EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
I keep reiterating that their concerns have to be heard during the court proceedings and that these interpreters who were trained in the terminology are another resource that we can use, and what I am trying to get across is that the court should be including another interpreter, perhaps from the community, so that if an individual wants to make comments, they can do so.
Another matter that I am constantly raising is in relation to the issues of probation and parole and there needs to be better communication when we talk about probation and parole officers.
I know that these positions are very important.
I am not sure what it is like in the NWT but in Nunavut there are some parole officers who are also social workers.
As the minister stated, in the communities, perhaps upwards of fifteen communities still do not have such positions filled.
They have stated that they are trying to staff them, but in each community, if we were to follow Canadian law, each person has the right to speak in the language that they are comfortable with and to get information from the Government as they wish.
There has to be more dialogue between the department and the general public as a lot of individuals in the communities are helpful and available to assist.
We have to recognize the important contribution of these volunteers.
They do this out of the goodness of their hearts.
The elders are also involved in the court system and they are specifically mentioned here and they are also involved in the probation imposed on individuals so it is really important that we assist them with professional staff as we encourage them to assist the court circuit when they come into the communities.
It affects the people emotionally and physically when they are charged and we need to realize that when we are dealing with this department there are a lot of social impacts, especially on those who are affected.
If the people did not break the laws, then we would not need a court circuit in Nunavut.
I just wanted to reiterate this concern as we are dealing with such personal matters that profoundly affect our people and there needs to be an increase in the budget that would go towards the court.
During his opening comments, the minister talked about Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, and it is important that we keep bringing this up so that it is incorporated in each department.
There are individuals I wish to recognize who are taking the RCMP training program.
We need to encourage these individuals that are in training to be RCMP Officers.
The parents of these individuals need to encourage their children to learn their language, and continue to speak their language especially when their superior officers cannot speak in Inuktitut.
I encourage the students taking the RCMP program to complete their program because I know once they get into this field, it is very hard and sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming.
I will have questions, but those are my general comments.
For my opening comments for today, I do not know if I will ramble or if I will be concise.
I would like to also welcome the staff of the Department of Justice and the Minister and to thank you for the excellent job that they have been doing as a department.
Perhaps my comments will be similar to the two previous members that have spoken before me in regards to people that go through the court system.
I know that it is the fault of the person that has been charged, we all realize that.
But in the court system when you are a Justice of the Peace, you have to follow the laws of Canada and it can be quite difficult.
I am not sure what it is like today but it used to be that when I was a Justice of the Peace in my community you had to follow the laws of Canada and it can become quite difficult when you are holding court.
We also work with various departments and organizations in Nunavut.
We all have probably at one time or another not done our jobs properly.
We are good at hiding things sometimes and we seem to be doing a good job because of that.
The people that we label as criminals are not the only criminals; we too are criminals, although we don’t like to be seen that way.
Even though you are a very good person, there are times when you do things wrong for an organization because you are in a position of trust but could end up making a mistake and damaging the organization or the government.
There are people that are able to manipulate numbers really well. As well I would like to reiterate one of the other member’s comments, that there is a school for lawyers in Nunavut but they also have to be able to use Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit within the court system.
These are the types of things that we speak about and I would also like to say that when you are a young person you may not want to do criminal activities but you end up being charged because you didn’t know you were breaking the law and you end up in the court system.
After you go to court you end up with a criminal record.
Perhaps some of us should realize that maybe we contribute to people committing crimes because there are so many laws for people to have to follow.
There must be some kind of unwritten laws for Inuit people as to how to discipline people that have committed crimes even though these laws may not be written.
Our lives have been impacted greatly here in Nunavut.
There are a lot of people in the 26 communities that don’t have employment for young people or any recreational activities for the young people.
If those things are not there, they end up committing crimes.
Inuit parents have not been teaching their young people the ways of our ancestors.
I think all of us should be blamed for not teaching our young people nowadays, especially within Nunavut.
We now have a different style of life and we should be teaching our young people to do more and to teach them more so that they’re not involved in crime.
As well, even though they go to school and they’re good in school and some of them complete their grade 12, I think sometimes they still feel that they’re missing out on things such as traditional skills and traditional activities.
If we can’t work with both of our traditions and the new way of doing things and you have completed your grade 12 and other education that is higher up, and there’s no job waiting for you, it will always be like that.
I think there should be something as a government that we can do and as members of the community, to try to help those young people that have completed their education and have completed their job or have completed their training, for them to have a job waiting for them and to create jobs in the communities for those young people that have completed their education.
They’re in a state where they feel that they’re lost in both cultures and that’s why they start committing crimes.
It would be good if all the governments could do some kind of study like that.
Even though you go to another community to the correctional facility, you come back and you still haven’t had any help in the ways of healing.
I think we should go back to doing traditional counselling for our young people and the other people that go through the correctional system and find out from our elders what they’ve done to give those people that go through the court system some healing counselling.
Thank you for allowing me to speak Mr. Chairman.
I have no more names on my list for general comments from the members.
Just to let the members know, yesterday was Mother’s Day and I would like to wish all the mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day, including my wife and all the people of Nunavut and from all over.
Just a short comment, Mr. Chairman, as a traditional Inuk, like myself, I would like to say we should be able to try to help out the people that go through the court system and to counsel them because when you’re a young person, you have a lot of problems.
If somebody tells you that you have done something wrong, then they get hurt inside.
I think that there should be a better way of telling the young people, not just to keep reminding them of the crimes they have committed but to try to tell them the things that they are doing right.
Give them positive counselling instead of always speaking about the negative side.
Those that are only told the negative things are hurt, but if you use a positive way of saying things to counsel people then they feel better about themselves.
Sometimes the young people that are told about only the negative things they don’t feel good about themselves and continue to commit crimes.
We all know that because we were all young at one time and it’s still the same way even though we are much older now.
We have to be sensitive to the young people when we are trying to encourage them to refrain from criminal activities.
I will keep my comments brief.
In the three years sitting here I have to say the department in my opinion is moving in the right direction.
There seems to be a concerted effort to get more Inuit into the RCMP programs and I think the success that we are starting to see now will benefit Nunavummiut down the road tremendously and they will be excellent role models and hopefully more young Inuit graduates.
And I am saying in this House every day that we have about 10 or 12 thousand people in Nunavut in the school system that may choose a career in the RCMP or a legal career in the justice system.
I applaud the minister for making more RCMP available in our communities; he has been listening to us on that.
We have all been asking for more RCMP Officers.
It would be great if we had more Inuit RCMP Officers because they seem to be closer to the community in dealing with local situations.
The law school I support, it’s a step in the right direction, because my constituents when they are talking to legal people I think they would be a bit more comfortable if they had someone that could speak in their own language.
So I applaud the minister on that initiative also.
Also in my community and I have also heard this through the Standing Committee, that you are hiring more probation officers and I think that’s another step in the right direction.
There are a few Inuit probation officers being hired, that’s great.
There are ultimate measures for them, being on the Justice Committee, not being on it now, that was one of the issues we asked you to deal with and you dealt with it again.
Good job on that one.
Basically I see the justice system getting better in Nunavut.
The wheels of justice grind slowly but I see an improvement.
So that’s all my comments are at this time Mr. Chairman, keep up the good work Mr. Justice Minister.
I don’t have any more names.
Do you wish to proceed to questions? Any questions?
Looking at page 5 – 6. Directorate.
Page 5 – 6 and 5 – 7 are together.
If you have any questions on these pages you may proceed.
On page 5 – 6 you have travel and transportation and there is quite a decrease in this number.
What is the reason for that substantial decrease?
That shows a decreased amount, when I say that’s from 372 thousand dollars going down 62 thousand I guess.
Hon. Paul Okalik: Qujannamiik, Itsivautaq.
From what I understand, last year, we needed extra money for travel because we were doing consultations on the Nunavut Human Rights Act.
Those consultations should be completed and we won’t need as much travel for this coming fiscal year.
We hope to introduce legislation this fall, implementing the consultations that took place.
Those pages 5, 6, and 7 if they are the same, I’m sorry, I forgot to mention... (interpretation ends)…your statement the other day.
Just for the record, if I was to ask you again on the Akitsiraq Law School Program, just for my information.
How many students did you say there were in that at the beginning and do you still have the same number today?
We started off with 15 students and after the first year was completed, we are now at 13.
It’s a very good retention rate compared to other programs we have had in the past.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 7-7 or 5-7, I’m sorry. Grants. Victims’ Assistance Fund.
I would like a clarification on this 90 thousand. What is this fund used for? Thank you.
Chairperson (interpretation): Minister, can you clarify this question about the 90 thousand.
This is when the lawyers are working with the victims.
Sometimes they have to pay for the victims’ finances, travel and these are the victims, there has to be some kind of money set aside to help those victimized by criminal activities for transportation and other things.
Sometimes they need counselling and we are trying to provide counselling programs for victims.
In the future, those who get into trouble we would like to see them pay fines.
The fines aren’t that big but some of them have no choice but to pay.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): Under Victim’s Assistant Fund.
Would this include funding for the women’s shelters also, or is it not part of it at all.
The shelters have their own funding aside from this Victims’ Assistance Fund.
It’s under Health and Social Services for the women’s shelters.
This Victim’s Assistant Fund is more for counselling programs under our department.
You mentioned some of it can be used for counselling.
In the fall we spoke about the need for more counselling programs in the correctional centres because with counselling it may help them reduce their criminal activities.
Can we use some of this money to counsel the inmates in the correctional centres?
Yes, these are for the victims as sometimes we seem to forget them.
The counselling is more geared towards the victims’ programs.
I still have more names.
On page 5 – 7 this is in line with the member’s question about the Akitsiraq Law School program.
It has increased by 121 thousand.
What is the purpose of this increase?
Can he clarify what this 121 thousand will be used for?
This started last year when the Akitsiraq program began.
This is for the full year.
Last year it was only for a partial year so the funding has increased to cover a full year.
On the same page, victims’ assistance fund.
My question is, how exactly are we going to use this fund?
If I was a victim can I seek funding from this fund?
Yes, it is geared towards counselling programs for the victims.
We need to hire counsellors to assist the victims that need help.
If you want more information or wish to make proposals for counselling programs, you can send a proposal to my department so we can help you.
I would like some clarification on the 90 thousand.
Can the communities make proposals or is it for individual victims?
There are a lot of victims that need help and 90 thousand doesn’t seem to be enough for this fund.
It isn’t enough to help all of the victims.
Can you clarify what this 90 thousand dollars will be used for?
This money is set aside so the fund will grow over time to help victims.
As offenders commit crimes they can be fined to add to the 90 thousand dollar fund.
Sometimes a criminal activity leads to a fine.
We’re talking about the victims.
This 90 thousand dollars is more geared towards the victims who need help with counselling.
We will be seeking more funding for the victims’ program which will be geared towards counselling.
I didn’t whether the court will be paying for the victims; my question was the grandmothers and parents, they will end up paying the fines for those who commit crimes because they don’t want their family members to go to court.
We need to look into this.
My question is, this 90 thousand dollars is for the Victims’ Assistance Fund and the minister states that the money will be used for the victims.
When there are counselling programs going on in the community, in different communities, can these communities seek money from this 90 thousand dollars, so that they can run their own counselling programs in their own communities?
The communities who will be seeking the funding from this 90 thousand dollars, do these people making proposals have to be a recognised body or association, or can it be individuals?
I just wanted the minister to respond to this now because we are not playing around.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you. Premier Okalik.
Yes, this is for anybody, but we want to be able to give this to victims.
I would like to ask a last question.
At Qimarvik, if they want to counsel the women in the shelter in Iqaluit, and there are other places in other communities that have shelters, can they have money for the women’s counselling programs?
This is a supplement to a question that was brought up earlier on.
It’s in regards to the Victims’ Assistance Fund.
If I understood it correctly, the victim can access funds from here and use the monies to hire a counsellor.
I ask this question to gain a further understanding.
Well the individuals cannot access these monies on their own but there are different organizations at the community level that provide counselling and healing services.
This money can be accessed by those entities or organizations.
There are private counselling services that can be called by the victim to provide assistance.
On page 5-7, three thousand dollars.
It’s in regards to the Uniform Law Conference.
I would like further information or clarification of the amount.
Chairperson (interpretation): Mr. Okalik, the member would like to know more about the three thousand dollars.
This Uniform Law Conference is an organisation that has their annual conference and it’s the RCMP’s Association.
They deal with the standards and protocols for policing in the various provinces and the country as a whole.
We give three thousand dollars to this organisation as part of our membership in this association.
I would like this clarified.
Do you give those monies to the RCMP and do we, as Nunavummiut use this organisation to promote Inuktitut, our culture and customs?
It’s to provide information on the uniform standardization of Canadian Provincial Statutes.
It’s a way of getting the information and also to learn more about the rest of Canada.
This three thousand dollars is not a huge amount to the Nunavut Territory for the many benefits we attain from this membership.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): It states here, at least in the Inuktitut version that the conference is to be an annual meeting.
Does the RCMP use this Uniform Conference as their AGM?
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): Maybe my deputy minister can respond to his questions.
Chairperson (interpretation): Ms. Sanders.
This is a conference that’s held and it’s a little confusing, it does not involve the police, it involves the civil lawyers who draft the legislation so that we can across Canada, have similar laws in things like commercial activities, banking and that kind of thing.
It’s very, very helpful for us because we don’t have specialists in some of those areas and we can take advantage of some of the work done across Canada.
Every province and territory contributes to it and that’s the amount that we contributed.
It’s quite a reasonable amount.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): I didn’t quite understand the response to the question that I asked earlier about the funds we contribute.
We give this funding as the Government of Nunavut.
As people of Nunavut, are our customs and uniqueness promoted during this conference.
I didn’t get an adequate response to that.
I would like some clarification on that part of the question.
I apologise, I was mistaken.
I was talking about the RCMP, but apparently it’s a few pages ahead.
I was wrong and I am sorry for the error.
The Uniform Law Conference is an annual event whereby they deal with various legislation and Nunavut is affected by these pieces of legislation.
We do not have the manpower to be able to research some of the legislation and this conference usually gets us this background research and allows us to review what can be useful up here in Nunavut.
It’s not just for Nunavut, but it does have an effect all across the board.
It’s where we get our information and our staff also learns a lot of new things at that conference.
Chairperson (interpretation): I have other names on my list.
I just want to ask a question on the 90 thousand dollars on the victims’ assistance fund that Rebekah had asked about.
Societies and Organizations are mentioned here.
(interpretation ends) I guess that it will be available to the societies and the organizations.
Will we be informing all of the societies for example, Justice Committees and the Women’s groups, will we be notifying them that this grant is available for their use in each communities?
Yes and your help would be much appreciated as well.
Page 5-6, I have no other names on my list.
Department of Justice.
Total operations and maintenance 2 million 383 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): Turning over to page 5-8.
Law Enforcement.
Total operations and maintenance 17 million 421 thousand.
There has been an increase in the RCMP contract services by 3 million 528 thousand dollars.
There has been a substantial increase of policemen for Nunavut and is this the resultant increase in that line item?
Could you explain to me what the increase is going to be used for?
The increase is mainly due to the increase in numbers of RCMP members.
There was a new law requiring that there be more than one RCMP member in each community.
There now has to be two RCMP officers in each community by law.
We had to increase the number of RCMP members in the one member communities.
We also need back-ups to replace the ones who are on vacation or out of town for some reason.
That was the main reason why we had to make a significant increase in that line item.
The one member detachment in Repulse Bay increased to two as well, that was part of the increase as well.
Compensation and Benefits.
There was funding allotted in 2001/2002 and in 2002/2003 there was no money set aside.
Will that not create a problem in the future?
We have moved that part of the money to another page.
This 5 thousand has been moved elsewhere.
We will probably get to it when we go page by page.
Contract Services 17 million 416 thousand dollars which again is a substantial increase from last year.
Could you elaborate on that further please?
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): There’s 17 million dollars, right.
As I stated earlier, 3 million is for when we had to get additional RCMP members and a new detachment.
That’s why there is an increase under the Contract Services figure.
In total, we have about 14 new RCMP positions I believe, and also the operations and maintenance for them.
I have Mr. Nutarak.
On page 5-8 Mr. Iqaqrialu made a reference to the Contract Services and there was a new law to increase the one member communities from one to two and there is an additional 3 million 525 thousand dollars under this line item.
It is geared towards them.
What is included in this cost, just the salary and benefits?
Perhaps if I ask how many new RCMP members are we going to have in Nunavut?
In total we’ll have 14 new members they are actually in Nunavut now.
If we were to break it down: two in Grise Fiord, two in Kugaaruk, two in Kimmirut, two new members in Repulse Bay and six in total for the whole of Nunavut that will be available to replace members who have to leave their communities.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): This 3 million is geared towards 14 positions.
There is a 3.5 increase. Is that just for the compensation and benefits or does that include other expenses?
Hon. Paul Okalik (interpretation): A portion of the total amount is paid for by the federal government.
They also pay part of the operational funding requirements.
The Nunavut Government pays 70% of the expenses and the other 30% is paid for by the federal government.
This is the formula for RCMP positions.
There has also been a slight increase in the compensation and benefits.
That is also included in here.
Also in regards to the 5 thousand dollars under grants and contributions, exactly what is that 5 thousand dollars is going to be used for or do you grant or make contributions to the communities?
I had already talked about this unintentionally.
The RCMP get together to brainstorm about how they can be of more assistance and this 5 thousand dollars is an annual contribution toward that workshop.