EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
The corporation also held seminars in Rankin Inlet on April 19, 2007, and in Cambridge Bay on April 23, 2007.
These seminars were well attended by interested members of the community.
Mr. Speaker, based on the successes of these initial seminars, Nunavut Housing Corporation is considering delivering more of these seminars this fall in communities across Nunavut.
The corporation believes that providing information about an increased range of housing options supports the Pinasuaqtavut goals of healthy communities and self reliance for Nunavummiut, and that retention of GN employees could be improved by delivering more information about homeownership.
Minister of Finance, and Economic Development and Transportation, Minister Simailak.
Minister’s Statement 081 – 2(4): Barriers to Business Initiative Results (Simailak)
Hon. David Simailak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) I am pleased to report on the Barriers to Business Initiative, which was launched in 2005 and supports our government’s commitment to economic development, as outlined in Pinasuaqtavut and the Nunavut Economic Development Strategy.
Over the past two years my department; along with Finance, Justice, Community and Government Services, and Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs; have been working on a number of initiatives to remove impediments to business growth.
I am pleased to provide an update on the work completed to date: the revision to business development programs and contribution programs delivered by my department, establishment of the NNI Secretariat within ED&T, compilation of a comprehensive directory and listing of business programs and resources, introduction of an after care program for business requiring follow up services, streamlining and standardization of payment processing for vendors, including a mechanism for direct payment, and release of a request for proposals for the provision of banking services in communities.
Today I will be tabling the ‘Seven Steps to Help You to Start Your Business’ Guide. This guide will be instrumental in assisting new entrepreneurs navigate the business development process.
Complementary to this document is the ‘Doing Business with the Government of Nunavut’ Guide produced by the Department of Community and Government Services, which my colleague will also be tabling.
The need to remote barriers will continue to be worked on by the government. One such initiative will be the development of a new mechanism for reviewing regulations, licensing, and permitting process that may impede business development on a case-by-case basis.
This ongoing mechanism is important for continually monitoring the changing conditions in the business development environment.
I recognize that growth and diversification of the public sector is integral to the future of the Nunavut economy, and I am confident that these improvements will help to better support a healthy business environment. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Member’s Statement 170 – 2(4): Congratulations to Pond Inlet Graduation Students (Arvaluk)
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): [Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am very pleased to be invited to the grade 12 graduation ceremonies this coming Tuesday in my constituency. I will be attending to this ceremony gladly.
There are 12 graduates completing their studies in our High School for the year 2007.
The graduates are; Joanne Akpaleapik, Foster Allen, Alexander Anaviapik, Daniel Inuarak, Carmen Kalluk, Jeffrey Killiktee, Todd Koonark, Nora Koonoo, Ena Mucktar, Samuel Nashook, Emily Peterloosie, Georgina Pewatooalook, and also Isidore Quasa.
(interpretation ends) I would like my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Pond Inlet graduating students. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.]
Member Statements, Member for Hudson Bay, Mr. Kattuk.
Member’s Statement 171 – 2(4): Harvesting Animals (Kattuk)
Mr. Kattuk (interpretation): [Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I believe that we are sitting for the last day, therefore, I would like to express some of our Inuit beliefs in the House in respect to the animals we depend on.
Inuit harvesters sometimes have a tough time with our existing wildlife legislation; personally, I recall that Inuit are not to disrespect or fight over any animals especially since they were put on this Earth for our utilization and use.
I am aware of this issue; therefore I wanted to comment on the matter here in the House.
Mr. Speaker, today we are apprised of individuals brought to court because of inadvertently breaching the wildlife rules or regulations and this seems to be becoming a commonplace matter.
This was very uncommon even a few years ago.
Inuit hold certain beliefs with respect to animals and that you should not judge another harvester in regard to wildlife. You should not judge another person for their actions, but the courts breach this by publicizing these cases. The cases before the courts seem to focus on wildlife protection, not in protecting our people and their livelihood.
Mr. Speaker, this is not how we ought to treat our people, and Members repeatedly state their disagreement with cases before the courts that involve Inuit in wildlife cases.
Inuit believe in conservation, in treating animals with the respect they deserve, Inuit utilize animals without wastage, Inuit are extremely proud when an animal has been harvested.
Inuit do not care about whether the animal is too small, too young or the like, since they value the catch more than the size or age of the animal.
In those cases where an Inuk has harvested their first animal, such as a polar bear sow with cubs, or a newly weaned bear, traditionally Inuit would be extremely proud of that first harvest, but these are also where Inuit break the wildlife regulations.
Inuit value their animals, no matter what species it is, as long as it is edible. Inuit in each community have different environs and ecosystems from other communities.
This is why each community has their own favourite foods and eats different species depending on their availability. The different species in our regions and communities exist for our use.]
Mr. Speaker, I would like ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
As I stated earlier, Inuit celebrate the harvesting of animals, whether they are large or small. As a matter of fact, animals exist for humans and for their proper use.
Since this is the case, I believe that the wildlife regulators are too extreme in their judgement of Inuit whom they state are breaking wildlife legislation. This then causes undue hardship on these harvesters. I wanted to make this statement for that reason in this House.
Member’s Statement 172 – 2(4): Homeownership Programs (Curley)
I, too, would like to welcome Mr. Hansen for coming up to Nunavut.
Please remember that your appearance here in Nunavut means a lot to those people who depend on the technology that you use.
In my own constituency, they need help, and your presence makes a big difference up here.
I appreciate you coming up here.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to state some issues and concerns with respect to homeownership programs in Nunavut.
The program that the Nunavut Housing Corporation provides, including the Home Down Payment Assistance Program and Renovation Program, are way too generous. They are so generous that they are being taking advantage of by people who have no interest in residing and remaining long-term in Nunavut.
Once the Homeownership and Down Payment Assistance Programs are received, many of the people who have taken advantage of that have secured instant long-term leases with the local market and depart from Nunavut.
Whereas, a long-term resident, who pay their taxes and works hard in Nunavut, cannot receive homeownership assistance, or home renovation assistance programs.
I submitted a note to my colleague, the Minister responsible for Housing Corporation, that once again, my constituents have received a usual letter for the last three years, “I’m sorry, your application has not been accepted.
Please apply again next year.” She may apply next year, but she is not hopeful that the tone of the letter will be any different.
So I’m asking the minister today to review and cut the loopholes that are in there and take the priority of the homeowners who have an interest in residing long-term in Nunavut, who pay their taxes, work hard, and will remain in Nunavut.
I think that’s the least that we can ask from the minister to change the tone of the program.
I guess when we get to Oral Questions those questions can be asked accordingly. (interpretation) Members’ Statements.
Member’s Statement 173 – 2(4): Tribute to Pauloosie Paniloo (Arreak)
I would like to pay a tribute to the late Pauloosie Paniloo.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Pauloosie Paniloo, who recently passed away while on patrol duty on the land with the Canadian Rangers.
Mr. Speaker, members will have known Pauloosie was a respected community leader, a former Member of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, and a skilled hunter.
Mr. Paniloo cared deeply for Nunavut and its people. He loved being on the land, be it summer or winter, to hunt and camp.
Pauloosie was a Canadian Ranger for the past 28 years. He was also the first Ranger to die on patrol.
Pauloosie was given a full military funeral service in Clyde River.
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my constituents, I wish to thank Pauloosie Paniloo for all his services.
He is sadly missed by his family, his fellow Rangers, and many other people he touched in Nunavut.
Member’s Statement 174 – 2(4): Aboriginal Healing Foundation (Barnabas)
I rise today to thank the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.
Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, Members of the Assembly received a presentation from the foundation.
Mr. Speaker, many of our constituents are victims of residential schools.
Indeed, some of the Members of this House are victims.
These members know exactly what kind of abuse took place while at residential school.
Mr. Speaker, the healing process is a long one, however, if the process does not get started, then we will never heal.
We see the affects of abuse through alcoholism, suicide, poverty, and violence. We need to help our people to get through what they went through.
The Aboriginal Healing Foundation has started this process.
Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents were victims of Ed Horne.
I am grateful to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation for the work that they are doing and would like to thank Mr. Richard Kistabish for his presentation in this House.
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation ends) In March of this year, the Government of Nunavut and the Rick Hansen Foundation signed an agreement to improve the quality of life of Nunavummiut with disabilities with practical solutions, research, and leadership.
At that time, Rick Hansen and his staff were planning to visit Nunavut for the official signing of this agreement. He made it to the tarmac in Ottawa before their flight was cancelled due to a blizzard here in Iqaluit.
Thankfully, Rick remained committed to visiting us here in Nunavut and was able to arrive today.
Please join me in welcoming Rick Hansen, Canada’s Man in Motion, and his staff, Colin Euwart, and there are two other staff that are not here but I’ll mention their names anyway; Erin MacMillan and Tawny Savage.  Welcome, very much.
Tunngasugitsi. Bienvenue. Merci, Monsieur President.
Welcome to the Gallery, Mr. Hansen.
(interpretation) Item 5.
I would also like to recognize, on behalf of Tagak and myself, our constituent, Jose Kusugak.
I think everybody in Nunavut and Canada knows Mr. Kusugak. I knew his parents and I went to school with Jose Kusugak himself, along with his relatives. I would like to recognize him in the House.
Although these individuals aren’t in the House, or in the Gallery, they are very close to the Gallery. I’d like to give a special recognition to our interpreters from the Kitikmeot: James Panioyak, Gwen Angulalik, and Attima Hadlari.
As everyone knows, they travel quite extensively with the MLAs; they’re part of the Kitikmeot team.
Mr. Speaker, they provide a valued contribution in keeping the Kitikmeot informed about proceedings in the House, and the decisions that we make that affect them.
Speaker (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Peterson, Welcome.
It is a great pleasure to introduce to the Gallery, some constituents of mine and I’d like to begin by introducing Mr. Craig Dunphy to the Gallery.
Craig is helping out with Mr. Hansen’s tour, helping facilitate the tour. Along with Craig, are Mr. Sam Tilley and, I believe, his mom, Joy Tilley, is in the Gallery.
So I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce those people to the Gallery.
Question 217 – 2(4): Nunavut Housing Corporation Programs for Homeowners (Barnabas)
My question is directed to the Minister of Housing Corporation.
(interpretation ends) Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s Statement on Monday, I raised concerns facing homeowners in the smaller communities. I was pleased to hear that Minister’s Statement of yesterday, which amounts some welcome improvements to their corporation’s program.
One of the Housing Corporation programs is the Home Renovation Program. This program provides forgivable loans up to a maximum of $50,000 to cover the costs of materials and labour.
Can the minister indicate to me how the corporation is prioritizing the applications that it receives?
Hon. Olayuk Akesuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) [The Housing Corporation applies their policies to determine what and how much renovation is needed in each application, which varies considerably from case to case.
The application forms that are submitted by applicants list a whole series of questions, and are used to determine the priority of each individual application.
Mr. Barnabas (interpretation): [Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My colleague, Mr. Curley, stated the truth that some people who have applied for some funding do not receive assistance for years until their homes have suffered deteriorated extensively.]
(interpretation ends) The Home Renovation Program provides forgivable loans to a maximum of $50,000. In some cases, a homeowner may not need the full amount for his or her project, but would like to be able to apply again to the program in future years for another project.
Can the minister confirm whether or not the homeowner can apply to the program more than once until they used up the full amount that is available?
As our program is in big demand in the territory, we respect each and every one of the applicants that are applying for funds that we have from our small pot.
We try and make sure that we respect others that haven’t received any, again, if they have to make more improvement onto a unit that we’re renovating for home improvement.
So we try and do that and if it’s urgent enough, we would consider that as an urgent matter.
So everybody could apply again to ask for more money to improve their homes.
As the minister knows, there is a shortage of public housing across Nunavut.
In some cases, homeowners have adult children who cannot move out of their parents’ home because there is nowhere for them to move to.
The parents would like to be able to renovate their homes so that the family has enough bedrooms for all its members.
Can the minister indicate to me whether the Housing Corporation programs can support these types of projects?
Hon. Olayuk Akesuk (interpretation): [Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We try to give out the funding to people most in need, especially those with a lot of family members, so they can add more bedrooms.
Those are the kinds of things that we look at in the applications for funding.
Based on my knowledge of actual cases, this applies only to the social housing units under the local housing authorities. [They, however, do not represent or assist homeowners, so homeowners have to resolve their own matters on their own.]
How does the Housing Corporation keep track of overcrowding in homeowners’ units?
I really do not grasp the answer provided, however, I would like to ask this related question.
(interpretation ends) The amounts available under the Home Renovation Program are the same across Nunavut. In some communities in the High Arctic, everything is more expensive.
Can the minister tell me if and when the corporation will review the amounts available under the program for the residents of most isolated and expensive communities?
Hon. Olayuk Akesuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (interpretation) [We will examine how the costs of renovation differ in the communities. We will look at the costs of doing the same work in different communties.
We have to carefully review these costs; although we have an overall mandate, we have limited funding available Nunavut-wide and we need to know how these costs fluctuate in the communities.
Question 218 – 2(4): Tuberculosis in Nunavut (Peterson)
Mr. Speaker, in recent news stories both in the north and in the south are showing that tuberculosis is still a major health threat in Canada.
Many Nunavummiut have lost family and friends to this disease. Some do die from it and others went to the south to be treated and just never came back.
The threat of tuberculosis is a very real concern to northerners.
My question to the minister: can the minister provide an update on the rates of tuberculosis in Nunavut and what policies are currently in place to monitor the disease?
The Nunavut Tuberculosis Program was established in 2000 to address the issues around TB in Nunavut.
Currently, we provide an extra consultation on every case that has been diagnosed in the north since 2004 to ensure that we follow up on every person that may have been exposed to TB. In 2000, in Nunavut, we had 48 cases of tuberculosis reported. Since then it has fluctuated, but as of January 2007 we have nine active cases.
Recent news reports indicated that an individual in Yellowknife was diagnosed with an infectious case of tuberculosis. The public health officials are now following up on that in their territory.
Many people from the Kitikmeot travel to Yellowknife for business, holiday, or just to visit relatives. In fact, I will be travelling there this weekend myself, and so I may be exposed to people there.
My question for the minister; for the peace and mind of the general public, many from the Kitikmeot: can the minister clarify what is being done to test to Nunavummiut who may have been exposed to tuberculosis while in Yellowknife recently?
Hon. Leona Aglukkaq: Mr. Speaker, that’s quite broad and now there are a lot of people that go through Yellowknife. I, myself, will be travelling through Yellowknife on Friday.
If there are individuals that have been exposed to tuberculosis in Yellowknife, then we would make sure that there is assistance in place to make sure that they are assessed in their community, or in Yellowknife, or the people who maybe have been around them as well.
In terms of trying to address those individuals that may have been impacted, I would have to get a bit more detail on who those individuals and who that person is who had TB for us to follow up.
As it is right now, we try and promote prevention around TB and to recognize the symptoms of TB through public health. At the same time, we’ve been trying to deal with the whole issue on overcrowding in our homes in Nunavut. That’s part of the whole problem.
So if the member can provide me with more specifics on the individual that may have had the TB, then we can make sure that there’s a follow up in place.
Mr. Speaker, I didn’t say anyone had tuberculosis.
I read the news report that in the NWT Chief Medical Officer Dr. Andre Corriveau indicated that he confirmed two additional cases of TB-positive people that have arisen since the testing began. He revealed that residents in 23 NWT communities may have been in contact with TB in the individual tests as well. I know for a fact that people from the Kitikmeot travel there all the time for medical, health, business or personal reasons as I mentioned.
So I’m just wondering how, for Nunavut, the chief medical officer could test those people, just to follow up on the minister’s comments.
My question for the minister: can minister clarify for the House what procedures her department has to address the situation where individuals in our communities are exposed to potentially highly contagious infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis?
The chief medical officers are involved in cases where we have outbreaks of TB and trying to deal with and contain that type of illness in the north.
Part of the work that we’re engaged in is often in the area of prevention and recognizing TB, where individuals in the past may have had TB and to monitor those cases. In situations where there may be new cases, the chief medical officers will be involved in trying to contain the spread of tuberculosis.
The numbers have been decreasing over the years, but we have continued to try and put in programs where we deal with more adequate screening of TB in our schools, in our homes, and in our communities, through public health and through the CHRs in our communities.
Mr. Speaker, when I was digging into this issue, I noted that in February 2006, the Northwest Territories undertook a review to strengthen tuberculosis management control in the Northwest Territories. There is a report and this report brought forward 26 recommendations dealing with many aspects from education to treatment of tuberculosis.
My question for the minister: can the minister update this House on whether similar reviews have taken place in Nunavut? And if not, does she have any plans to do so in the future?
In fact that report on that review is due October 2007, at which time I will table that report to the Members in this House.
We have a person on stream who has reviewed what we have in terms of programs and what services we have in a community, and he will be reporting his findings to this House.
Question 219 – 2(4): Status of Fuel Stabilization Rider and Energy Prices (Curley)
Mr. Curley: My question is for the Minister of Energy.
Nunavummiut homeowners are still worried about the fact that energy prices may continue to go up. They wonder how they are going to pay for it. I know that the minister is not worried about paying the energy costs for the Government of Nunavut.
On March 2 of this year, the Qulliq Energy Corporation filed an application to decrease the current Fuel Stabilization Rider from 7.87 cents per kilowatt hour, to 6.65 cents. This new rate would cover from April 1, 2007, to October 31, 2007.
The most recent Annual Report of the Utility Rates Review Council indicated that the council and I quote: “… expect to submit a report and Fuel Stabilization Rider on or before May 30, 2007.”
What has the URRC recommended and when will a decision be made?
The member is correct. The application had gone to the URRC and the matter of the FSR, the Fuel Stabilization Rider, that is on our current bills.
The member remembers it was 6.65 cents a kilowatt hour beginning on April 1, 2007 and ending on October 31, 2007. The report has been received by my office.
The next step is to take the report and bring it to Cabinet, review it, and then make a submission back to the URRC.
We can either accept the report or reject the report, or receive officially the report. So our hands are quite tied in what we do with the report.
I think it’s not at all true that the minister’s hands are tied.
The guidelines are quite clear: either he accepts the recommendation to reduce, which the Nunavummiut want, from the figure that I quoted, or if he rejects it, that means he would like Nunavummiut to pay for continuing higher Fuel Stabilization Rider.
My supplementary question is this; QEC’s application on March 2 states, and I quote, “ …QEC has recently been advised that GN would like to move toward to a true cost,” that means the minister, “... which will likely result in greater rates of fuel prices across Nunavut but would prefer to wait until the next supply season.
True cost fuel would likely occur as a part of the 2007 re-supply, and will therefore not impact fuel costs as of April 1, 2007.”
Can the minister explain to the House what impact a move toward true costs approach would have on Nunavutmiut consumers and homeowners?