Chairman, I am also concerned about our alcohol and drug program.
I come from a community where there was child abuse from a teacher.
They’re adult now and as you grow older your trauma is very high, what happened to you when you are children.
So, I would like to see that figure increase because in my community that program coordinator, what I see is not adequate facility that she has that figure of about $34,000 is not enough.
So, maybe my question might be from your department, is there help to the communities that can provide from your department on help that coordinator at the community level.
I would say the answer is yes to that.
I would hope to be able to come to your community shortly after hopefully in the next couple of months.
There is a program as well that is provided by three people out of Montreal and they have been to my office in the last month or so and have requested support as well to continue that program.
We will be looking at that as well.
Chairman: Go ahead Mr. Kattuk.
Mr. Kattuk: Also, when you are dealing with a person who wants to talk to you alone or in the office, but, in that office in my community, there is no telephone in that office.
So, I think it’s not adequate.
So, when you want to talk with the coordinator, besides somebody here, or if you want to make a call outside of the community, then, I think you would have to be in a public area because there is no phone in the office.
So, I think I want the department to look into this and provide that coordinator with better facilities.
Did you want to respond to that Mr. Blais?
I will certainly follow that up right away in regards to the telephone issue.
Rest assured, my staff will be looking into that right away.
Mr. Kattuk: Thank you.
I’ll have more comments on the social workers when this comes up.
Mr. Alagalak (interpretation): Are we going to continue or are we going to take a break?
Chairman (interpretation): They have not brought in our supper yet, so I will let you know when they do.
I think we are under H-8 and it’s part of H-9 and H-10.
Under social programs, I have a question.
The safe shelters that are provided with funding, how many shelters are there anyways in Nunavut that are in existence, and the ones that are being used here in Nunavut?
I am guessing seven, but that would be the number that comes to mind right now because we have started to undertake a review of all shelters, elders’ centres, group homes, and I may be mixing them up, but my senses right now, I believe there are seven.
I am not exactly sure, I am asking mostly about the women’s shelters, not the other shelters.
Are there seven women’s shelters?
I believe there are seven women’s shelters.
I know there are 11 shelters, but I think we are talking about women’s shelters.
My sense right now is that I think it’s seven.
I will have my staff verify that number, but that’s what comes to mind.
Is there any thoughts about making more women’s shelters in Nunavut communities?
There are seven women’s shelters in Nunavut, and it’s very expensive to run a building, such as paying for their utilities and other expenses.
I would be in support of building more shelters, but I am not really sure of exactly where the money would be coming from.
Just to let you know that I am in support of those women’s shelters and they are very useful in the communities as well.
Yes, thank you for the response. I would like to also make a comment under the same thing in regards to the elders’ centres.
There are so many different ways of running those elders’ centres and there has been people that have stated that there are a lot of problems with that.
Some of the elders that stay in the elders’ centre pay over $700.
Like I stated before when we had our Session in May that it has been a year and nothing has been done.
There was a renovation that was done to an elders’ centre, and then we heard that they would not be paying their rent at the elders’ centre.
I think there are only two elders’ centres, if not one, and it’s the only one that whereby the tenants pay.
In Arviat, they were getting the care done for them, but all of a sudden what they did was, when they had to pay they didn’t want to stay anymore.
As soon as they found out that they have to pay to stay there, they just went back home, and then they just stay at there home and nobody caring for them.
I wonder what the departments going to do with those elders’ centres and whether are they going to charge the tenant.
The department has done a cross jurisdiction review across Canada to examine what the current practice is in every single jurisdiction.
We’re now looking at assessing that.
We currently have two of the three elders’ centres, these are 24/7 elders’ centres, these are not independent living, in two of the three are currently being charged a fee.
This is a result in a policy that was established and I believe signed off some years ago.
So it’s been an inconsistent application of a policy that exists today.
So we will be coming forward to the cabinet with a recommendation on to address that certain issue, because if we move forward in the future and build more elders centers, these are 24 hour days, seven day a week support with nursing and that, then we have to resolve this issue once and for all.
So our department will do that within the next two months.
Mr. Chairman: Mr. Alagalak.
I feel that the public housing units, they don’t get charged at the public housing units for those elders and it’s not very good to hear that some of them are not being treated properly, and then they take their pension away from them and stuff like that.
After two months I will be questioning the department again as well.
I wanted to see an agreement whereby there’s an agreement that the tenant signs and the government.
There’s also an agreement in place whereby the tenant has to pay so much of there pension.
I heard that the money the elders pay has to be in a form of cash.
Do they put them in the government’s account?
I have not seen anything in paper that where there’s an agreement in place with the government.
I just wanted to see what the agreement looks like.
I’m sorry, Mr. Whitworth.
To my knowledge, I have never seen a signed agreement but as the member stated there is a process where the elder signs the cheque to the home, the home goes to the Northern Store, the Northern Store cashes the cheque, sends to the government $721, I think, returns the balance to the elder and then it comes to the government and it’s deposited into the general revenue.
Mr. Chairman: Thank you. Mr. Alagalak.
I heard that they have no choice, they are ordered, they’re commanded to sign their cheques and give it to the person who’s looking after their transaction so that money.
Without a choice, who ever, other then the elder or relative, cheque is taking as cash form because it’s signed by the elder, taken to the Northern, and the commanding officer whoever it is, has to command what ever he or she wants to do with that money.
Whatever is left over and then is given to the elder, and if there is no left over and then it goes on to next account, no transaction book or nothing is kept for the elders.
So this is wrong.
This is a really, really wrongdoing of the government I think, in my own opinion.
(Interpretation) I would also like to make it stronger and say if there is nothing done by April 1st, there has to be something in writing on that.
Under the same page, under alcohol and drug programs, I’d like to ask a question.
First of all, the money that goes into that line item, and the hamlet says that the hamlet receives funding from that line and it doesn’t say what they could use it for.
They just give the money without specifying what they’re going to do.
It says there Nunavut Association of Municipalities funding is to provide an alcohol and drug treatment program.
There are people that are addicted out there that use drugs and alcohol that should be getting some help from their drug and alcohol addictions.
When it goes to the municipalities, it doesn’t state what they’re supposed to be doing.
There are no guidelines or anything.