EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Mr. Ningeongan: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) It is quite obvious that if students are going to pass grade 12 in Nunavut, it would be good if students can start off school by learning what they need so that they would be ready for post-secondary education after reaching grade 12. It’s clear that the need to be prepared is there and that is why I want to raise another question.
The Education Act is brand new and we have to ensure that we provide a good future for the students. (interpretation ends) Can the minister clarify what steps are taken by the Department of Education to ensure that Nunavut’s grade 12 graduation criteria meet the national standards so that the Nunavut high school graduates can have the necessary qualifications to enter post-secondary programs?
It has been only a few years since the Education Act was passed and we’re still working on its implementation.
Not all provisions of the Education Act have been implemented, but we wanted to have an Education Act that is specific to Nunavut and that’s what we’re working on right now, following the Alberta curriculum.
That is now in the works.
Question 177 – 3(3): Lengthy Wait Times for Medical Results (Enook)
Mr. Speaker, as you know, the types of health services that can be delivered in our community health centres are limited.
For certain treatments, diagnostic tests, investigations, and so on, medical clients must travel to a regional centre or even further to facilities outside of Nunavut in Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, or Yellowknife.
Mr. Speaker, I am aware of a number of cases where individuals are sent down for tests and then told they must stay two or even three weeks for the test results.
Can the minister explain why his department prefers to keep medical clients waiting for test results instead of sending them home until the results are ready? I am trying to ensure that the response will be heard.
This question is raised by many Nunavutmiut and what I can tell you is that we are considering all possible solutions that would eliminate some of the issues you quote.
We incur huge expenses in sending patients out, especially some with illnesses that we cannot treat, so a lot of patients end up staying in the south for lengthy periods, with some patients unable to move out of hospitals.
That is why I spoke to this issue last week and I did so based on my own experiences.
Some doctors don’t review the previous tests and order a new round of medical tests, including blood tests, and then wait for the results.
Only then would the doctors continue on with further treatments.
I believe they get immediate results sometimes if the doctor believes that there is adequate information.
This could be part of the process.
We have informed our health officials to try to look at ways to resolve a lot of problems facing our residents who travel for medical reasons.
Just recently, while I was in Rankin Inlet, I was approached by a patient who talked about taking three or four different blood tests.
Some of these results in delays, but some previous test results are not always available for review by the southern doctor. That may be why they order new tests.
We have noted this issue and this is something we want to try to resolve.
Your first supplementary, Mr. Enook.
I thank the minister for his response. I would like to ask another question.
Mr. Speaker, I am aware that the costs for medical travel, including transportation, accommodation, and meals, are extremely high.
Can the minister clarify whether or not his department has conducted a cost-benefit analysis to compare the costs of accommodating medical clients for extended periods of time in regional or southern locations with the cost of returning them to their homes to wait for their test results? Is that what you said would be studied?
What I was trying to say is I think that this is probably part of the underlying reason, where information is kind of going through a bottleneck, especially when there are a couple of doctors who have ordered tests. So if there is any way to make this a speedier process, we are investigating them.
There are so many aspects to sicknesses and that’s what makes it so hard.
This is the one thing we are trying to work on in the health department.
We have heard a lot of concerns and comments about patients spending many weeks down south and that they’re just sitting around waiting for results.
That is the one area that we want to make improvements. This is an issue I have discussed with my deputy minister and I will continue to have a dialogue with my deputy minister on this issue. I am aware that we need to make improvements in this area.
Your second supplementary, Mr. Enook.
I recognize that not all medical cases are handled the same way every time.
In cases where a medical client may be able to go home to wait for the results of their test or to wait for the next phase of their treatment, can the minister inform this House who, specifically, makes the final decision regarding their travel home?
Is the doctor the only person who can approve that?
I believe that is the common practice where the doctor approves a patient’s travel.
The boarding homes have absolutely no say in that.
If a follow-up appointment has been set up, then they have to wait until that appointment has been completed.
Once the doctor has made the final determination, the boarding homes then arrange the patient’s travel.
Question 178 – 3(3): Two New Environmental Guidelines (Tapardjuk)
I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Environment. In his previous Minister’s Statement, he stated there were two environmental guidelines that were announced, namely, the mercury-containing products and waste mercury guidelines and the waste lead and lead paint guidelines.
Mr. Speaker, when these guidelines first came into effect and when these guidelines are going to be followed, who administers the guidelines or when they’re not being followed, who in the communities can people turn to when they have environmental concerns?
In both cases in these guidelines, they are that. They are guidelines. They are not regulations or legislation.
They are guidelines. The purpose of them is to inform people what the products are, how they can be harmful to human health, how to handle them, how to deal with them, how to dispose them, and what has these types of products.
If there are any concerns about lead or mercury, they can contact our conservation officers. We enforce this under the Environmental Protection Act and so does the federal legislation, the Government of Canada, Environment Canada.
Again I just stress that these are guidelines. We’re trying to help people understand what these products are, how to handle them, and how to dispose them.
Mr. Tapardjuk (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the minister for his elaboration about these guidelines.
Let me ask this question first. The guidelines, I believe, are already available in English and French.
Are there Inuktitut versions and are they done in a way to ensure they are comprehensible to people who don’t understand English?
Minister responsible for the Environment, Minister Shewchuk.
Yes, they have been written in both English and Inuktitut. As I said in my statement too, they can be accessed through the website, but I also would be more than happy to provide the member with copies of the guidelines.
The reason why I raised this question is because we hear concerns from regular members about the importance of education, especially as it relates to grade 12 graduates.
What I want to tell the Minister of Environment is that there are still many Inuit who have never gone through the school system and have no idea of how these things have to be dealt with.
Even if you give me all the copies of the guidelines that I can give out to my constituents, we have Inuit who have never gone to school and who probably won’t understand those concepts.
Mr. Speaker, I am asking this secondary question: can the minister direct his officials to look at more appropriate ways to pass along this message to those Inuit who have never gone through the school system?
They have a lot of concerns about abandoned fuel drums and metal waste and how they would be disposed of.
When Inuit have little comprehension of regulations, it is an exercise in futility to expect them to understand their meaning.
Can the minister work harder so that those who have little grasp of the English language can gain much better comprehension, especially when they will be affected by these toxic wastes?
I can commit to that and I will ensure that the department understands this.
These guidelines should be understood by both unilingual and bilingual residents of Nunavut. They are put into guidelines like this in simplified form. We will assist anybody in understanding these guidelines through our local conservation officers, through HTOs, and through any other avenues that we have.
We know that most of the directors of HTOs are hunters and do not speak English. They participate in numerous meetings to discuss wildlife issues.
With respect to protecting the environment and the Environmental Protection Act, along with its regulations on the protection of the environment and with resource development occurring, such as mining, these kinds of activities cause a lot of concern for hunters.
When they attend meetings, can there be a higher priority on ensuring Inuit rights in the protection of the environment?
Again I thank the member for his concern and I would like to assure the member that we are as concerned as he is that all individuals, unilingual and bilingual residents of Nunavut, understand the impacts of the environment and the threats that may be an action of harm on our environment.
So, yes, we will and we do communicate with all HTOs and residents in communities as much as we can.
If anybody has an interest or concern in the community, I urge them to go to their local conservation officer and we will try and assist them.
Question 179 – 3(3): Active Cases of TB in Nunavut (Elliott)
Mr. Speaker, in January of this year, Health Canada committed $800,000 to help fight the spread of tuberculosis.
According to figures presented in this House by Nunavut’s Minister of Health and Social Services, Nunavut had over 100 cases of active TB in 2010.
This is the highest it has been in several years.
Can the minister provide an update on how many cases of active TB we currently have in Nunavut and which communities are the most effected?
Hon. Tagak Curley: Mr. Speaker, that’s a very important question and I would certainly like to respond to it, but I’ll take the question as notice.
Oral Questions. Member for Iqaluit West, Ms. Ell.
Question 180 – 3(3): Fiscal Position of CLEY (Ell)
Ms. Ell (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to direct my question to the Minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth.
As the minister heard, I directed a question to the Minister of Finance about funds that will go unspent in government this fiscal year.
Can the minister inform us whether or not the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth will have unexpended funds in this year’s budget?
Hon. James Arreak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the member for that question.
Yes, we do prefer to not under-spend, but the Minister of Finance already responded to that question in this House. We are only halfway through this fiscal year, so we are still unsure as to whether we will have a surplus.
We should have a clearer picture once we get closer to the end of the fiscal year.
At that time, we will know if we overspent or under-spent our budget and be able to make a reply.
In the meantime, the Minister of Finance’s response is where we are at today.
I’m wondering if the information that was passed on to me about the possibility of a $5 million surplus in your department is the case today.
What amount are you expecting as a surplus?
At this time, we can only respond by repeating that we are just halfway through the fiscal year and we’re still handing out funding through grants and contributions.
The applications are reviewed and approved if their rationale is acceptable.
Where the proposals don’t meet what is required, they are not approved.
We continue to spend the funding in that way.
Question 181 – 3(3): Update on Funding Community Freezer Initiative (Elliott)
I would like to direct my question towards the Minister of Economic Development and Transportation.
Both the Premier and he did a Minister’s Statement about the Nunavut Poverty Reduction Action Plan.
In the winter sitting, we approved funding to his department for community freezers.
I was wondering if the minister could provide an update on this initiative.
We announced on September 15 of 2010 our initiative to try and get the community freezers in most of our Nunavut communities. We see food security as one of the main causes of poverty. It is a concern to the government.
We do have a program set up at this time and it’s more or less a proposal-based program for each community that wants to attempt to get a community freezer.
At this time, we have been working closely with NRCan to find alternate sources of energy to operate these community freezers.
As you know, Mr. Speaker, the costs on O&M of these freezers are very high.
We have been working closely to find alternative energy sources to operate the community freezers.
Thank you for that response. It’s definitely a needed program.
As I know, in my communities, at times when the community freezers do fail because of age and whatnot, it causes meat to be spoiled and whatnot.
My next question is: how many communities have accessed these funds to date?
At this time, I don’t have that information in front of me, but we did work with a community in the Kitikmeot to try and provide some assistance in them getting a community freezer.
Other than that, at this time, I don’t have that information on how many proposals have been forwarded to our department for such program.
I was wondering if the minister could commit to providing that information, as well as providing the information of the dollar values as to how much has been provided to communities at this point, if I could get that commitment.
What I’m trying to get at is to find out, if this program is a much needed program, whether it’s something that the government would continue to build on and elaborate. I’m sure they’re evaluating the program to see if more money needs to be allocated for it. If he could commit to that, that would be great.
The O&M cost on such community freezers is estimated to be around $24,000.
It is a huge cost to the government and to the community, but the main thing is what we’re trying to do here, to secure food security for our communities.
As you know, country foods is a priority for the communities, but we intend to move that file forward on getting country foods and community freezers to our communities. This, in fact, reduces poverty.
Of course, Mr. Speaker, that’s one of our principles in our Tamapta Action Plan, in our Tamapta document.
As you know, Mr. Speaker, we have been working very closely with other organizations, businesses, NRCan, and even in some cases, we’re working with the HTOs to make sure that we come up with the best solution for the communities.
As you know, each community is unique, different, and their wants are different from the next community.
So we’re working very closely with the communities and HTOs to ensure that whatever community freezers we set up is good for the community.
I thank the minister for that response, but I don’t think he actually answered my question. My question was whether he could commit to providing us a dollar figure of how much was spent out of the actual fund that we allocated for O&M last year, two communities for community freezers, and which communities were applying through proposals.
As he said, it’s great that the Department of Economic Development and Transportation is partnering with different agencies to access more funding. Out of curiosity and also hopefully in terms of doing my job properly and finding out whether the government is spending the money that we allocate every year, I was curious to find out how much money has been allocated and what communities have shown interest in it.
I’m not trying to prevent the hon. member from doing his job properly, but once I get that information, I will make sure that it’s available to the House here for the amount of dollars being spent and the amount of proposals that were forwarded to the department on this issue.
Members will note that the allotted time for question period has expired.
Bill 16 – Annual Reporting Validation (Liquor Licensing Board) Act – First Reading
I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Rankin Inlet South and Whale Cove, that Bill 16, Annual Reporting Validation (Liquor Licensing Board) Act, be read for the first time.
The motion is carried and Bill 16 has been read for the first time.
Bill 17 – Write-off of Debts Act, 2011-2012 – First Reading
I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Rankin Inlet South and Whale Cove, that Bill 17, Write-off of Debts Act, 2011-2012, be read for the first time.
Any opposed? Nope.
The motion is carried and Bill 17 has been read for the first time.
Bill 18 – An Act to Amend Several Acts for Constitutional Validity (Spousal Benefits and Obligations) – First Reading
I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Rankin Inlet South and Whale Cove, that Bill 18, An Act to Amend Several Acts for Constitutional Validity (Spousal Benefits and Obligations), be read for the first time.
The motion is carried and Bill 18 has been read for the first time.
Bill 19 – Family Support Orders Enforcement Act – First Reading
Hon. Keith Peterson: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Rankin Inlet South and Whale Cove, that Bill 19, Family Support Orders Enforcement Act, be read for the first time.
The motion is carried and Bill 19 has been read for the first time.
Bill 20 – An Act to Amend the Judicature Act (Court Rules) – First Reading
Hon. Keith Peterson: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Rankin Inlet South and Whale Cove, that Bill 20, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act, be read for the first time.
The motion is carried and Bill 20 has been read for the first time.
Bill 21 – Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2011, No. 3 – First Reading
Hon. Keith Peterson: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Rankin Inlet South and Whale Cove, that Bill 21, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2011, No. 3, be read for the first time.
Speaker: That was a little easier, eh?
Thank you, Minister Peterson.
The motion is carried and Bill 21 has been read for the first time.
Bill 23 – An Act to Amend the Public Colleges Act – First Reading
I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Uqqummiut, that Bill 23, An Act to Amend the Public Colleges Act, be read for the first time.
The motion is carried and Bill 23 has been read for the first time.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters. Bills 13, 14, and 15 with Mr. Ningeongan in the Chair.
Before we continue, we will take a short 10-minute break.
>>House recessed at 10:28 and Committee resumed at 10:43
Chairman (Mr. Ningeongan) (interpretation): Good morning.
We reviewed the Nunavut Housing Corporation and we would like to continue the review of the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
Once that’s completed, we will move on to the Department of Environment and also ED&T.
If time permits, we will review the Department of Health and Social Services.
I would now like to ask Mr. Curley if he has any witnesses that he would like to bring to the table.
I would like to bring in the witnesses and they are available now.
Does the committee agree to have the Sergeant-at-Arms bring in the witnesses?
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Sergeant-at-Arms.
To my right is the President of Nunavut Housing Corporation, Alain Barriault, and to my left is the Chief Financial Officer for the Nunavut Housing Corporation, Lori Kimball.
The minister had made his opening comments and the chair of the committee has already made his opening comments yesterday.
Are there any general comments to the opening comments?
You may be able to ask your questions as we go to the page-by-page review.
Welcome to the hon. minister as well as your officials.
For my education as well as the public viewers, in your opening statements, you had mentioned modernization and improvement. My understanding is when we’re going to go line by line, it also affects each community.
Do you mind explaining to me what modernization and improvement encompasses, what’s involved in that, or what it covers?
Hon. Tagak Curley: Thank you. (interpretation) Once we get to that page, I’ll be able to speak to it and we will be able to respond fully.
For the line item, we are proposing to spend close to $6 million.
At that time, we will be able to provide further details.
Some houses catch fire and there are some older units that are still functional.
We always need to have money set aside for these older units since we don’t want our people to live under badly deteriorated conditions. That is why it is important to continue this program.
Are you done, Mr. Aupaluktuq?
I would like to remind members that the floor is open to general comments regarding the opening comments. I suggest to members that wherever possible you ask your detailed questions during the page-by-page review of the departmental estimates.
In that manner, we would not have to put up with long-winded comments. So if you could stick to the matters under discussion. I will allow you to ask your questions on slightly different matters as long it is relevant to the page we are reviewing.
This is just a reminder.
Do you have any general comments? Mr. Elliott.
On page 2 of 4 in the minister’s opening comments, he answered a lot of the questions that I was trying to ask in oral question period, so thank you for answering those questions.
Some of the ones that were still kind of unanswered were around the Nunavut Housing Trust and the Affordable Housing Initiative I was hoping to get cleared up this morning.
As we were going through the different motions with the Nunavut Housing Trust and the Affordable Housing Initiative, there was a lot of emphasis put on the SIP design for new construction of houses.
I think that at the time, there was construction of a house down in Ontario or Quebec, and I’m not sure exactly where, but it was sort of the idea that the SIP houses would be more cost effective and save money for the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
I’m wondering: now that we have sort of gone through a cycle of construction and building and some of the houses are being used, is the Nunavut Housing Corporation finding a considerable saving by using that type of design?
I’m glad the member asked that question.
In terms of a general statement, I think, without going into the details, really, Mr. Chairman, I can’t account for some of the rationale that was used by the previous administration.
Obviously that was the case for that.
The Nunavut Housing Corporation had a completely different set of senior managers, including a finance department, which used rationale for arriving at costs that really, in our view and the views of the other independent studies that were completed, was not complete.
Having said that, I think we can pretty well see how they invest that amount of federal contribution that came in, particularly the second phase, the $200 million aspect.
I won’t go into the first part of the Nunavut Housing Trust, but in my view, I just want to emphasize this because this is critical. I think we’re beyond what the public has been made to believe; debacles, issues, and everything. We’re now sticking to the budget and we’re going to complete these units within the budget that the Assembly has approved.
Therefore, we’re working hard to get the remaining units ready for the public to enjoy. So that’s what we want to do for Nunavutmiut.